SHEAR PROPERTIES AND PERMEABILITY OF THE JOINT OF BENTONITE BUFFER FOR GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Abstract

In order to understand the shear and hydraulic properties of the joint of bentonite buffer for geological disposal of high level radioactive waste, single plane shear tests and permeability tests were conducted. Two types of bentonite specimens, compressed in the laboratory and compacted at the test site in Kamaishi Mine, were prepared considering construction methods. From these tests, the joint part of the bentonite buffer is the weakest and the most permeable part. However, its influence on shear strength and permeability decreases, after the bentonite buffer is saturated and the effect of swelling is appeared.