Interim report on the effects of brine-saturation and shear stress on consolidation of crushed, natural rock salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
The mechanical behavior of crushed natural rock salt is of concern to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Project because excavated salt is a candidate material for use as backfill around the waste packages and in storage rooms, shafts and other underground openings. To complement existing studies on the compaction behavior of dry and damp (i.e., unsaturated) crushed rock salt under hydrostatic compression, we initiated an extensive experimental program to evaluate (1) the effect of brine-saturation on the consolidation rates and terminal densities of crushed salt subjected to hydrostatic compression, and (2) the influence of small deviatoric stresses on the consolidation rate damp crushed rock salt. This investigation is incomplete, and laboratory facilities are limited, therefore, in this report we review available results, in order to make available preliminary estimates of the effects of brine-saturation and shear stress on consolidation. Experiments with brine were carried out under nominally drained conditions. Experiments completed to data include five hydrostatic compaction tests on brine-saturated samples, run at pressures ranging from 1.72 to 10.34 MPa, and two prototype shear consolidation experiments run at a mean stress of 3.45 MPa and a stress difference of 0.69 MPa. Both sets of experiments were run at 20{plus minus}0.5 {degrees}C. Although the experiments on brine-saturated crushed rock salt exhibit several discrepancies, we can draw the following conclusions. (1) Though effects associated with brine-saturated apparently have a retarding effect on consolidation, rates are reduced by less than an order of magnitude when compared with unsaturated specimens. Despite saturation, high fractional densities (>0.95) are attainable even on laboratory time scales using pressures well below lithostatic at the WIPP ({approx} 15 MPa). 23 refs., 26 figs., 5 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 5255579
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-91-0105; ON: DE91018624
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
BACKFILLING
BRINES
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COMPACTING
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DATA
DATA ACQUISITION
DOCUMENT TYPES
EVALUATED DATA
FRACTURE MECHANICS
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GRAIN DENSITY
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROSTATICS
INFORMATION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MECHANICS
MICROSTRUCTURE
MOISTURE
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUMERICAL DATA
PILOT PLANTS
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
SALT DEPOSITS
SATURATION
SHEAR PROPERTIES
SIMULATION
SODIUM CHLORIDES
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS
TESTING
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WATER SATURATION
WIPP