Stability of expansive cement grout borehole seals emplaced in the vicinity of underground radioactive waste repositories

An expansive cementitious borehole plug emplaced in an underground opening in the vicinity of an underground nuclear waste repository may generate radial stresses on the walls of the opening due to an axial stress applied to the borehole plug and due to plug swelling. As these radial stresses may lead to the tensile fracturing of the rock, minimizing or preferably eliminating tensile stresses in rock is particularly important to preserve waste containment. Presented in this paper are the theoretical radial (normal) stress distribution and tensile strength in a borehole plug–rock system due to combined axial, thermal and lateral loading, along with analyses of plug–rock mechanical interactions in regards to borehole stability against tensile fracturing.