Abstract

Many studies have recently been conducted to evaluate various mechanical characteristics of the Opalinus Clay (OPA) formation in view of its potential use as the hosting rock for the Swiss nuclear waste repositories. Its sedimentary bedding makes OPA a transversely isotropic rock and its directional mechanical properties need to be measured. This paper reports on an experimental and computational approach that was adopted to define the parallel-to-bedding fracture mechanics (FM) parameters of OPA in Mode-I. OPA cores from Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory (URL) were submitted to laboratory tests on notched semi-circular specimens under three-point bending (SCB). In these tests, crack propagation is forced along the notch direction. However, the 45° bedding inclination of the specimen axis frequently deviated the crack from the expected direction. An analysis of the SCB tests was performed by means of non-linear FM techniques and the pertinent Mode-I parameters along the bedding were estimated.

Autore Pugliese

• Fidelibus Corrado

Tutti gli autori

• Valente S , Fidelibus C , Loew S , Cravero M , Iabichino G , Barpi F

Titolo volume/Rivista

ROCK MECHANICS AND ROCK ENGINEERING

Anno di pubblicazione

2012

ISSN

0723-2632

ISBN

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile

Numero di citazioni Scopus

3

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

2017-04-22 03:20:59

Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile