ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The study of engineering problems in porous media is generally dealt with assuming that they possess a continuous distribution of one type of voids. However, there are some media in which, for a proper handling of the problem, it is crucial to consider the different structural levels involved in the material fabric. This work presents a mathematical formulation that considers the mechanical, hydraulic and thermal problems in a fully coupled way. The ThermoHydro-Mechanical (THM ) approach has been developed to handle engineering problems in porous media with two dominant structures of voids. The formulation allows the consideration of nonisothermal multiphase flows in both media, coupled with the mechanical and the thermal problems. The double porosity approach has been implemented in a finite element code and it has been used to analyze a variety of engineering problems. Special attention has been placed on the analysis and design of high level radioactive waste disposals.
