• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.153-170
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• 2022

Waterjet has been comprehensively used in urban areas owing to a suitable technique for cutting concrete and rock, and low noise and vibration. Recently, the abrasive waterjet technique has been adopted and applied by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute to demolish concrete plugging without disturbing and damaging In-situ Demonstration of Engineered Barrier System in the disposal research tunnel. In this study, the use of abrasive waterjet in the tunnel was evaluated for practical applicability and the existing cutting model was compared with the experimental results. As a variable for waterjet cutting, multi-cutting, water flow rate, abrasive flow rate, and standoff distance were selected for the diversity of analysis. As regarding the practical application, the waterjet facilitated path selection for cutting the concrete plugging and prevented additional disturbances in the periphery. The pump's noise at idling was 64.9 dB which is satisfied with the noise regulatory standard, but it exceeded the standard at ejection to air and target concrete because the experiment was performed in the tunnel space. The experimental result showed that the error between the predicted and measured cutting volume was 12~13% for the first cut and 16% for second cut. The standoff distance had a significant influence on the cutting depth and width, and the error tended to decrease with decrement of standoff distance.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.30-58
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• 2022

The deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste disposal is a multi barrier system comprised of engineered barriers and a natural barrier. The long-term integrity of the deep geological repository is affected by the coupled interactions between the individual barrier components. Erosion and piping phenomena in the compacted bentonite buffer due to buffer-rock interactions results in the removal of bentonite particles via groundwater flow and can negatively impact the integrity and performance of the buffer. Rapid groundwater inflow at the early stages of disposal can lead to piping in the bentonite buffer due to the buildup of pore water pressure. The physiochemical processes between the bentonite buffer and groundwater lead to bentonite swelling and gelation, resulting in bentonite erosion from the buffer surface. Hence, the evaluation of erosion and piping occurrence and its effects on the integrity of the bentonite buffer is crucial in determining the long-term integrity of the deep geological repository. Previous studies on bentonite erosion and piping failed to consider the complex coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical behavior of bentonite-groundwater interactions and lacked a comprehensive model that can consider the complex phenomena observed from the experimental tests. In this technical note, previous studies on the mechanisms, lab-scale experiments and numerical modeling of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are introduced, and the future expected challenges in the investigation of bentonite buffer erosion and piping are summarized.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.491-501
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• 2022

Bentonite has been proposed as a buffer and backfill material for high-level radioactive waste repository. Under such repository environment conditions, bentonite is subjected to combined thermal, hydrological, mechanical, and chemical processes. This study evaluates the feasibility of applying X-ray CT technology on the characterization of bentonite under hydration conditions using a newly developed testing cell. The cylindrical cell is made of platic material, with a removable cap to place the sample, enabling to apply vertical pressure on the sample and to measure swelling pressure. The hydration test was carried out with a sample made of Gyeonju bentonite, with a dry density of 1.4 g/cm³, and a water content of 20%. The sample had a diameter of 27.5 mm and a height of 34 mm. During the test, water was injected at a constant pressure of 0.207 MPa, and lasted for 7 days. After one day of hydration, bentonite swelled and filled out the space inside the cell. Moreover, CT histograms showed how the hydration process induced an initial increase and later progressive decrease on the density of the sample. Detailed profiles of the mean CT value, CT standard deviation, and CT gradient provided more details on the hydration process of the sample and showed how the bottom and top regions exhibited a decrease on density while the middle region showed an increase, especially during the first two days of hydration. Later, the differences in CT values with respect to the initial state decreased, and were small at the end of testing. The formation and later reduction of cracks was also characterized through CT scanning.