Posttest Analysis of a Laboratory-Cast Monolith of Salt-Saturated Concrete.

A salt-saturated concrete was formulated for laboratory testing of cementitious mixtures with potential for use in disposal of radioactive wastes in a geologic repository in halite rock. Cores were taken from a laboratory-cast concrete monolith on completion of tests of permeability, strain and stress. The cores were analyzed for physical and chemical evidence of brine migration through the concrete, and other features with potential impact on installation of crete plugs at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant WIPP in New Mexico. The posttest analyses of the cores provided evidence of brine movement along the interface between concrete and pipe, and little indication of permeability through the monolith itself. There may also have been diffusion of chloride into the monolith without actual brine flow.