Precise permeability measurement for high strength and ultra low permeability concrete under controlled temperature

Abstract

High strength and ultra low permeability concrete (HSULPC) is being considered as a material used to package transuranic (TRU) waste for disposal in geological repositories. Therefore, information on the permeability of HSULPC is essential. Permeability tests need to be highly accurate to determine the hydraulic conductivity of HSULPC because of its ultralow permeability. In our study, we measured the permeability of HSULPC samples using the transient pulse method. The temperature of the concrete was finely controlled and held constant. The hydraulic conductivities were determined from the measurements to be around 10-13 to 10-12m/s for confining pressures between 2 and 10 MPa. The pore pressure was a constant 1 MPa. The results further showed that the permeability of HSULPC had a hysteretic dependence on the effective confining pressure. We found that the hydraulic conductivity of HSULPC is comparable to or less than that of intact Toki granite obtained from Gifu Prefecture in central Japan. It was also considered that the hydraulic conductivity of HSULPC stabilized at around 10-13m/s after being buried and stressed. The high density and impermeability of HSULPC would enable it to effectively confine 14C radionuclides found in TRU waste.