Experimental study on hydro-mechanical coupling behaviours of highly compacted expansive clay

Highly compacted expansive clays have been usually considered as a possible material for sealing and backfill in deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. In this condition, the material is simultaneously subjected to water infiltration from the geological barrier and stresses generated by the swelling of engineered barriers in confined conditions. Its behaviour under hydro-mechanical loading is essential to the safe design of the whole storage system. In the present work, MX80 bentonite, a kind of expansive clay from Wyoming, USA, was studied. After compaction, its dry density was 1.8 Mg/m^3 and its initial suction was 110 MPa. Firstly, the soil was humidified under controlled suction and free-swelling conditions. Significant swelling was observed. Secondly, four values of suction of 110, 39, 9 and 0 MPa were employed to perform isotropic compressive tests at constant suction conditions. That allowed studying the effect of suction on the yield pressure, elastic and plastic compressibility parameters. The results show that the elastic and plastic compressibility parameters increase when the suction decreases. The relationship between these parameters and the logarithm of suction can be linearly correlated. The yield stress drastically decreases upon wetting under free-swelling conditions, from 12 - 18 MPa （at an initial suction of 110 MPa） to 0.2 MPa at saturated state.

The coupled hydro-mechanical behaviours of compacted crushed Callovo-Oxfordian argillite

Callovo-Oxfordian （COx） argillite obtained from the excavation of high-level radioactive waste geological disposal has been evaluated as an alternative sealing/backfill material in France. This paper presents an experimental investigation into the hydro-mechanical behaviour of compacted crushed COx argillite. A series of oedorneter compressive tests including various loading-unloading cycles were conducted on COx argillite powders at different initial water contents. After reaching the desired dry density （2.0 Mg/m^3）, the vertical stress was reduced to different levels （7.0 and 0.5 MPa） and the compacted sample was then flooded under constant volume conditions while measuring the changes in the vertical stress. It was found that the initial water content significantly affects the compressive behaviour. The measured saturated hydraulic conductivity is less than 1×10^-10m/s.

Morphological and mechanical analysis of natural marble joints submitted to shear tests

In order to evaluate the influence of the surface morphology on the mechanical behavior of twelve natural marble joints, very accurate topography measurements of joint surfaces under constant normal load （CNL） conditions were performed before and after shear tests. The surface topography was carried out using a three-dimensional （3D） laser-scanning profilometer with a parallel grid at a regular interval of 500 gin. Each surface before shearing was reconstructed by geostatistical methods according to eight different directions. A quantitative description of surfaces was performed using global and directional statistical parameters. These parameters allow to determine the surface anisotropy and to divide the .joints into three groups of similar morphology according to a given direction. Each sample of the same group is submitted to the same normal stress but to different shear rates ranging from 5 to 20 gm/s. The influences of normal stress and shear rate on the mechanical behavior of the discontinuities were investigated, as well as the influence of the sample morphology on its dilatancy behavior. The morphology data of upper and lower walls also permit to quantify the contact areas before testing. After the shear tests, sheared surfaces were scanned again and reconstructed according to the shearing direction. Based on the topography data of joint surfaces obtained before and after shearing, damage zones that occurred during shearing were located for both walls of each .joint. These characterizations of joint surfaces contribute to a better understanding of the shearing behavior of natural discontinuities.

On the thermo-mechanical properties of unsaturated soils

The establishment of energy balance equation is necessary to study the thermo-mechanical properties of unsaturated soils.To solve this equation,the determination of two fundamental parameters as volumetric specific parameter and thermal conductivity coefficient is essential.In this paper,the effective thermal conductivity coefficient of dry soil grain is analyzed for soils with different compositions,and the thermo-mechanical properties of porous media with water and gas are studied by considering the soil water retention curve（SWRC）.Different methods,i.e.volumetric average method,self-consistent method,Hashin-Strikman method,are employed to calculate thermal conductivity coefficients,and a new method is proposed to determine the thermo-mechanical parameters.Comparison of the results obtained by different methods shows that the proposed method is in a good agreement with the experimental results and is suitable for describing the main properties of the thermo-mechanical behaviors of soils.The relationship between the SWRC and the seepage curve is further studied by the natural proportional rule.The characteristics of the SWRC,its differential coefficient and the seepage curve,are investigated by considering the physico-mechanical mechanism;the limit scopes of the indices of the SWRC and the seepage curve are also given.

