Hydro mechanical behaviour of a heterogeneous swelling clay material

This paper presents the main results of a research program devoted to the experimental study and the modelling of the hydro mechanical behaviour of an heterogeneous swelling clay material. This material is constituted of a mixture of bentonite powder and high dry density bentonite pellets. It may be used to seal shafts and galleries thanks to its low permeability and large swelling capacity. The behaviour of the material during the hydration phase, observed experimentally on small scale samples, is compared to numerical simulations.