Mining Engineerling, Vol. 53, No. 9, pp. 52-56, September 2001
Numerical Modeling of Seepage into Underground Openings
Stefan Finsterle and Robert C. Trautz
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Earth Sciences Division
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
Abstract.
We performed numerical modeling studies to investigate water seepage into underground
openings excavated from unsaturated fractured formations. Water seepage is a key factor
which would affect the performance of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain if one
is built at the site. The amount of water dripping into an underground opening depends on
the connectivity and permeability of the fracture network as well as on the capillarity of
individual fractures intersecting the opening. We developed a high-resolution numerical
model of an unsaturated fracture network and examined the appropriateness of seepage
predictions using a fracture continuum model. Model calibrations to liquid-release tests
performed at Yucca Mountain are also discussed.
