Safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is an important issue and also a challenging task for all countries utilizing nuclear energy. Due to long half-life and high toxicity, the HLW is required to be isolated from the biosphere until its hazard is reduced by radioactive decay so that there is no significant risk to human and the environment. In the interna- tional nuclear energy community, deep geological disposal has been considered as a suitable way to deal with HLW. An HLW repository can be constructed in a host rock at a depth of several hundred meters below the ground surface. Different rock types, such as granite, tuff, rock salt, and clay, are being considered as potential host rocks of HLW repositories and extensive laboratory and field studies have been conducted [1-5]. Beishan granite is a preferred candidate host rock for the construction of an HLW repository in the Beishan area, China [6,7]. A better understanding of the mechanical behaviors of the host rock is essential to long- term stability evaluation and engineering optimization of the radioactive waste disposal system in the rock.
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