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The Wellenberg K-Model: A Geostatistical Description of Hydraulic Conductivity Distribution in the Host Rock for Site Characterization and Performance Assessment Purposes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

P. Marschall
Affiliation:
Nagra, Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Hardstrasse 73, CH-5430 Wettingen, Switzerland, nagra@nagra.ch
S. Vomvoris
Affiliation:
Nagra, Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Hardstrasse 73, CH-5430 Wettingen, Switzerland, nagra@nagra.ch
O. Jaquet
Affiliation:
Colenco Power Engineering AG, Mellingerstrasse 207, CH-5405 Baden, Switzerland, jaq@colenco.ch
G.W. Lanyon
Affiliation:
GeoScience Ltd, The Falmouth Business Park, Bickland Water Road, FALMOUTH, Cornwall TR11 4SZ, United Kingdom, lanyon@geoscience.co.uk
P. Vinard
Affiliation:
Nagra, Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Hardstrasse 73, CH-5430 Wettingen, Switzerland, nagra@nagra.ch
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Abstract

The Wellenberg K-model describes the distribution of the hydraulic conductivity of the host rock at Nagra's proposed site for a LLW/ILW repository. The description takes the form of the expected value of hydraulic conductivity at a location and the uncertainty around this expected value. The development of the K-model is based on geostatistical concepts and, in particular, on kriging and conditional simulation methods. The model is built of cubes with sides of 100 m. Upscaling of the transmissivity profiles at the borehole locations to effective K-values on the 100 m scale is realised by fracture network modelling. The K-model accounts explicitly for the hydraulic conductivities estimated at each borehole. It is consistent with the hydrogeological conceptualization of the host rock and generates realistic hydraulic conductivity distributions with a degree of variability similar to that observed in the data.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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References

REFERENCES

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