We apply thermoporoelasticity and a sequentially coupling technique for modeling thermally-driven coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) processes in tight claystone. A THM benchmark case with a corresponding analytic solution for thermoporoelasticity under a constant heat loading verifies the model. Thereafter, two in situ heating experiments are simulated for model validation: a smaller-scale heating experiment (TED experiment) and a larger-scale experiment (ALC experiment) in Callovo-Oxfordian (COx) claystone at the Meuse/Haute-Marne underground research laboratory in France. The model exhibits good performance to match the observed temperature and pore pressure evolution for the smaller-scale TED experiment. For the larger-scale ALC experiment, general trends of thermal-pressurization are captured in the modeling, but pressure is underestimated at some monitoring points during cool-down. This indicates that the THM response in the field may be affected by the variability of rock's properties or irreversible or time-dependent mechanical processes that are not included in the current thermoporoelastic model. The main contributions of this work are as follows: (1) we verify and validate the numerical simulator, TOUGH-FLAC, to be a valuable coupled THM modeling tool; (2) prove that the laboratory determined material parameters can be used as reference values for upscaling experiments. However, to better identify and quantify THM processes with modeling of in situ tests, more emphasize should be dedicated to obtaining high-quality mechanical deformation data.

To better understand the Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical (THM) response of the rock caused by the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) released heat in the Callovo-Oxfordian formation (COx) in the near-field and far-field areas, a series of coupled THM modelling is performed. This study presents a case study based on the French geological repository for HLW (Cigéo project) to better assess modelling of deep geological repositories (DGR) within the DECOVALEX-2019 framework. In this study, the proposed coupled THM model, implemented in the platform of COMSOL, is validated by comparing the modelled THM results for a point heat source in an infinite rock mass with an analytical solution. It is also validated by comparing its thermal component for the Base Case with accurate results calculated using another numerical method. To shorten the calculation time, the DGR is modelled using six cuboid blocks representing 162 HLW cells and only six central HLW cells of interest modelled in detail. This simplification is validated. This model can easily be used to model not only the near-field THM response of the rock but also the far-field THM response. The influence of the boundary conditions applied on the gallery wall, HLW cell walls, and external surfaces of the model and the influence of different vertical dimensions of the geometry are studied. The sensitivity analyses of the THM parameters of COx on the THM response at different locations are performed. The influence of using a 2-dimensional (2D) model to represent a 3-dimensional (3D) repository is also investigated.