ARTICLE IN PRESS

International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 41 (2004) 495

SINOROCK2004 Paper 2B 40
A new coupling concept for the hydro-mechanical interaction of clay
stone and rock salt in underground waste repositories
Zhengmeng Hou*, Karl-Heinz Lux
Disposal Technology and Geomechanics, Technical University of Clausthal, Erzstrasse 20, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 38678, Germany

Abstract

For the simulation of the hydraulic and mechanical behaviour of clay stone and rock salt, as well as the hydro-mechanical
interaction in the excavation disturbed zone (EDZ) around sealing systems in underground radioactive or toxic waste repositories, a
new hydro-mechanical coupling concept has been developed, which includes the Hou/Lux constitutive model formulated with
effective stresses, the Darcy flow model, as well as several coupling models, Fig. 1. Among the coupling models, the permeability
model for the determination of anisotropy permeability Ki, the a-model for the determination of Biot’s coefficient a; the fh-model for
the determination of the hydrodynamic force fhd as well as the hydrostatic force fhs have been newly developed. This coupling
concept has been already implemented into the FEM program MISES3.
The advantage of this concept in comparison to other available concepts is shown in the time-dependent coupling of both
processes under simultaneous consideration of the changes in the material properties and state variables, so that a realistic
investigation of the mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of the sealed system is possible.
An exemplary drift in clay stone and an exemplary drift sealing in rock salt have been numerically investigated. The results have
shown that the hydro-mechanical behaviour of the EDZ and its interactions can be described with the Hou/Lux coupling concept.
Following the calculation results, the construction of a drift dam can noticeably reduce or even heal the EDZ of DrE1.5 m in a
1000 m deep drift over a period of approximately 20 years, due to the creep behaviour of rock salt and the supporting effect of the
dam. To improve the design for the construction of sealing systems, the drift should be expanded shortly before constructing the
dam to improve the efficiency of the drift dam, and the dam should be constructed as early as possible in order to heal damage in
time and in order to reduce the permeability in the EDZ around the dam prior to a possible brine entry.

Keywords: Hydro-mechanical coupling; Radioactive waste repository; Rock salt; Clay stone; Excavation disturbed zone; Sealing system

Fig. 1. Hou/Lux hydro-mechanical coupling concept for rock salt and clay stone.

*Corresponding author. Tel.: +49-5323-722347; fax: +49-5323-722341.

E-mail address: zhengmeng.hou@tu-clausthal.de (Z. Hou).
For full length paper see CD-ROM attached.

doi:10.1016/j.ijrmms.2003.12.031