ATLAS III in situ heating test in boom clay: Field data, observation and interpretation

The ATLAS III small scale in situ heating test aimed at assessing the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) effects on the Boom clay of the significant temperature gradients generated in this host rock as a consequence of the geological disposal of radioactive, heat-emitting wastes. This paper presents data on temperature, pore water pressure and total stress measured during the experiment and highlights several interesting observations regarding the thermal anisotropy and THM coupling in the Boom clay. The test has a simple geometry and well defined boundary conditions, which facilitates the comparison between measurement and numerical modeling studies. These studies included three dimensional coupled THM modeling of the test. The good agreement between measurement and numerical modeling of temperature and pore water pressure yields a set of THM parameters and confirms the thermo-mechanical anisotropy of the Boom clay.