In Switzerland,the Opalinus Clay has been selected as a potential host rock for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste due to its low hydraulic conductivity and favorable swelling properties.During the oper...In Switzerland,the Opalinus Clay has been selected as a potential host rock for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste due to its low hydraulic conductivity and favorable swelling properties.During the operational phase of the repository,the host rock will be exposed to pH values as high as 13.5 due to concrete degradation,which will certainly affect its hydraulic properties.This study investigates the effect of pH increase on the water retention properties of Opalinus Clay.A series of samples from the lower sandy facies of the Mont Terri site in Switzerland,at initial dry state,were exposed to a hyperalkaline solution of pH=13.5 and to the synthetic water of pH=7.5 at different water contents.After equilibrium,the total suction was measured with a dew point potentiometer and microstructural analyses were conducted via mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)and nitrogen adsorption-desorption technique.It was found that the total suction decreased with hydration and pH increase.Since the two investigated solutions have the same osmotic suction,the decrease in total suction was attributed to the decrease in matric suction.Indeed,the total porosity increased with saturation and pH increase.This was confirmed by MIP data that evidenced an increase in the proportion of macropores,and by Barret eJoynereHalenda(BJH)data that showed mesopore generation.The specific surface area(SSA)also increased.The previous results were due to mineral hydration and,exclusively in the case of alkaline solution,to(1)the dissolution of quartz and calcite and(2)the acid-base reactions,which were concentrated at the edges of the clay particles,leading to an increase in negatively charged groups and thus to a face-to-face association of the clay particles(dispersion),causing an increase in the repulsive forces between the clay particles.In addition,the weakening of covalent bonds led to the primary dissolution of clay minerals,i.e.silicon and aluminum detachment.展开更多
To overcome the limitations of microscale experimental techniques and molecular dynamics(MD)simulations,a coarse-grained molecular dynamics(CGMD)method was used to simulate the wetting processes of clay aggregates.Bas...To overcome the limitations of microscale experimental techniques and molecular dynamics(MD)simulations,a coarse-grained molecular dynamics(CGMD)method was used to simulate the wetting processes of clay aggregates.Based on the evolution of swelling stress,final dry density,water distribution,and clay arrangements under different target water contents and dry densities,a relationship between the swelling behaviors and microstructures was established.The simulated results showed that when the clay-water well depth was 300 kcal/mol,the basal spacing from CGMD was consistent with the X-ray diffraction(XRD)data.The effect of initial dry density on swelling stress was more pronounced than that of water content.The anisotropic swelling characteristics of the aggregates are related to the proportion of horizontally oriented clay mineral layers.The swelling stress was found to depend on the distribution of tactoids at the microscopic level.At lower initial dry density,the distribution of tactoids was mainly controlled by water distribution.With increase in the bound water content,the basal spacing expanded,and the swelling stresses increased.Free water dominated at higher water contents,and the particles were easily rotated,leading to a decrease in the number of large tactoids.At higher dry densities,the distances between the clay mineral layers decreased,and the movement was limited.When bound water enters the interlayers,there is a significant increase in interparticle repulsive forces,resulting in a greater number of small-sized tactoids.Eventually,a well-defined logarithmic relationship was observed between the swelling stress and the total number of tactoids.These findings contribute to a better understanding of coupled macro-micro swelling behaviors of montmorillonite-based materials,filling a study gap in clay-water interactions on a micro scale.展开更多
Understanding water dynamics under the effect of climatic conditions is important to improve water sustainability over the medium-and long-term.Clay content can affect soil hydrothermal properties,and hence modify wat...Understanding water dynamics under the effect of climatic conditions is important to improve water sustainability over the medium-and long-term.Clay content can affect soil hydrothermal properties,and hence modify water and heat exchange between soil and atmosphere,e.g.evapotranspiration and infiltration.This work aims to develop a numerical approach to explore the influence of clay content on soil hydrothermal response to the timely climatic conditions in the Lake Chad region,Sahel Region of west-central Africa.The meteorological information at the studied points,i.e.points A and B with a clay content of 8.3%and 25%,during the year 2008 is collected from ERA5-Land hourly data.The numerical results allow for understanding the effect of clay content on the hydrothermal response of the surface soil layer.Specifically,the soil surface temperature under point A is lower than that under point B during the dry season due to the dominant effect of heat conduction.However,the converse tendency is observed during the wet season because of the combined effect of heat conduction and latent heat.The variations of soil volumetric water content are closely related to the timely interaction between the soil and atmosphere,in addition to the hydrothermal properties of soil.Moreover,the outcomes of this work improve the understanding of the heat and water dynamics under the effect of climatic conditions and clay content,and provide further insights into the potential water protection in arid and semi-arid regions in the future.展开更多
