Some aspects of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of Callovo-Oxfordian (COx) claystone around a gallery parallel to the principal horizontal minor stress

The Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (MHM URL) is an outstanding scientific tool that provides reliable data on the behaviour of Callovo-Oxfordian (COx) claystone. More than 10,000 sensors have been installed in the argillaceous formation to measure rock properties and behaviour under several configurations in order to assess coupled processes. Since 2004, data have been acquired continuously through several measurement campaigns –mainly in galleries at the main level, −490 m (clay unit level –, i.e. UA level), but also in a gallery at −445 m [silty carbonate unit level (USC)]. This experiment has increased understanding of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of claystone and highlight various phenomena. The research program carried out in the MHM URL galleries also is dedicated to technology improvement and demonstration issues of several disposal systems.1 At MHM URL, the principal horizontal major stress (σH) is oriented at NE150° , and the principal vertical stress (σv) is nearly equal to the principal horizontal minor stress (σh) that is oriented NE065° . The ratio σH∕σh is close to 1.3 and varies with depth and the rheological characteristics of the respective layers. This paper presents the hydro-mechanical coupling (i.e. interaction between the interstitial water and the solid skeleton) during and after excavation work. The influence of the in-situ stress fields on several types of support was studied for a gallery oriented according to the principal minor horizontal stress (σh). This paper presents an analysis of measurements recorded during and after the construction of an experimental gallery, referred to as the GER, from 2013 to 2015. The GER experimental gallery is an 83-m-long tunnel, in which four different supports were tested: sliding arches; shotcrete; compressible wedges; and poured concrete. Sliding arches, shotcrete and compressible wedges constitute the initial supports that were installed during excavation. The poured concrete was set up about 9 months after the section excavation as a final support, first at the bottom and then at the vault of the gallery. Hydrogeological and geotechnical measurements help to describe the hydro-mechanical response of the surrounding rock mass. Experimental results highlight the anisotropy of the loading from the surrounding rock mass and the influence of the stiffness/flexibility of the support.