Temperature and damage impact on the permeability of Opalinus clay

M. Monfared (1, 2) , Jean Sulem (2, 1) , Pierre Delage (1, 2) , M. Mohajerani (1, 2)

1 cermes - Géotechnique
2 navier umr 8205 - Laboratoire Navier

The effects of temperature on the water transport properties of intact and damaged Opalinus clay (OPA) are investigated by using a recently developed hollow cylinder triaxial cell (Monfared et al. 2011b) that allows full saturation and drainage conditions in low permeability clays and shales. The volumetric response of saturated OPA sample during a drained thermal test shows an irreversible contraction after a temperature threshold. The permeability tests which are performed before and after heating test show that the induced irreversible sample contraction by thermal loading reduces the permeability and storage coefficient of OPA sample. In order to study the effect of temperature on the permeability of a damaged sample of OPA clay, the permeability tests are performed on a saturated OPA sample previously damaged by shearing. The test results show no significant effect of shear type damage on the permeability of the sample at 25°C and at 80°C.

Mots clés: THM behaviour; shale; permeability; damage; thermal contraction

Domaines: Matériaux et structures en mécanique [physics.class-ph]

M. Monfared, Jean Sulem, Pierre Delage, M. Mohajerani. Temperature and damage impact on the permeability of Opalinus clay. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2013, 47, pp.131-142. ⟨10.1007/s00603-013-0459-7⟩. ⟨hal-01084210⟩