Two coupled modelling papers have been published recently with Alex Bond as a co-author, presenting the history and outcomes of the DECOVALEX initiative, and demonstrating the application of coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical modelling to abandoned mine stability for heat storage.
One deals with the unique aspects of the DECOVALEX initiative and how it contributes to confidence building in radioactive waste management. This paper provides a summary of how over thirty years of applied research has led to the current structure of the initiative, the key elements that have supported the success of the initiative and some of the key technical outcomes of the research work.
The second is by Fiona Todd, a recently successful PhD candidate partially supported by Quintessa at the University of Edinburgh. Fiona was supported via Quintessa CASE funding and the industrial sponsorship of Alex Bond. This paper gives a detailed investigation into some of the challenges in the use of old, flooded abandoned mine workings for heat storage. The work presents a comprehensive set of coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical modelling and gives some clear insights into mine stability that could be taken into account in future regulation of such schemes.
The papers show Quintessa’s commitment to supporting the development of understanding of coupled process systems to support making a low-carbon future a reality. Both papers are available as open access articles.
