Analyses of coupled thermal hydraulic and mechanical experiment at grimsel test site in Switzerland

The real scale coupled thermal, hydraulic and mechanical experiment (FEBEX in situ test) has been performed at Grimsel test site in Switzerland in order to evaluate the coupling processes on high-level radioactive waste disposal. The heaters as waste canisters were put horizontally based on the Spanish disposal strategy. In this paper, the existing coupling model which has been validated with the coupled experiment at Kamaishi mine was applied to FEBEX in situ test and the effects of the disposal strategy and bentonite materials were clarified. Especially, the identification of water diffusivity coefficient in non-isothermal unsaturated area is very important because it is based on the physical considerations. (author)