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Hygrothermal Performance of an Engineered Clay Barrier

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

A.P.S. Selvadurai
Affiliation:
Department of Civil Engineering, Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6
S.C.H. Cheung
Affiliation:
AECL Research, Uhiteshell Laboratories Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada ROE 1L0
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Abstract

A series of laboratory experiments was conducted to establish the heat-induced moisture movement in a bentonitic clay buffer. The buffer material is proposed as an engineered barrier to isolate a heat-emitting high-level nuclear fuel waste container from its emplacement borehole located in a deep rock repository. In the experimental simulation, the hygrothermal phenomena are initiated by a cylindrical heater placed within the compacted buffer material in a borehole centrally located in a granite block. The experimental results illustrate the time-dependent distribution of temperatures within the rock mass and the residual moisture distribution at the termination of the experiment.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1991

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References

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