Global and local sensitivity analyses for coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical problems

Summary This paper focuses on the sensitivity analysis for coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical problems employing both local and global sensitivity methods. A derivative‐based method is used in the local sensitivity approach, whereas the random balance designs method is used for the global sensitivity analysis. The main goal is to investigate the effect of uncertainties in the constitutive parameters on the results from nonlinear coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical analyses of unsaturated soil behavior whose modeling generally involves large sets of constitutive relations. Knowing the parameter sensitivity allows to qualitatively assess the validity of the results obtained by computational simulations of high‐risk situations, for example, emerging nuclear waste repositories. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.