Article (Scientific journals)
Numerical modeling of self-sealing in fractured clayey materials
Quacquarelli, Adriana; Talandier, Jean; Di Donna, Alice et al.
2024In Acta Geotechnica
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Keywords :
COx claystone; Hydro-mechanical coupling; Interface elements; Numerical modeling; Self-sealing; Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology; Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Abstract :
[en] The fractures network generated during the excavation of underground research facilities can induce stress redistribution and alteration of flow and transport properties, becoming preferential paths for releasing radionuclides into the host rock. Nevertheless, in the long term, the fracture can be sealed through the resaturation of water coming from the rock as a function of its self-sealing potential. Despite the large number of experimental studies that have proven the self-sealing capacity of clay rocks, very few attempts have been made to describe and predict the phenomenon numerically. This may be due to the difficulty of measuring the initial hydro-mechanical conditions. Besides, samples artificially fractured in the laboratory can be disturbed by the preparation process itself, which can alter the hydro-mechanical state. This paper addresses that issue by bridging the gap between experiments and numerical modeling. Representative experimental tests performed on Callovo–Oxfordian Claystone (COx) are used to offer a hydro-mechanical fracture law taking into account the self-sealing capacity of the material. Implementing such a model in a finite element code allows its validation through comparison with laboratory tests. Furthermore, the role of the initial fracture size and the evolution of water permeability during the wetting/drying process is investigated. Due to its transmissivity, injected water can penetrate the rock, initially reaching the damaged zone around the fracture before spreading through the entire sample. This progression is accounted in the constitutive equation and represented numerically. Nevertheless, a larger initial crack leads to reduced recovery rates. These results match the experiments, offering a valuable perspective in the modeling of self-sealing in in situ conditions.
Disciplines :
Civil engineering
Author, co-author :
Quacquarelli, Adriana  ;  Urban and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
Talandier, Jean;  R & amp,D Division, Andra, Chatenay-Malabry, France
Di Donna, Alice;  Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, 3SR, Grenoble, France
Collin, Frédéric   ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département ArGEnCo
 These authors have contributed equally to this work.
Language :
English
Title :
Numerical modeling of self-sealing in fractured clayey materials
Publication date :
2024
Journal title :
Acta Geotechnica
ISSN :
1861-1125
eISSN :
1861-1133
Publisher :
Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Funding text :
This research was supported by the University of Liège under Special Funds for Research, IPD-STEMA Program. This work was also carried out in the framework of the EURAD, European Joint Program on Radioactive Waste Management (under Grant agreement No 847593), to which the authors are grateful.
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since 06 May 2024

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