Guidance on numerical modelling of thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled processes for performance assessment of radioactive waste repositories

We place special emphasis on the fact that the most important step in numerical modelling is not executing the calculations per se, but the earlier conceptualization of the problem regarding the dominant processes, the material properties and parameters, the engineering perturbations, and their mathematical presentations. The associated modelling component of addressing the uncertainties and estimating their influence on the results is also important. Thus, the specific models and codes should be studied first to evaluate the harmony between the nature of the problem and the nature of the codes. The tactical use of particular numerical techniques will then be based on a sound strategic foundation. An associated listing of bullet point recommendations and issues for future directions for this THM subject area is given in Section 6.