Comparison and evaluation of field and numerical results from the Site A heater test at Avery Island

The capability of finite element programs to calculate the thermomechanical response of salt was evaluated. The Site-A heater test is one of three similar field experiments which provided data for comparison with numerical analyses. Temperature, displacements and stresses measured at Site-A over a period of 500 days are compared with the calculated values. The closeness of agreement indicates that numerical techniques can simulate mechanical rock behavior in the rock salt surrounding a nuclear waste canister. The agreement is good for the comparison involving temperatures and displacements, whereas the comparison of stresses does not agree satisfactorily.