Effect of radiation on the mechanical properties of Topopah Spring Tuff
This report presents results of a suite of uniaxial compressive tests conducted to provide laboratory data to determine how radiation affects the compressive strength of Topopah Spring Tuff, which is the rock type for the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, in Nevada. The repository would be designed for storing spent fuel and other high-level radioactive wastes. We need to better understand what effect radiation has on the compressive strength of this type of rock because emplacement of radioactive waste may impose a radiation field on the rock that is exposed in the emplacement drifts and other excavations associated with the proposed repository. Thus, we must determine whether exposure to radiation will alter the mechanical strength or other geomechanical properties of the rock in the very near-field region of the repository. Until now, data describing the effect of radiation on tuff from the potential repository horizon have not been available. The approach taken was to precisely measure rock behavior in uniaxial compression on irradiated and non-irradiated samples of Topopah Spring Tuff. Identical procedures were used for preparing and testing the samples tested for radiation effects and those that were not irradiated, except for the exposure to gamma radiation. Results for the irradiated and non-irradiated samples were then compared.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 273786
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID--122899; ON: DE96013897
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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