Mechanical properties and consolidation of potential DHLW (Defense High-Level Wastes) backfill materials: Crushed salt and 70/30 bentonite/sand. [Crushed salt: bentonite = 70:30 by weight]

Technical Report · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:6450062

Pfeifle, T W

Thermomechanical properties of intact rock salt and the waste package materials have appeared in the literature. Only limited data is available, however, for the two backfill materials of interest in the analyses, crushed salt and 70/30 (by weight) bentonite/sand. A unique property of bentonite-based materials is the propensity for clay particles to swell as a result of water sorption. If volume expansion is prevented or partially restricted, pressures are built up within the bentonite materials. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to supply appropriate data (not available in the literature) in support of the aforementioned detailed thermomechanical stress analyses. The study consists of laboratory tests performed on samples of crushed salt and 70/30 bentonite/sand. The remainder of this report is organized into five chapters and four appendixes. Chapter 2 describes the specimens tested in this study. Chapter 3 describes the testing machines and test procedures used. Chapter 4 gives the results of the tests on crushed salt and 70/30 bentonite/sand. Chapter 5 gives conclusions of the test program and is followed by a list of cited references. Four appendixes conclude the report. The first and second give stress-strain curves for the unconfined compression tests on crushed salt and 70/30 bentonite/sand, respectively; the third gives details of the algorithm used to compute volumetric strains during hydrostatic compression tests which accounts for vessel volume change; while the final appendix gives mean stress-volumetric strain curves for the hydrostatic compression tests. 16 refs., 18 figs., 10 tabs.

• Research Organization: RE/SPEC, Inc., Rapid City, SD (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6450062
• Report Number(s): SAND-85-7208; ON: DE87012509
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BENTONITE
BOREHOLES
CASKS
CAVITIES
CLAYS
COMPRESSION
COMPRESSION STRENGTH
CONTAINERS
CREEP
DATA
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NUMERICAL DATA
PACKINGS
PARTICLE SIZE
POISSON RATIO
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SALT DEPOSITS
SAND
SIZE
STRAINS
STRESSES
SWELLING
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE FORMS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
YOUNG MODULUS