Main outcomes from in situ thermo-hydro-mechanical experiments programme to demonstrate feasibility of radioactive high-level waste disposal in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone

In the context of radioactive waste disposal,an underground research laboratory(URL)is a facility in which experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing and operating a radioactive waste disposal facility within a geological formation.The Meuse/Haute-Marne URL is a sitespecific facility planned to study the feasibility of a radioactive waste disposal in the Callovo-Oxfordian(COx)claystone.The thermo-hydro-mechanical(THM)behaviour of the host rock is significant for the design of the underground nuclear waste disposal facility and for its long-term safety.The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency(Andra)has begun a research programme aiming to demonstrate the relevancy of the French high-level waste(HLW)concept.This paper presents the programme implemented from small-scale(small diameter)boreholes to full-scale demonstration experiments to study the THM effects of the thermal transient on the COx claystone and the strategy implemented in this new programme to demonstrate and optimise current disposal facility components for HLW.It shows that the French high-level waste concept is feasible and working in the COx claystone.It also exhibits that,as for other plastic clay or claystone,heating-induced pore pressure increases and that the THM behaviour is anisotropic.

Understanding Pseudocapacitance Mechanisms by Synchrotron X-ray Analytical Techniques

Pseudocapacitive materials that store charges via reversible surface or near-surface faradaic reactions are capable of overcoming the capacity limitations of electrical double-layer capacitors.Revealing the structure–activity relationship between the microstructural features of pseudocapacitive materials and their electrochemical performance on the atomic scale is the key to build high-performance capacitor-type devices containing ideal pseudocapacitance effect.Currently,the high brightness(flux),and spectral and coherent nature of synchrotron X-ray analytical techniques make it a powerful tool for probing the structure–property relationship of pseudocapacitive materials.Herein,we report a comprehensive and systematic review of four typical characterization techniques(synchrotron X-ray diffraction,pair distribution function[PDF]analysis,soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy,and hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy)for the study of pseudocapacitance mechanisms.In addition,we offered significant insights for understanding and identifying pseudocapacitance mechanisms(surface redox pseudocapacitance,intercalation pseudocapacitance,and the extrinsic pseudocapacitance phenomenon in battery materials)by combining in situ hard XAS and electrochemical analyses.Finally,a perspective for further depth of understanding into the pseudocapacitance mechanism using synchrotron X-ray analytical techniques is proposed.

In situ revealing the reconstruction behavior of monolayer rocksalt CoO nanosheet as water oxidation catalyst

The reconstruction during oxygen evolution reaction (OER) significantly affects the electronic and local geometry structure of metal sites in electrocatalyst.Compared with well-investigated cobalt-based materials,the reconstruction of rocksalt CoO with purely Co^(2+) in octahedral (Oh) coordination has not been revealed in detail.Herein,monolayer Co O supported on reduced graphene oxide (r GO) was synthesized via a one-pot hydrothermal strategy with calcinating in Ar atmosphere.The structure evolution of twodimension (2D) Co O/r GO during OER was revealed by in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS).The transition from Co O toward Co3O_(4) already occurred at open circuit potential,further enhanced at 1.23 V (vs.RHE).The Co Ox(OH)ywas determined as the active phase at 1.53 V,displaying a tetrahedral Co coordination defective spinel Co_(3)O_(4) with the Co-O shell that featured the (oxy)hydroxide,not the standard Co OOH.After OER,the irreversible transition from CoO to Co_(3)O_(4) was observed.In contrast,in situ Raman spectra revealed a reversible amorphization process on Co_(3)O_(4)/r GO under operation conditions.Furthermore,this study indicated that the reconstruction behavior could be more effectively revealed by XAS using 2D materials.

Analysis of sp Pillar Stability Experiment: Continuous thermo-mechanical model development and calibration

The paper describes an analysis of thermo-mechanical （TM） processes appearing during the Aspo Pillar Stability Experiment （APSE）. This analysis is based on finite elements with elasticity, plasticity and dam- age mechanics models of rock behaviour and some least squares calibration techniques. The main aim is to examine the capability of continuous mechanics models to predict brittle damage behaviour of gran- ite rocks. The performed simulations use an in-house finite element software GEM and self-developed experimental continuum damage MATLAB code. The main contributions are twofold. First, it is an inverse analysis, which is used for （1） verification of an initial stress measurement by back analysis of conver- gence measurement during construction of the access tunnel and （2） identification of heat transfer rock mass properties by an inverse method based on the known heat sources and temperature measurements. Second, three different hierarchically built models are used to estimate the pillar damage zones, i.e. elas- tic model with Drucker-Prager strength criterion, elasto-plastic model with the same yield limit and a combination of elasto-plasticity with continuum damage mechanics. The damage mechanics model is also used to simulate uniaxial and triaxial compressive strength tests on the ,Aspo granite.

