The complexity of the mechanics of active clays and, more generally, of geomaterials with clay minerals, under saturated and unsaturated conditions, still provides relevant scientific challenges today. Equally relevant challenges are the understanding of t ...
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 ...
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 ...
Triaxial testing of argillaceous rocks and shales is significantly more challenging than conventional rock mechanical testing. The challenges are mainly related to the very low permeability of these geomaterials, and their sensitivity to exposure of atmosp ...
In neuroscience, the term 'Stress' has a negative connotation because of its potential to trigger or exacerbate psychopathologies. Yet in the face of exposure to stress, the more common reaction to stress is resilience, indicating that resilience is the ru ...
Background: Adaptive recovery from stress promotes healthy cognitive affective functioning, whereas maladaptive recovery is linked to poor psychological outcomes. Neural regions, like the anterior cingulate and hippocampus, play critical roles in psychosoc ...
Mean stress effects on fatigue life of a stainless steel in air and boiling water reactor (BWR) environments were evaluated by load-controlled tests. In stress-life, non-zero mean stresses increase life in low cycle fatigue regime in both environments and ...
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 ...
The response of clayey materials to thermal variation has been the subject of extensive studies, given the wide range of engineering applications which involve subjecting soils to substantial temperature fluctuations. A number of hypotheses have been propo ...
The objective of this thesis is to develop knowledge and methods to prevent fatigue failure of bridges. The Fatigue Limit State is investigated from both the demand (S) and resistance (R) side. The S-part focuses on reduction of uncertainties through monit ...