Publication

Hollow cylinder simulation experiments of galleries in Boom Clay formation

Related publications (29)

A FEM modelling workflow to simulate THM effects in the rock around nuclear waste packages

High-level waste, stemming from nuclear electricity generation poses significant environmental and safety concerns. Currently, high-level wastes are stored in interim facilities needing constant monitoring and waiting for a definitive solution. Deep geolog ...

EPFL2024

Thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone under thermal changes

Héloïse Manon Fuselier

Underground storage of radioactive waste is consensually recognised as the safest storage solution by European and worldwide countries relying mainly or partially on nuclear energy production. Over twenty years of research led by the French national agency ...

EPFL2024

Resolving the vicinity of supermassive black holes with gravitational microlensing

Georgios Vernardos

Upcoming wide-field surveys will discover thousands of new strongly lensed quasars which will be monitored with unprecedented cadence by the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Many of these quasars will undergo caustic-crossing events over the 10-yr L ...

Oxford Univ Press2024

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Water Exchange of Opalinus Clay Samples

Alessio Ferrari, Qazim Llabjani, Eleni Stavropoulou, Vincenzo Sergio Vespo

Opalinus Clay is a fine-grained sedimentary geomaterial with a mineral composition consisting mainly of silicates, carbonates and quartz. Due to its favourable barrier properties, this geomaterial has been selected as the host rock for the underground disp ...

Wei Wu, Universität für Bodenkultur2023

Hydro-Mechanical Characterization of a Shale by Unusually High-Pressure Oedometric Tests

Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

The note presents selected results of an experimental campaign conducted with the aim to investigate the hydro-mechanical behaviour of a shale recovered at a depth of about 900 m below the ground. High-pressure oedometric tests were performed to investigat ...

Wei Wu, Universität für Bodenkultur2023

Primordial black hole isocurvature modes from non-Gaussianity

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are black holes that might have formed in high density regions in the early universe. The presence of local-type non-Gaussianity can lead to large-scale fluctuations in the PBH formation rate. If PBHs make up a non-negligible ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2023

Cross verified independent measurements of correlated bubble property distributions as part of the scale-up of a catalytic bubbling fluidized bed reactor

Philipp Fedor Riechmann

Methanation can be applied as part of a Power-to-Gas (PtG) concept to store renewable electricity. Using a catalytic bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) methanation reactor allows a flexible and economic operation. Properties of bubbles rising through the fluidiz ...

EPFL2022

Exploring the inner workings of the clove hitch knot

Paul Grandgeorge, Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis, Paul Johanns, Tomohiko Sano, Changyeob Baek

We perform a combined experimental and computational investigation of the clove hitch knot. We develop a physical model for the clove hitch by tying an elastic rod onto a rigid cylinder. In the experiments, we characterize the mechanical performance, geome ...

ELSEVIER2022

Growth and persistence of an aerobic microbial community in Wyoming bentonite MX-80 despite anoxic in-situ conditions

Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, Manon Frutschi, Roberta Murad Lima, Niels Burzan

Microbial activity has the potential to enhance the corrosion of high-level radioactive waste disposal canisters, which, in the proposed Swiss deep geological repository, will be embedded in bentonite and placed in the Opalinus Clay rock formation (OPA). T ...

Frontiers Media SA2022

Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment: Current Developments

Lyesse Laloui, Roba Houhou

Geomechanics is advancing our understanding of the multi-physical processes encountered in engineering practices involving energy storage and production and environmental protection for which the characterization of the behavior of relevant materials is es ...

2022

Physical characterization of fault rocks within the Opalinus Clay formation

Luis Felipe Orellana Espinoza, Marie Estelle Solange Violay, Christophe Nussbaum

Near-surface disposal of radioactive waste in shales is a promising option to safeguard the population and environment. However, natural faults intersecting these geological formations can potentially affect the long-term isolation of the repositories. Thi ...

Nature Research2022

Effect of the mineralogical composition on the elastoplastic hydromechanical response of Opalinus Clay shale

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Eleonora Crisci

Opalinus Clay is the shale currently under investigation as the host formation for geological radioactive waste disposal in Switzerland. Its hydromechanical response has been widely studied, and the experimental results show a range of values whose dispers ...

2021

Studies on the mechanical evolution of compacted bentonite subjected to environmental actions

Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

Deep geological disposal is currently the most feasible option for the long-term isolation of radioactive waste, consisting in emplacing the waste into tunnels or drifts excavated at great depths in suitable geological formations. The use of bentonite, a h ...

EPFL2021

New Reliability Assessment of MEMS Components under Accumulative Testing for Space Applications

Maxime Auchlin

This dissertation proposes a novel accumulative test method for MEMS-based, commercial off-the-shelves inertial measure units (IMUs) from the automotive field. The need for clarification and augmentation of the corpus of knowledge on MEMS reliability for s ...

EPFL2021

Growth and viability of microorganisms in bentonite and their potential activity in deep geological repository environments

Niels Burzan

Radioactive waste is among the most dangerous anthropogenic waste and its safe disposal is a challenging multi-generational task. Many nations have sought for the peaceful application of nuclear fission for the reliable production of electric energy to pow ...

EPFL2021

Bentonite clay barriers in nuclear waste repositories

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

Deep disposal of high-level radioactive waste is the preferred solution worldwide for the long-term disposal of nuclear waste. This concept involves a series of geological and engineered barriers that provide isolation of the waste from the biosphere. Most ...

EDP SCIENCES2020

The shear strength of Opalinus Clay shale in the remoulded state

Alessio Ferrari

The Opalinus Clay shale formation is considered as a potential host geomaterial for the Swiss deep geological repository for radioactive waste. It presents different facies and it is characterised by a multi-scale heterogeneous composition, by a typical fi ...

2020

How to weave a perfect sphere with curved strips

Mark Pauly, Francis Julian Panetta, Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis, Yingying Ren, Tian Chen, Samuel Jean Bernard Poincloux

Triaxial weaving, a craft technique that enables the generation of surfaces with tri-directional arrays of initially straight elastic strips, has long been loved by basket makers and artists seeking a combination of practical and aesthetically-pleasing str ...

American Physical Society2020

Finite Element Modeling of Tight Elastic Knots

Paul Grandgeorge, Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis, Paul Johanns, Tomohiko Sano, Changyeob Baek

We present a methodology to simulate the mechanics of knots in elastic rods using geometrically nonlinear, full three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis. We focus on the mechanical behavior of knots in tight configurations, for which the full 3D defo ...

2020

Young's modulus and creep of calcium-silicate-hydrate compacts measured by microindentation

Karen Scrivener, Pietro Lura, Zhangli Hu

In this paper, compacts of synthetic calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) with 0.8-1.5 calcium-to-silicon ratio (Ca/Si) and 30-80% porosity were prepared by one-direction cold pressing. The Young's modulus and the creep of C-S-H compacts were measured by micro ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2020