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Analyzing unsaturated flow patterns in fractured rock using an integrated modeling approach

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Abstract

Characterizing percolation patterns in unsaturated fractured rock has posed a greater challenge to modeling investigations than comparable saturated zone studies due to the heterogeneous nature of unsaturated media and the great number of variables impacting unsaturated flow. An integrated modeling methodology has been developed for quantitatively characterizing percolation patterns in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada (USA), a proposed underground repository site for storing high-level radioactive waste. The approach integrates moisture, pneumatic, thermal, and isotopic geochemical field data into a comprehensive three-dimensional numerical model for analyses. It takes into account the coupled processes of fluid and heat flow and chemical isotopic transport in Yucca Mountain’s highly heterogeneous, unsaturated fractured tuffs. Modeling results are examined against different types of field-measured data and then used to evaluate different hydrogeological conceptualizations through analyzing flow patterns in the unsaturated zone. In particular, this model provides clearer understanding of percolation patterns and flow behavior through the unsaturated zone, both crucial issues in assessing repository performance. The integrated approach for quantifying Yucca Mountain’s flow system is demonstrated to provide a practical modeling tool for characterizing flow and transport processes in complex subsurface systems.

Résumé

Dans le cadre des études par modélisation, la caractérisation des schémas de percolation dans les roches fracturées non saturées constitue un défi supérieur aux études similaires en zone saturée, du fait même de la nature hétérogène des milieux et du plus grand nombre de variables influant sur ces écoulements non saturés. Une méthodologie intégrée de modélisation a été développée dans le but de caractériser quantitativement les schémas de percolation dans le secteur de Yucca Mountain (Nevada, Etats-Unis), proposé comme site de stockage pour des déchets hautement radioactifs. L’approche intègre à la fois des données géochimiques isotopiques, thermiques, pneumatiques, et d’humidité dans un modèle numérique tri-dimensionnel pour effectuer les analyses. Elle prend en compte les processus interdépendants de flux de chaleur et de matière et de transport isotopique chimique dans les tufs fracturés non saturés et très hétérogènes de Yucca Mountain. Les résultats de la modélisation sont confrontés à plusieurs catégories de mesures de terrain, puis utilisés pour évaluer plusieurs concepts hydrogéologiques par l’analyse des cheminements des écoulements dans la zone non-saturée. Ce modèle permet notamment d’appréhender plus clairement les schémas de percolation et les comportements des écoulements dans la zone non-saturée, qui sont deux points-clés de l’évaluation des potentialités d’un site de stockage. Cette approche intégrée de quantification du système hydraulique de Yucca Mountain constitue un outil tangible de modélisation, qui permet de caractériser les processus d’écoulement et de transport dans des systèmes souterrains complexes.

Resumen

Debido a la naturaleza heterogénea del medio y el gran número de variables involucradas en el flujo, la caracterización de los patrones de percolación en la zona no saturada de rocas fracturadas ha constituido un mayor desafío en las investigaciones de modelación en comparación con los estudios de la zona saturada. Se ha desarrollado una metodología de modelación integrada para la caracterización cuantitativa de los patrones de percolación en la zona no saturada de la montaña de Yucca, Nevada (EEUU), sitio propuesto para la disposición subterránea de desechos radiactivos de alto nivel. La propuesta metodológica integra datos de campo de humedad, presión neumática, temperatura, isótopos y análisis químicos en un completo modelo tridimensional para su analisis. Tiene en cuenta procesos simultáneos de flujo de fluidos y calor y transporte químico e isotópico en las tobas volcánicas fracturadas no saturadas y altamente heterogéneas de la montaña Yucca. Los resultados de la modelación se examinan contra diferentes tipos de mediciones realizadas en campo y posteriormente son utilizados para evaluar diferentes conceptualizaciones hidrogeológicas mediante el análisis de los patrones de flujo en la zona no saturada. Particularmente, este modelo provee una mejor comprensión de los patrones de percolación y del comportamiento del flujo a través de la zona no saturada en la instancia crucial de evaluar la realización del dispositorio. La propuesta metodológica integrada para cuantificar el sistema de flujo en la montaña Yucca constituye una herramienta de modelación práctica para caracterizar los procesos de flujo y transporte en sistemas subsuperficiales complejos.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank S. Mukhopadhyay and Dan Hawkes for their review of this report. This work was supported by the Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, US Department of Energy, through Memorandum Purchase Order EA9013MC5X between Bechtel SAIC Company, LLC, and the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The support is provided to Berkeley Lab through the US Department of Energy Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098.

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  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Yu-Shu Wu, Guoping Lu, Keni Zhang, Lehua Pan & Gudmundur S. Bodvarsson

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  1. Yu-Shu Wu
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  2. Guoping Lu
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  3. Keni Zhang
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  4. Lehua Pan
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  5. Gudmundur S. Bodvarsson
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Correspondence to Keni Zhang.

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Wu, YS., Lu, G., Zhang, K. et al. Analyzing unsaturated flow patterns in fractured rock using an integrated modeling approach. Hydrogeol J 15, 553–572 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-006-0105-5

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