title: Validation of the multiscale thermohydrologic model used for analysis of a proposed repository at Yucca Mountain.
abstract: Performance assessment and design evaluation of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain are facilitated by a thermohydrologic modeling tool that simultaneously accounts for processes occurring at a scale of a few tens of centimeters around individual waste packages and emplacement drifts, and accounts for processes at the multi-kilometer scale of the mountain. The most straightforward approach is to account for the 3-D drift- and mountain-scale dimensionality all within a single monolithic thermohydrologic model. This approach is too computationally expensive to be a viable simulation tool capable of addressing all waste-package locations in the repository. The Multiscale Thermohydrologic Model (MSTHM) is a computationally efficient alternative to addressing these modeling issues. In this paper, we describe the principal calculation stages to predict temperature, relative humidity, and liquid-saturation, as well as other thermohydrologic variables, in the drifts and in the host rock. Using a three-drift repository example (which is a scaled-down version of the proposed repository), we demonstrate the validity of the MSTHM approach against a nested monolithic thermohydrologic model.
authors.affiliation: Geosciences and Environmental Technologies Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, L-204, 7000 East Avenue, CA 94551, USA. buscheck1@llnl.gov
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Buscheck
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Glascoe
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gansemer
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mansoor
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D006813:Humidity; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009505:Nevada; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D013696:Temperature; D014872:Water Movements
chemical_list: D011850:Radioactive Waste