Field experimental study on the effect of thawed depth of frozen alpine meadow soil on rill erosion by snowmelt waterflow

Soil erosion by snow or ice melt waterflow is an important type of soil erosion in many high-altitude and high-latitude regions and is further aggravated by climate warming.The snowmelt waterflow erosion process is affected by soil freeze-thaws and is highly dynamically variable.In this study,a methodology was developed to conduct in situ field experiments to investigate the effects of the thawed depth of the frozen soil profile on snowmelt waterflow erosion.The method was implemented on an alpine meadow soil slope at an altitude of 3700 m on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.The erosion experiments involved five thawed soil depths of 0,10,30(35),50,and 80(100)mm under two snowmelt waterflow rates(3 and 5 L/min).When the topsoil was fully frozen or shallow-thawed(≤10 mm),its hydrothermal and structural properties caused a significant lag in the initiation of runoff and delayed soil erosion in the initial stage.The runoff and sediment concentration curves for fully frozen and shallow-thawed soil showed two-stage patterns characteristic of a sediment supply limited in the early stage and subject to hydrodynamic-controlled processes in the later stage.However,this effect did not exist where the thawed soil depth was greater than 30 mm.The deep-thawed cases(≥30 mm)showed normal hydrograph and sedigraph patterns similar to those of the unfrozen soil.The findings of this study are important for understanding the erosion rates of partially thawed soil and for improving erosion simulations in cold regions.

Mechanistic Drifting Forecast Model for A Small Semi-Submersible Drifter Under Tide–Wind–Wave Conditions

Understanding the drifting motion of a small semi-submersible drifter is of vital importance regarding monitoring surface currents and the floating pollutants in coastal regions. This work addresses this issue by establishing a mechanistic drifting forecast model based on kinetic analysis. Taking tide–wind–wave into consideration, the forecast model is validated against in situ drifting experiment in the Radial Sand Ridges. Model results show good performance with respect to the measured drifting features, characterized by migrating back and forth twice a day with daily downwind displacements. Trajectory models are used to evaluate the influence of the individual hydrodynamic forcing. The tidal current is the fundamental dynamic condition in the Radial Sand Ridges and has the greatest impact on the drifting distance. However, it loses its leading position in the field of the daily displacement of the used drifter. The simulations reveal that different hydrodynamic forces dominate the daily displacement of the used drifter at different wind scales. The wave-induced mass transport has the greatest influence on the daily displacement at Beaufort wind scale 5–6; while wind drag contributes mostly at wind scale 2–4.

Prospect and research progress of detecting dynamic change in crustal stress by bedrock temperature

A new method of detecting stress change by temperature(DSCT),has been recently proposed on the basis of the experimental results in laboratory,and verified by field observation.In this paper,at first,physical background is concisely introduced,and experimental researches are followed.Then,the key techniques are reviewed,and the main results on in-situ observations are also given in detail.At last,we emphasize on the prospects of this method for being investigated further.The potential prospect includes six contents:(1)to observe the tidal force and its secondary fluid thermal effect;(2)to study temperature response to change in direction of the stress change;(3)to carry out practical engineering application;(4)to analyze the strong earthquake risk,based on bedrock temperature observation;(5)to conduct in situ experiment on DSCT;(6)to explain quantitatively the satellite thermal infrared anomaly.In short,considering that the dynamic change of the crustal stress is a key parameter of earthquake forecasting or engineering application,the method of DSCT has important practical significance for earthquake risk or engineering applications.

Distinct potential aerosol masses under different scenarios of transport at a suburban site of Beijing

In order to evaluate the secondary aerosol formation potential at a suburban site of Beijing,in situ perturbation experiments in a potential aerosol mass（PAM） reactor were carried out in the winter of 2014.The variations of secondary aerosol formation as a function of time,OH exposure,and the concentrations of gas phase pollutants and particles were reported in this study.Two periods with distinct secondary aerosol formation potentials,marked as Period Ⅰ and Period Ⅱ,were identified during the observation.In Period Ⅰ,the secondary aerosol formation potential was high,and correlated well to the air pollutants,i.e.,SO2,NO2,and CO.The maximal secondary aerosol formation was observed with an aging time equivalent to about 3 days of atmospheric oxidation.In period Ⅱ,the secondary aerosol formation potential was low,with no obvious correlation with the air pollutants.Meanwhile,the aerosol mass decreased,instead of showing a peak,with increasing aging time.Backward trajectory analysis during the two periods confirmed that the air mass in Period Ⅰwas mainly from local sources,while it was attributed mostly to long distance transport in Period Ⅱ.The air lost its reactivity during the long transport and the particles became highly aged,resulting in a low secondary aerosol formation potential.Our experimental results indicated that the in situ measurement of the secondary aerosol formation potential could provide important information for evaluating the contributions of local emission and long distance transport to the aerosol pollution.

Damage evolution of PμLSE additive-manufactured micro-lattice metastructures: Synchrotron radiation 3D tomography image-based analysis

The manufacturing of additives with projection micro litho stereo exposure(PμLSE)has provided an opportunity for the fabrication of metastructures with complex microstructures at micro-nano resolutions.However,the performance evaluation of as-fabricated metastructures is challenging.The benefit of synchrotron radiation-based 3 D imaging techniques and advanced image processing methods makes it is feasible to study fabrication defects and damage processes of micro-nanoscale bodycentered cubic(BCC)lattices manufactured with PμLSE.First,synchrotron radiation technology is used to capture the structural features inside the micro-lattice samples.Subsequently,several types of statistical defects-based image finite element models are adopted to analyze the failure process of the structure under compression loading.Finally,comparisons between in situ experiments and numerical simulation results are performed for verification.The method of the combined non-destructive testing of synchrotron radiation and image finite element technology provides a robust technique for evaluating the performances of additive-manufactured micro-lattice with complex microstructures.