Influence of salt solutions on the swelling pressure and hydraulic conductivity of compacted GMZ01 bentonite

• Swelling pressure decreases with increasing concentration of solutions.
• Hydraulic conductivity increases with increasing concentration of solutions.
• Impact of NaCl solution is higher than that of CaCl2 at same concentration.

During the long-term operation of a deep geological repository, infiltration of groundwater with different chemical compositions can affect the buffer/backfill properties of compacted bentonite. Using a newly developed apparatus, swelling pressure and permeability tests were carried out on densely compacted GMZ01 bentonite samples, which has an initial dry density of 1.70 Mg/m3, with de-ionized water as well as NaCl and CaCl2 solutions at different concentrations. Salinity effects of infiltrating solutions on swelling pressure and hydraulic conductivity of tested samples were investigated. Results obtained show that the swelling pressure of GMZ01 bentonite decreases with increasing concentration of infiltrating solutions, while the degree of the impact decreases with the increase of concentrations. Moreover, swelling pressure reaches stability more rapidly in case of high concentrations. The hydraulic conductivity of GMZ01 bentonite increases with the increase of solution concentrations. Comparison shows that the impact of NaCl solutions on the swelling pressure and hydraulic conductivity is higher than that of CaCl2 solutions at same concentrations. This may be explained by the impact of cation types on the microstructure of bentonite.