Developing a new suction and temperature controlled isotropic cell for studying the thermo-mechanical behaviour of compacted MX80 clay

The knowledge on the thermo-mechanical behaviour of compacted bentonites at unsaturated state is helpful for the conception of high-level nuclear waste disposals where this material is used as an engineered barrier. In the present work, a new suction and temperature controlled isotropic cell was developed. This cell allows to perform thermo-mechanical tests under high pressure (p = 0.1 - 60 MPa), at different temperatures (T = 20 - 90 degrees C) and different suctions (s = 4 - 500 MPa). After a careful calibration of the system, some tests were carried out to study the thermo-mechanical behaviour of compacted MX80 bentonite, which is one of the reference materials for engineered barriers. The results obtained were in good agreement with those found in the literature. This confirmed the good functioning of the new cell. Copyright ASCE 2006.