Hydro-mechanical constitutive model for unsaturated compacted bentonite–sand mixture (BSM): Laboratory tests, parameter calibrations, modifications, and applications

Abstract

A bentonite–sand mixture (BSM) is one of the clay-based sealing components proposed for use in a Canadian deep geological repository (DGR) for used nuclear fuel. Numerical modelling to assess the overall design of the proposed DGR requires characterisation of the hydraulic–mechanical (H–M) of each of the components of the sealing system, including the BSM. The BSM currently under consideration is a 50/50 mixture (by dry mass) of bentonite and well-graded silica sand, compacted to a dry density of at least 1.67 Mg/m 3. This paper presents the H–M constitutive model parameters, calibrated for BSM specimens under saturated and unsaturated conditions, based on various laboratory tests. A set of parameters for an elastoplastic model for unsaturated soil, Basic Barcelona Model (BBM), have been determined to simulate the mechanical behaviour of the BSM specimen. A set of parameters for van Genuchten’s Soil–Water Characteristic Curve (SWCC) and Kozeny’s hydraulic permeability model have been determined to simulate the hydraulic behaviour of the BSM specimen. Using a finite element computer code, CODE_BRIGHT, these sets of parameters have been used to simulate H–M processes in BSM specimens during water infiltration under constant volume (CV) and constant mean stress (CMS) boundary conditions. The key features of the selected constitutive models that are different from the laboratory tests of the BSM specimen have been summarised. The functions to improve the capability of the selected constitutive models to match the laboratory test results of the BSM specimen have been proposed.