Hassanizadeh SM ; Giessen GM van der ; Holtman H ; Mollema
PN
55 p
in Dutch
1992
Toon Nederlands
English Abstract During the last decade, a very extensive research
program has been carried out, by a number of American research
organizations, in deep salt formations near Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA. The
program is called Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). A number of
experiments have dealt with the study of movement of brine in the rock salt
under the influence of raised temperatures and under formation conditions.
A selected set of data from these experiments are included in the
international model validation study INTRAVAL. In brine inflow experiments,
the rate of seepage of brine into open boreholes is measured as a function
of time. In pressure build-up tests, boreholes, with a diameter of 10 cm,
are filled with brine and then closed. As a result of flow of brine into
the borehole, the brine pressure starts to go up. The pressure in
packer-isolated intervals of the borehole is measured as a function of time.
Integrated large-scale experiments are carried out in a horizontal
cylinderical room, 2.9 m in diamter and 107 m in length. Both pore
pressure and brine inflow measurements are carried out in the room and in
the surrounding formation. This report presents preliminary results of
studying the brine inflow and permeability tests by RIVM group participating
in the INTRAVAL study. It is attempted to employ a single model in order to
simulate all experiments carried out at the WIPP site. The numerical model
METROPOL-2 is employed to simulate the movement of a fluid in a porous
medium under a pressure gradient. The general conclusion is that Darcy's
law is applicable to the description of brine movement in te rock salt
provided that changes in the structure of rock salt, which may cause
variation in porosity and permeability are also modeled.
