A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials

The thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of expansive clays has been extensively studied in the last decades due to the potential use of bentonites as components of engineered barrier systems (EBS) in deep geological repositories for high-level and long-lived radioactive wastes. Since the early p...

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Autor: Vasconcellos, Ramon Barboza de
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:CBUC, CESCA
Repositorio:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
OAI Identifier:oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/672141
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/672141
https://dx.doi.org/10.5821/dissertation-2117-349570
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil
55
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dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
title A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
spellingShingle A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
Vasconcellos, Ramon Barboza de
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil
55
624
title_short A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
title_full A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
title_fullStr A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
title_full_unstemmed A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
title_sort A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materials
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Vasconcellos, Ramon Barboza de
author Vasconcellos, Ramon Barboza de
author_facet Vasconcellos, Ramon Barboza de
author_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Gens, A. (Antonio)
Vaunat, Jean
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Enginyeria Civil i Ambiental
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil
55
624
topic Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil
55
624
description The thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of expansive clays has been extensively studied in the last decades due to the potential use of bentonites as components of engineered barrier systems (EBS) in deep geological repositories for high-level and long-lived radioactive wastes. Since the early post closure period, the EBS is subjected to changes in temperature, moisture content and stresses due to the coupled THM processes expected to occur in such an environment. The different structural levels found in unsaturated expansive clays requires the use of constitutive models that considers the explicit distinction of these pore-structure levels in their mathematical formulation in order to reproduce the development of the fabric of bentonite materials subjected to the complex THM paths taking place during the lifetime of a nuclear waste repository. A coupled THM formulation that represents the expansive soil as two overlapped but distinct structural media has been developed in the framework of classical and generalized plasticity theories. In such a double-structure approach, the THM behaviour of the expansive soil is characterized by constitutive laws formulated to account for the relevant processes affecting each porous medium and for the interaction mechanisms relating the deformation and the saturation states of the active clay particles to the structural arrangement of the clay aggregates and to the water potential in the larger interconnected pores. In addition, the mechanical response of the porous medium to any THM loading is intrinsically related to the compressibility of the clay minerals. The irreversible changes in the soil fabric are attributed to the loading-collapse (LC) mechanism and to the micro-macro structural coupling (ß-mechanism). Thermal effects are incorporated into the mathematical formulation of the double structure model, which has been implemented in a finite element code (CODE_BRIGHT) able to solve, in a fully coupled way, the system of partial differential equations arising from the governing equations (balance equations). An explicit and robust integration scheme with automatic sub-stepping and error control has been employed to update the stress tensor and the internal (history) variables. The capabilities of the implemented double-porosity model to predict the expected response of expansive clays under isothermal and non-isothermal scenarios have been checked by the performance of constitutive analyses following a number of prescribed THM paths under confined and unconfined conditions. In addition, sensitivity analyses have been carried out in order to verify the dependence of the local expansive response on the initial conditions and on the sequence of load application. Special attention has been placed on the role played by the pore-water mass transfer between the two pore-structure levels in the development of the swelling potential of the expansive porous medium. The performance of the model in reproducing the actual THM behaviour of laboratory-scale tests has also been examined by means of the modelling of the hydration of two heated columns made of granular bentonite materials, selected as potential buffer materials in the construction of engineered barriers. The comparison between the available experimental data and the model results has shown the ability of the current double-porosity formulation to simulate the main observed features of the THM behaviour of the expansive material when subjected to complex loading paths.
publishDate 2021
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2021
2021
2021
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format doctoralThesis
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10803/672141
https://dx.doi.org/10.5821/dissertation-2117-349570
url http://hdl.handle.net/10803/672141
https://dx.doi.org/10.5821/dissertation-2117-349570
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv 440 p.
application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv TDX (Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa)
reponame:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
instname:CBUC, CESCA
instname_str CBUC, CESCA
reponame_str TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
collection TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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spelling A double-porosity formulation for the THM behaviour of bentonite-based materialsVasconcellos, Ramon Barboza deÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil55624The thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behaviour of expansive clays has been extensively studied in the last decades due to the potential use of bentonites as components of engineered barrier systems (EBS) in deep geological repositories for high-level and long-lived radioactive wastes. Since the early post closure period, the EBS is subjected to changes in temperature, moisture content and stresses due to the coupled THM processes expected to occur in such an environment. The different structural levels found in unsaturated expansive clays requires the use of constitutive models that considers the explicit distinction of these pore-structure levels in their mathematical formulation in order to reproduce the development of the fabric of bentonite materials subjected to the complex THM paths taking place during the lifetime of a nuclear waste repository. A coupled THM formulation that represents the expansive soil as two overlapped but distinct structural media has been developed in the framework of classical and generalized plasticity theories. In such a double-structure approach, the THM behaviour of the expansive soil is characterized by constitutive laws