Hydro and hydro-mechanical modelling of ventilation test in clayey rocks

Long-term repository of radioactive waste in deep argillaceous geological media needs a good understanding of the host formation behaviour. Considering the safety function of the formation and the need of low permeability, the behaviour of the excavation damaged zone (EDZ) is a major issue. Because drainage may modify the structure and the size of this zone, a ventilation test (SDZ) is realised by the French national radioactive waste management agency (ANDRA) in an experimental gallery of the Meuse/Haute-Marne underground research laboratory located in Callovo-Oxfordian claystone. The aim is to characterise the effect of the desaturation and possible resaturation of the damaged zone due to controlled ventilation.
Numerical modellings are performed to reproduce the ventilation test. A biphasic flow model in unsaturated soil and an elasto-plastic constitutive law are used for the host formation. A nonclassical boundary condition has been developed in order to model the exchanges between the cavity and the rock. Numerical results show that it is possible to calibrate the models to obtain a satisfactory reproduction of the in situ experimental measurements and a better understanding of the fluid transfer around the gallery during the ventilation test.