In-situ diffusion in granite: results from scoping experiments

This report describes the scoping experiments carried out, both in the laboratory and in-situ at a depth of ∼450 m in the Underground Research Laboratory, for the study to determine the diffusion parameters of intact granite/granodiorite under natural high-stress conditions. The study includes four in-situ diffusion experiments (one each in four separate boreholes with experiment times from six months to two years), and supporting laboratory experiments. Tentative conclusions from the first 203-day in-situ experiment in hole DIF4 indicate that the in-situ tortuosity value of granodiorite under high stress conditions may be significantly higher than those obtained from measurements on the same rock under ambient conditions in the laboratory. Because problems were encountered during drilling of the in-situ sample core, potentially adversely affecting the analytical data, further work needs to be carried out to substantiate these tentative conclusions. Tortuosity values obtained in the laboratory for de-stressed rock from the in-situ experiment zones range between 2.4 and 4.6, falling well within the range of tortuosity values reported by Davison et al. (1994) that were used for the assessment modelling of the reference disposal system (Goodwin et al. 1994). The granodiorite samples have lower tortuosity values (between 2.4 and 3.9) compared with that of the single granite sample (4.6). (author)