Revisiting the methods of determining hydraulic conductivity of saturated expansive clays in low-compressibility zone

The hydraulic conductivity of saturated clays is commonly determined either directly by monitoring water flux or indirectly based on Terzaghi’s consolidation equation.Similar results are generally obtained from the two methods,but sometimes a significant difference can be observed,in particular for expansive soils.In this study,the hydraulic conductivities determined by the two methods are first compared based on existing data in the literature.The indirect method is then revisited attempting to explain the difference identified.A modified effective stress,considering physico-chemical interaction between face-to-face oriented particles,is finally introduced to better describe the compressibility of expansive clays and to further improve the indirect method in determining hydraulic conductivity of such soils in the low-compressibility zone.Extra tests were performed on Gaomiaozi(GMZ)bentonite slurry and the results obtained allowed the modified indirect method to be verified.

土体干缩裂隙的形成发育过程及机理

土体干缩开裂（龟裂）是一种常见的自然现象,龟裂的产生会破坏土体的完整性,极大地弱化土体的工程性质。基于室内试验结果,发现龟裂发育过程可分为3个典型阶段,具有很强的时序特征,且新生裂隙一般垂直已有裂隙生长。根据水土相互作用原理和基本土力学理论,建立了土体龟裂概念模型,对实验室和自然界中观测到的相关龟裂现象及其机理进行了分析,得到如下主要结论：（1）土体中存在收缩变形空间是龟裂发育的前提,主要与土质条件有关;（2）龟裂是土体发生张拉破坏的表现形式,孔隙水的表面张力及干燥过程中引起的基质吸力（毛细水作用力）会在土体中形成张拉应力场,这是导致龟裂的主要力学诱因;（3）当张拉应力场的大小超过土体的抗拉强度或土颗粒间的联接强度时,裂隙便会产生,导致局部区域积聚的应变能释放,应力场重新调整。从宏观上看,基质吸力和抗拉强度是控制龟裂发育的两个关键力学指标,但从微观上看,土体材料尤其是结构的非均质性对裂隙发育过程和裂隙网络的几何形态特征均有重要影响。通常情况下,大部分裂隙都是在饱和阶段产生,且裂隙产生时对应的临界含水率有可能高于液限;土体表面上的＂杂点＂易导致应力集中,裂隙往往率先在＂杂点＂处产生;（4）受表面和裂隙面张拉应力场的共同作用,表层土体边缘会发生向上卷曲变形,产生＂煎饼效应＂。此外,土体在收缩过程中还存在收缩核现象。

Clays in radioactive waste disposal

Clays and argillites are considered in some countries as possible host rocks for nuclear waste disposal at great depth.The use of compacted swelling clays as engineered barriers is also considered within the framework of the multi-barrier concept.In relation to these concepts,various research programs have been conducted to assess the thermo-hydro-mechanical properties of radioactive waste disposal at great depth.After introducing the concepts of waste isolation developed in Belgium,France and Switzerland,the paper describes the retention and transfer properties of engineered barriers made up of compacted swelling clays in relation to microstructure features.Some features of the thermo-mechanical behaviors of three possible geological barriers,namely Boom clay（Belgium）,Callovo-Oxfordian clay（France） and Opalinus clay（Switzerland）,are then described,including the retention and transfer properties,volume change behavior,shear strength and thermal aspects.

Effects of mineralogy on thermo-hydro-mechanical parameters of MX80 bentonite

Thermal conductivity, water retention curve and swelling behavior of two MX80 bentonite samples were studied in the present work. The difference obtained from these two MX80 bentonite samples was then analyzed in terms of mineralogical effects （effects of the proportion of quartz and montmorillonite）. It was concluded that the mineralogical effect was significant on the thermal conductivity and the swelling capacity; on the contrary, it was negligible on the water retention property.

滚动状态下轮胎/路面接触力对噪声预测相关性的试验研究

在过去几十年里,降低轮胎/路面噪声一直是道路交通噪声治理的主要方面。轮胎/路面噪声的产生机理非常复杂,包括轮胎振动、空气泵浦和粘吸/滑动现象等。为了能够很好地预测轮胎/路面噪声,需要准确地描述轮胎/路面接触的相互作用。

胶凝材料纳米分析的最新进展(英文)

大多数的岩土材料,像土、石材和许多建筑材料,都存在着复杂的多层次孔隙结构,其孔隙尺寸一般从纳米级到宏观尺度不等。要优化这些材料的性能,一个关键因素就是如何表征和控制其多尺度的孔隙结构。以前的技术无法研究长度范围在0.1nm到几百nm之间的三维空间结构,而采用高分辨率的软X射线显微镜可以弥补这个缺陷,并集中展示其在胶凝材料研究中的应用。