In order to evaluate the performance of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste,an underground research laboratory(URL)was constructed by Andra in the Callovo-Oxfordian(COx)claystone formation at the Meuse/Haute...In order to evaluate the performance of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste,an underground research laboratory(URL)was constructed by Andra in the Callovo-Oxfordian(COx)claystone formation at the Meuse/Haute-Marne(MHM).The construction of URL induced the excavation damage of host formations,and the ventilation in the galleries desaturated the host formation close to the gallery wall.Moreover,it is expected that the mechanical behaviour of COx claystone is time-dependent.This study presents a constitutive model developed to describe the viscoplastic behaviour of unsaturated and damaged COx claystone.In this model,the unsaturation effect is considered by adopting the Bishop effective stress and the van Genuchten(VG)water retention model.In terms of the viscoplastic behaviour,the nonstationary flow surface(NSFS)theory for unsaturated soils is used with consideration of the coupled effects of strain rate and suction on the yield stress.A progressive hardening law is adopted.Meanwhile,a non-associated flow rule is used,which is similar to that in Barcelona basic model(BBM).In addition,to describe the damage effect induced by suction change and viscoplastic loading,a damage function is defined based on the crack volume proportion.This damage function contains two variables:unsaturated effective stress and viscoplastic volumetric strain,with the related parameters determined based on the mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests.For the model validation,different tests on COx claystone under different loading paths are simulated.Comparisons between experimental and simulated results indicated that the present model is able to well describe the viscoplastic behaviour of damaged COx claystone,including swelling/shrinkage,triaxial extension and compression,and triaxial creep.展开更多
近 10 a 来,用于高放废物工程屏障的高压实膨胀黏土的性状受到了广泛关注。据此通过吸力控制试验获取了一些高压实膨润土的试验数据,并从微观结构特性角度进行了解释。水分滞留和迁移特性,以及吸力变化下的膨胀反应都与微观机理相关,同...近 10 a 来,用于高放废物工程屏障的高压实膨胀黏土的性状受到了广泛关注。据此通过吸力控制试验获取了一些高压实膨润土的试验数据,并从微观结构特性角度进行了解释。水分滞留和迁移特性,以及吸力变化下的膨胀反应都与微观机理相关,同时对吸附阳离子的作用也进行了评价。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In Switzerland,the Opalinus Clay has been selected as a potential host rock for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste due to its low hydraulic conductivity and favorable swelling properties.During the operational phase of the repository,the host rock will be exposed to pH values as high as 13.5 due to concrete degradation,which will certainly affect its hydraulic properties.This study investigates the effect of pH increase on the water retention properties of Opalinus Clay.A series of samples from the lower sandy facies of the Mont Terri site in Switzerland,at initial dry state,were exposed to a hyperalkaline solution of pH=13.5 and to the synthetic water of pH=7.5 at different water contents.After equilibrium,the total suction was measured with a dew point potentiometer and microstructural analyses were conducted via mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)and nitrogen adsorption-desorption technique.It was found that the total suction decreased with hydration and pH increase.Since the two investigated solutions have the same osmotic suction,the decrease in total suction was attributed to the decrease in matric suction.Indeed,the total porosity increased with saturation and pH increase.This was confirmed by MIP data that evidenced an increase in the proportion of macropores,and by Barret eJoynereHalenda(BJH)data that showed mesopore generation.The specific surface area(SSA)also increased.The previous results were due to mineral hydration and,exclusively in the case of alkaline solution,to(1)the dissolution of quartz and calcite and(2)the acid-base reactions,which were concentrated at the edges of the clay particles,leading to an increase in negatively charged groups and thus to a face-to-face association of the clay particles(dispersion),causing an increase in the repulsive forces between the clay particles.In addition,the weakening of covalent bonds led to the primary dissolution of clay minerals,i.e.silicon and aluminum detachment.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.42172308)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS(Grant No.2022331)the Key Research and Development Program of Hubei Province(Grant No.2022BAA036).
