[en] The objective of this study has been to identify the global thermo-mechanical effects in the bedrock hosting a nuclear waste repository. Numerical thermo-mechanical modeling using distinct element models was performed. The number of fracture zones, the heat intensity of the waste, the material properties of the rock mass and the boundary conditions of the models were varied. Different models for multi-level repositories were also analyzed and compared to the main single-level case. Further, the global influence from the excavation of repository tunnels and deposition holes was examined by introducing weaker rock mass material properties in the repository region of one model. The maximum compression stress obtained for the main model is 44 MPa and occurs at the repository level after about 100 years of deposition. Due to thermal expansion, the rock mass displaces upward, and the maximum heave at the ground surface after 1000 years is calculated to be 16 cm. In the area close to the ground surface the horizontal stresses reduce, causing the rock to yield in tension down to a depth of about 80 meters. The fracture zones show opening displacements at shallow depths and closing and shearing at the repository level. The maximum displacements are 0.3-2.5 cm for closing, 0.0-0.8 cm for opening and 0.2-2.2 cm for shearing. The resultant stresses and displacements depend in large part on the assumptions made concerning the heat intensity of the waste. In the main model, an initial heat intensity of 10 W/m² is assumed, which gives larger effects than the case with 6 W/m². Another important input parameter for the analysis is the Young's modulus of the rock mass. In the main model, a value of 30 GPa is assumed. Higher values of Young's modulus give larger thermo-mechanical effects. All multi-level repository layouts give rise to higher temperatures than the single-level layout, causing the compressive stresses to increase more at the repository level. The multi-level layouts also cause a de-stressed zone extending in depth well beyond that induced by a single-level layout. The 3DEC model with altered properties at the repository region shows very similar results to the main model. The global effect from the excavated repository tunnels and deposition holes is therefore not significant. However, further numerical computations with repository tunnels and deposition holes modeled explicitly are needed to study the local thermo-mechanical response in the repository region