We developed a fully-instrumented vertical infiltration column to capture coupled THM processes in clay mixtures. This cell (10cm diameter and 35cm height) scales 1/10th of the VSS field experiment that is ongoing at the IRSN Tournemire laboratory (France) in the context of the VSEAL project. The aim is to study the hydration process of an engineered barrier made up of an 80/20 Mx80-bentonite pellets/powder mixture. To mimic the in situ hydraulic conditions, the infiltration cell will have an independent top and radial water injection systems. The lateral injection system is placed in three annular rings at different heights. In those positions, we will also deploy sensors (i.e., pressure transducers, total stress, relative humidity sensors and thermocouples) to track the main variables of the problem. A heater at the bottom of the cell enables conducting hydration and heating tests. With this configuration, we are able to investigate the advance of the hydration and heating front in the sample, information that is very useful for model validation.

Two identical Fully-instrumented high temperature vertical infiltration columns