文摘To overcome the limitations of microscale experimental techniques and molecular dynamics(MD)simulations,a coarse-grained molecular dynamics(CGMD)method was used to simulate the wetting processes of clay aggregates.Based on the evolution of swelling stress,final dry density,water distribution,and clay arrangements under different target water contents and dry densities,a relationship between the swelling behaviors and microstructures was established.The simulated results showed that when the clay-water well depth was 300 kcal/mol,the basal spacing from CGMD was consistent with the X-ray diffraction(XRD)data.The effect of initial dry density on swelling stress was more pronounced than that of water content.The anisotropic swelling characteristics of the aggregates are related to the proportion of horizontally oriented clay mineral layers.The swelling stress was found to depend on the distribution of tactoids at the microscopic level.At lower initial dry density,the distribution of tactoids was mainly controlled by water distribution.With increase in the bound water content,the basal spacing expanded,and the swelling stresses increased.Free water dominated at higher water contents,and the particles were easily rotated,leading to a decrease in the number of large tactoids.At higher dry densities,the distances between the clay mineral layers decreased,and the movement was limited.When bound water enters the interlayers,there is a significant increase in interparticle repulsive forces,resulting in a greater number of small-sized tactoids.Eventually,a well-defined logarithmic relationship was observed between the swelling stress and the total number of tactoids.These findings contribute to a better understanding of coupled macro-micro swelling behaviors of montmorillonite-based materials,filling a study gap in clay-water interactions on a micro scale.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.42207171).
文摘Understanding water dynamics under the effect of climatic conditions is important to improve water sustainability over the medium-and long-term.Clay content can affect soil hydrothermal properties,and hence modify water and heat exchange between soil and atmosphere,e.g.evapotranspiration and infiltration.This work aims to develop a numerical approach to explore the influence of clay content on soil hydrothermal response to the timely climatic conditions in the Lake Chad region,Sahel Region of west-central Africa.The meteorological information at the studied points,i.e.points A and B with a clay content of 8.3%and 25%,during the year 2008 is collected from ERA5-Land hourly data.The numerical results allow for understanding the effect of clay content on the hydrothermal response of the surface soil layer.Specifically,the soil surface temperature under point A is lower than that under point B during the dry season due to the dominant effect of heat conduction.However,the converse tendency is observed during the wet season because of the combined effect of heat conduction and latent heat.The variations of soil volumetric water content are closely related to the timely interaction between the soil and atmosphere,in addition to the hydrothermal properties of soil.Moreover,the outcomes of this work improve the understanding of the heat and water dynamics under the effect of climatic conditions and clay content,and provide further insights into the potential water protection in arid and semi-arid regions in the future.
文摘In order to evaluate the performance of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste,an underground research laboratory(URL)was constructed by Andra in the Callovo-Oxfordian(COx)claystone formation at the Meuse/Haute-Marne(MHM).The construction of URL induced the excavation damage of host formations,and the ventilation in the galleries desaturated the host formation close to the gallery wall.Moreover,it is expected that the mechanical behaviour of COx claystone is time-dependent.This study presents a constitutive model developed to describe the viscoplastic behaviour of unsaturated and damaged COx claystone.In this model,the unsaturation effect is considered by adopting the Bishop effective stress and the van Genuchten(VG)water retention model.In terms of the viscoplastic behaviour,the nonstationary flow surface(NSFS)theory for unsaturated soils is used with consideration of the coupled effects of strain rate and suction on the yield stress.A progressive hardening law is adopted.Meanwhile,a non-associated flow rule is used,which is similar to that in Barcelona basic model(BBM).In addition,to describe the damage effect induced by suction change and viscoplastic loading,a damage function is defined based on the crack volume proportion.This damage function contains two variables:unsaturated effective stress and viscoplastic volumetric strain,with the related parameters determined based on the mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)tests.For the model validation,different tests on COx claystone under different loading paths are simulated.Comparisons between experimental and simulated results indicated that the present model is able to well describe the viscoplastic behaviour of damaged COx claystone,including swelling/shrinkage,triaxial extension and compression,and triaxial creep.
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.
