Bentonite-based materials have been considered in many countries as engineered barrier/backfilling materials in deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste.During the long period of waste storage,these ma...Bentonite-based materials have been considered in many countries as engineered barrier/backfilling materials in deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste.During the long period of waste storage,these materials will play an essential role in ensuring the integrity of the storage system that consists of the waste canisters,the engineered barrier/backfill,the retaining structures as well as the geological barrier.Thus,it is essential to well understand the hydro-mechanical behaviours of these bentonite-based materials.This review paper presents the recent advances of knowledge on MX80 bentonite-based materials,in terms of water retention properties,hydraulic behaviour and mechanical behaviour.Emphasis is put on the effect of technological voids and the role of the dry density of bentonite.The swelling anisotropy is also discussed based on the results from swelling tests with measurements of both axial and radial swelling pressures on a sand-bentonite mixture compacted at different densities.Microstructure observation was used to help the interpretation of macroscopic hydromechanical behaviour.Also,the evolution of soil microstructure thus the soil density over time is discussed based on the results from mock-up tests.This evolution is essential for understanding the longterm hydro-mechanical behaviour of the engineered barrier/backfill.展开更多
An overview of the recent findings about the chemo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of materials used for both geological and engineered barriers in nuclear waste disposal is presented, through some examples about the natur...An overview of the recent findings about the chemo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of materials used for both geological and engineered barriers in nuclear waste disposal is presented, through some examples about the natural Boom Clay （BC） and compacted bentonite-based materials. For the natural BC, it was found that compression index identified from both oedometer and isotropic compression tests is sim- ilar and the compressibility of BC from the Mol site is higher than that of BC from the Essen site： the shear strength of Mol BC is also higher than that of the Essen BC, suggesting a significant effect of carbo- nates content; the thermal volume change is strongly overconsolidation ratio （OCR） dependent-low OCR values promote thermal contraction while high OCR values favour thermal dilation; the volume change behaviour is also strongly time dependent and this time dependent behaviour is governed by the stress level and temperature; the effect of pore-water salinity on the volume change behaviour can be signif- icant when the smectite content is relatively high. For the bentonite-based materials, it was found that thermal contraction also occurs at low OCR values, but this is suction dependent--suction promotes ther- mal dilation. Under constant volume conditions, wetting results in a decrease of hydraulic conductivity, followed by an increase. This is found to be related to changes in macro-pores size-wetting induces a decrease of macro-pores size, followed by an increase due to the aggregates fissuring. The presence of technological voids can increase the hydraulic conductivity but does not influence the swelling pressure.展开更多
文摘Bentonite-based materials have been considered in many countries as engineered barrier/backfilling materials in deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste.During the long period of waste storage,these materials will play an essential role in ensuring the integrity of the storage system that consists of the waste canisters,the engineered barrier/backfill,the retaining structures as well as the geological barrier.Thus,it is essential to well understand the hydro-mechanical behaviours of these bentonite-based materials.This review paper presents the recent advances of knowledge on MX80 bentonite-based materials,in terms of water retention properties,hydraulic behaviour and mechanical behaviour.Emphasis is put on the effect of technological voids and the role of the dry density of bentonite.The swelling anisotropy is also discussed based on the results from swelling tests with measurements of both axial and radial swelling pressures on a sand-bentonite mixture compacted at different densities.Microstructure observation was used to help the interpretation of macroscopic hydromechanical behaviour.Also,the evolution of soil microstructure thus the soil density over time is discussed based on the results from mock-up tests.This evolution is essential for understanding the longterm hydro-mechanical behaviour of the engineered barrier/backfill.
文摘An overview of the recent findings about the chemo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of materials used for both geological and engineered barriers in nuclear waste disposal is presented, through some examples about the natural Boom Clay （BC） and compacted bentonite-based materials. For the natural BC, it was found that compression index identified from both oedometer and isotropic compression tests is sim- ilar and the compressibility of BC from the Mol site is higher than that of BC from the Essen site： the shear strength of Mol BC is also higher than that of the Essen BC, suggesting a significant effect of carbo- nates content; the thermal volume change is strongly overconsolidation ratio （OCR） dependent-low OCR values promote thermal contraction while high OCR values favour thermal dilation; the volume change behaviour is also strongly time dependent and this time dependent behaviour is governed by the stress level and temperature; the effect of pore-water salinity on the volume change behaviour can be signif- icant when the smectite content is relatively high. For the bentonite-based materials, it was found that thermal contraction also occurs at low OCR values, but this is suction dependent--suction promotes ther- mal dilation. Under constant volume conditions, wetting results in a decrease of hydraulic conductivity, followed by an increase. This is found to be related to changes in macro-pores size-wetting induces a decrease of macro-pores size, followed by an increase due to the aggregates fissuring. The presence of technological voids can increase the hydraulic conductivity but does not influence the swelling pressure.
