Specifications for the development of a fully three-dimensional numerical groundwater model for regional mass transport of radionuclides from a deep waste repository

Specifications are given which are necessary to develop a three-dimensional numerical model capable of simulating regional mass transport of radionuclides from a deep waste repository. The model to be developed will include all of the significant mass transport processes including flow, chemical, and thermal advection, mechanical dispersion, molecular diffusion, ion exchange reactions, and radioactive decay. The model specifications also include that density and viscosity fluid properties be functions of pressure, temperature, and concentration and take into account fluid and geologic heterogenieties by allowing possible assignment of individual values to every block of the model. The model specifications furthermore include the repository shape, input/output information, boundary conditions, and the need for documentation and a user's manual. Model code validation can be accomplished with the included known analytical or laboratory solutions. It is recommended that an existing finite-difference model (developed by INTERCOMP and INTERA, Inc.) be used as a starting point either as an acceptable basic code for modification or as a pattern for the development of a completely different numerical scheme. A ten-step plan is given to outline the general procedure for development of the code