Simultaneous fluid and solid density measurements in swelling clay using X‐ray microtomography and 3D particle tracking

In order to demonstrate the safety of engineered barriers for radwaste geological repositories, rich characterisations of bentonite hydro‐mechanical behaviour are essential. X‐ray computed tomography was used as the single input to measure both the full displacement field and water content in a heterogeneous bentonite sample resaturated in quasi‐isochoric conditions. Since large texture changes do not allow the use of digital volume correlation, this was achieved using 3D particle tracking to provide the kinematics in combination with calibrated and beam hardening‐corrected grey levels. Matching the grey level sampling with kinematics using a mesh‐based analysis, results show the development of heterogeneous swelling inside the cell and a final solid density gradient in the direction of water flow.