Creep behavior of Bure clayey rock

Clayey rock may be the host medium for a French long-term nuclear-waste storage facility. To gain better understanding of the delayed behavior of this potential host rock, we conducted a testing program that focused on creep tests. Fourteen tests were conducted: short-term multi-step creep tests (six at ambient temperature, four at T = 80 degreesC and four on damaged samples); and four long-term mono-step creep tests (in which a constant load is applied for nearly 2 years). Experimental results are displayed and discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.