Publications associées à Water retention behaviour of compacted bentonites: experimental observations and constitutive model

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

Evolution of water content and suction of Opalinus Clay from recovery at the drilling site to handling in the laboratory

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Angelica Tuttolomondo

Advanced geotechnical engineering applications, such as shale gas extraction, CO2 geological sequestration, and geological radioactive waste storage, often involve various types of shales located at significant depths. Shales exhibit mechanical properties ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

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

Microbial hydrogen sinks in the sand-bentonite backfill material for the deep geological disposal of radioactive waste

Rizlan Bernier-Latmani, Manon Frutschi, Niels Burzan, Aislinn Ann Boylan, Nicolas Louis Maurice Jacquemin, Simiao Wang, Camille Aude Rolland

The activity of subsurface microorganisms can be harnessed for engineering projects. For instance, the Swiss radioactive waste repository design can take advantage of indigenous microorganisms to tackle the issue of a hydrogen gas (H2) phase pressure build ...

Frontiers Media SA2024

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

Shear strength and shear stiffness analysis of compacted Wyoming-type bentonite

Alessio Ferrari

Wyoming-type bentonite is one of the materials to be used as part of the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) in deep geological disposal facilities for the safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel.In the KBS-3 type repository, the canisters containing the spent fue ...

ELSEVIER2023

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

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

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

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

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

Structural performance and mechanical properties investigation of spent nuclear fuel rods under static and dynamic bending loads

Efstathios Vlassopoulos

Currently, most Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) is kept safely in storage either at on-site facilities or at centralized interim storage sites. Moreover, many countries face delays in implementing their waste management programmes for SNF and high-level waste dis ...

EPFL2021

An in-situ 3D micro-XRD investigation of water uptake by alkali-silica-reaction (ASR) product

Solène Anne-Lise Albinski, Mahdieh Shakoorioskooie

The ASR products in concrete have various chemical compositions. It is yet unclear whether and how these products develop micro-expansion upon moisture ingress. This paper presents a 3D in-situ observation of the crystallography and volume change of an ASR ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2021

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

A coupled hydro – mechanical approach for modelling the volume change behaviour of compacted bentonite

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

The volumetric response of compacted bentonites against environmental actions is a key aspect in most designs of nuclear waste repositories. The safety assessment of such repositories must account for robust and reliable models of stress–strain for bentoni ...

EDP SCIENCES2020

A numerical study on the coupled hydro-mechanical behaviour of compacted bentonite

Lyesse Laloui, Alessio Ferrari, Jose Antonio Bosch Llufriu

Understanding the mechanical behaviour of compacted bentonite upon re-saturation is of outmost importance in most designs of nuclear waste disposal repositories. The behaviour of bentonite is characterized by its stress-path dependency and it is typically ...

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

High-Fidelity Determination of Nuclide Inventories for Radioactive Waste Disposal

Valentyn Bykov

The general license application (RBG) for the Swiss deep geological repository will be submitted in 2024. Furthermore, the decommissioning of the nuclear power plants (NPPs) is coming soon, with the Mühleberg NPP (KKM) scheduled to shut down in 2019. In su ...

EPFL2019

Hydro-mechanical response of Opalinus Clay shale: dependency on composition and burial depth

Eleonora Crisci

Shales are sedimentary formation currently studied for their involvement in many geo-energy related applications, such as radioactive waste disposal, CO2 sequestration, oil and gas extraction. In Switzerland the Opalinus Clay shale has been selected has ho ...

EPFL2019