formulated to account for the relevant processes affecting each porous medium and for the interaction mechanisms relating the deformation and the saturation states of the active clay particles to the structural arrangement of the clay aggregates and to the water potential in the larger interconnected pores. In addition, the mechanical response of the porous medium to any THM loading is intrinsically related to the compressibility of the clay minerals. The irreversible changes in the soil fabric are attributed to the loading-collapse (LC) mechanism and to the micro-macro structural coupling (ß-mechanism). Thermal effects are incorporated into the mathematical formulation of the double structure model, which has been implemented in a finite element code (CODE_BRIGHT) able to solve, in a fully coupled way, the system of partial differential equations arising from the governing equations (balance equations). An explicit and robust integration scheme with automatic sub-stepping and error control has been employed to update the stress tensor and the internal (history) variables. The capabilities of the implemented double-porosity model to predict the expected response of expansive clays under isothermal and non-isothermal scenarios have been checked by the performance of constitutive analyses following a number of prescribed THM paths under confined and unconfined conditions. In addition, sensitivity analyses have been carried out in order to verify the dependence of the local expansive response on the initial conditions and on the sequence of load application. Special attention has been placed on the role played by the pore-water mass transfer between the two pore-structure levels in the development of the swelling potential of the expansive porous medium. The performance of the model in reproducing the actual THM behaviour of laboratory-scale tests has also been examined by means of the modelling of the hydration of two heated columns made of granular bentonite materials, selected as potential buffer materials in the construction of engineered barriers. The comparison between the available experimental data and the model results has shown the ability of the current double-porosity formulation to simulate the main observed features of the THM behaviour of the expansive material when subjected to complex loading paths.El comportamiento termo-hidro-mecánico (THM) de las arcillas expansivas ha sido ampliamente estudiado en las últimas décadas debido al uso potencial de bentonitas en barreras de ingeniería (EB) en depósitos geológicos profundos para desechos radiactivos de alta actividad y de larga vida. Desde la post-clausura del repositorio, la EB está sometida a cambios de temperatura, contenido de humedad y tensiones a causa de los procesos acoplados THM que se espera que ocurran en dicho entorno. Los diferentes niveles estructurales presentes en las arcillas expansivas no saturadas requieren el uso de modelos constitutivos que consideren en su formulación matemática la distinción explícita de los distintos tipos de poros a fin de reproducir la evolución estructural de los materiales bentoníticos bajo las complejas trayectorias de cargas THM que tienen lugar durante la vida de un repositorio de residuos nucleares. Se ha desarrollado una formulación THM acoplada, en el marco teórico de la plasticidad clásica y generalizada, que describe el suelo expansivo como dos medios estructurales superpuestos pero distintos. Este planteamiento de modelo de doble porosidad considera que el comportamiento THM del suelo expansivo es descrito por leyes constitutivas que tienen en cuenta los procesos relevantes en cada medio poroso y los mecanismos de interacción que relacionan la deformación y el estado de saturación de las partículas de arcilla activas con la disposición estructural de los agregados de arcilla y con el potencial de agua en los macro poros. Además, la respuesta mecánica del medio poroso bajo cualquier carga THM está intrínsecamente relacionada con la compresibilidad de los minerales de arcilla. Los cambios estructurales irreversibles se atribuyen al mecanismo de carga-colapso (LC) y al acoplamiento estructural micro-macro (mecanismo ß). Los efectos térmicos han sido incorporados a la formulación matemática del modelo de doble estructura, que ha sido implementada en un código de elementos finitos (CODE_BRIGHT) capaz de resolver, de forma totalmente acoplada, el sistema de ecuaciones diferenciales parciales que se originan de las ecuaciones de balance. Se ha empleado un esquema robusto de integración explícito con control automático del incremento de integración y del error para actualizar el tensor de tensiones y las variables de historia. La capacidad del modelo de doble porosidad para predecir la respuesta esperada de las arcillas expansivas en escenarios isotermos y no isotermos se ha comprobado mediante la realización de análisis constitutivos siguiendo trayectorias THM prescritas tanto a volumen constante cuanto en condiciones no confinadas. Además, se han realizado análisis de sensibilidad para verificar la dependencia de la respuesta expansiva de las condiciones iniciales y de la secuencia de aplicación de cargas. Se ha prestado especial atención al papel que desempeña la transferencia de agua entre los dos niveles de poros en el desarrollo del potencial de hinchamiento del medio poroso expansivo. También se ha examinado el desempeño del modelo en la reproducción del comportamiento THM en ensayos a escala de laboratorio mediante la simulación del calentamiento e hidratación de dos columnas de materiales granulares de bentonita seleccionados como potenciales materiales de sellado en la construcción de barreras de ingeniería. La comparación entre los datos experimentales disponibles y los resultados del modelo ha demostrado la capacidad de la presente formulación de doble porosidad de simular los principales aspectos observados en el comportamiento del material expansivo cuando está sometido a trayectorias THM complejas.Enginyeria del terrenyDOCTORAT EN ENGINYERIA DEL TERRENY (Pla 2012)Universitat Politècnica de CatalunyaGens, A. (Antonio)Vaunat, JeanUniversitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Enginyeria Civil i Ambiental202120212021info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesisinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion440 p.application/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10803/672141https://dx.doi.org/10.5821/dissertation-2117-349570TDX (Tesis Doctorals en Xarxa)reponame:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Redinstname:CBUC, CESCAInglésADVERTIMENT. Tots els drets reservats. L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi doctoral i la seva utilització ha de respectar els drets de la persona autora. Pot ser utilitzada per a consulta o estudi personal, així com en activitats o materials d'investigació i docència en els termes establerts a l'art. 32 del Text Refós de la Llei de Propietat Intel·lectual (RDL 1/1996). Per altres utilitzacions es requereix l'autorització prèvia i expressa de la persona autora. En qualsevol cas, en la utilització dels seus continguts caldrà indicar de forma clara el nom i cognoms de la persona autora i el títol de la tesi doctoral. No s'autoritza la seva reproducció o altres formes d'explotació efectuades amb finalitats de lucre ni la seva comunicació pública des d'un lloc aliè al servei TDX. Tampoc s'autoritza la presentació del seu contingut en una finestra o marc aliè a TDX (framing). Aquesta reserva de drets afecta tant als continguts de la tesi com als seus resums i índexs.info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:www.tdx.cat:10803/6721412026-06-14T12:46:07Z
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