Application of the Kita-Sako model to soil-water characteristic curves of bentonite/sand mixture

抄録

Bentonite/sand mixture is used as one of the materials of the engineered barrier included in the geological disposal for the high-level radioactive waste. It is expected that the swelling of the barrier will be occurred due to decrease in the suction with the increase in the degree of saturation during the post-closure site management of them. The thermo-hydraulic-mechanical (T-H-M) analysis is usually conducted to simulate the behavior of the engineered barrier. Soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) of the Bentonite/Sand Mixture is one of the important parameters in the T-H-M analysis. In this paper, the Kita-Sako model is employed to derive the SWCC of the bentonite/sand mixture. To check the applicability of the model for the Bentonite/Sand Mixture is the purpose of this paper. The concept of the model is firstly introduced and then the applicability of the model for Bentonite/sand mixture is checked. Finally, the improvement of the model is discussed, comparing the calculation results with the soil test results.