Abstract

Maximum swelling deformation of compacted bentonite is the most important parameter for designing nuclear waste disposal facilities. A series of swelling tests were carried out in the laboratory using different percent of bentonite (30 ~ 90%) and different initial dry densities (1.29 ~ 1.95 g/cm³) under various loading condition. The experimental results showed that, the maximum swelling deformation of bentonite is mainly dependent on initial dry density, static load and bentonite contents in bentonite-sand mixture. Based on the experimental results, simple linear equations were developed for estimating the maximum swelling deformation of sodium bentonite. Maximum deviation between the estimated results and the measured ones is 15%.

Key words: Bentonite, swelling deformation, static load, initial dry density.