Experimental Investigation of Hydromechanical Coupling During Clay Drying.

Boom clay is studied as a potential host rock for underground nuclear waste storage. This experimental work analyzes its response under the convective drying conditions that may be applied in case of contact with the ambient atmosphere (during disposal drilling, for instance) or with gallery ventilation (because of damage in gallery lining). The drying kinetics is first established. In a second phase, the cracking and shrinkage onset and development are focused on, thanks to an X-ray microtomography device. The results show a phase of ideal shrinkage and a phase of shrinkage with desaturation, which are closely related to the kinetics. Cracking and shrinkage progressively develop from the drying surface, up to values representing about 3 and 12% of the cross section area, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]