Numerical and experimental investigation of a large scale field test for an underground highly toxic waste disposal facility

摘要

Sealing constructions are a key element in concepts for underground highly toxic waste disposal facilities. In this paper we report about a large scale field test of such a sealing construction in saline environment. Both experimental and numerical investigations were performed to study the global load bearing behaviour of the construction. The field test was extended by own small scale qualitative laboratory tests. Very good agreement between the experimental and numerical results concerning failure mechanisms was found. The proposed approach can be used for further optimisation of the underlying concept.