In-situ monitoring of micro-tunnel geometry change based on distributed optical fiber strain sensing

Abstract

Underground radioactive waste disposal facilities must be monitored to guarantee their correct and safe exploitation during the early stage of their service life. This will be the case in Cigéo, the french industrial geological disposal facility for high-level and intermediate-level long-lived waste, which must be monitored for the first a hundred years at least. For this purpose optical fiber strain sensing cables can be chosen for their low intrusivity and resistance to harsh radiation environment. In this paper, a monitoring method able to follow shape evolution of the structure’s section, based on distributed strain sensing is tested on a high-level waste disposal cell mock-up, a steel lined micro-tunnel of 762 mm of outer diameter. The cell demonstrator is built in Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory, in the same geological environment as the one envisaged for Cigéo but it is empty of waste. After 7 months of loading of the rock around the mock-up, a maximum of 2 mm of diameter reduction is observed with Rayleigh-scattering based strain sensing technique and 10 mm of spatial resolution around the circumference. This validation under realistic test conditions opens up to the use of the method in-situ for tunnel monitoring in harsh environment.