The use of engineered barriers as part of the process of containment of waste for example landfill design and permeable reactive barriers is well established. Specifically in the context of the disposal of one particular form of waste, namely high level nuclear waste, the barrier system is planned to perform a major role in an overall geological disposal context. Research has been carried out to investigate new complex multi-physics/chemistry scenarios to which the barrier may be exposed. This has led to an investigation of the so-called thermo/hydro/mechanical/chemical behaviour of the barriers. The seminar will discuss some research developments in this area including the importance of swelling clays, the role of the microstructure, the relevance of flow processes not related to traditional suction considerations and the impact of chemical solute transfer in the soil.

Speaker
Hywel Thomas is Professor of Civil Engineering, Director of the Cardiff School of Engineering and a Founder Director of the Geoenvironmental Research Centre (GRC) at the School of Engineering, Cardiff University. His research interests include coupled multiphysics/geo-chemistry problems in soils, land regeneration and wider sustainability issues.