Constitutive modelling of a compacted sand–bentonite mixture using three-modulus hypoelasticity

Abstract

A constitutive model has been formed that uses data from isotropic consolidation tests and consolidated undrained triaxial tests with pore-water pressure measurement. It provides functional expressions for p′−εv, q−εs, p′−εs, and q−εv relationships in soils. Here the model has been calibrated for two different densities of the sand–bentonite "buffer" proposed for nuclear fuel waste containment in Canada. Predictions for constant-p′ tests (not used in calibrating the model) are compared with experimentally measured values. Key words: constitutive modelling, hypoelasticity, sand–bentonite, nonlinearity, anisotropy, dilatancy, compression, consolidation.