FRACTURE VARIABILITY AND HYDROLOGIC IMPLICATIONS AT YUCCA MOUNTAIN, NEVADA
Under the current design, the potential repository would be located in a densely welded tuff sequence with highly variable fracture characteristics. This variability, resulting largely from the presence of lithophysal cavities, creates heterogeneous flow patterns through the unsaturated zone. Lithophysal cavities interrupt the continuity of fractures they intersect and may locally influence fracture propagation. In welded nonlithophysal zones, fractures tend to be longer and more widely spaced than in lithophysal zones, which generally display a greater number of closely spaced, short-length fractures.
Seepage of water into potential waste-emplacement drifts will be affected by the fracture characteristics within the surrounding rock wall. Fractures with sufficient capillary suction, permeability, and lateral connectivity can enhance capillary barrier effects and lateral diversion around drift openings, thus reducing the potential for seepage. Lithophysal units, which have high secondary permeability owing to an abundance of well-connected small fractures capable of accommodating lateral flow, may be more favorable for repository performance (i. e., promote less seepage) than nonlithophysal units.
Conceptual models for fracture flow based on mapped geometric and hydrologic fracture characteristics are presented, emphasizing the relevant subset of all fractures occurring within the unsaturated tuffs that may impact potential repository performance.