Laboratory testing Joint project III on the comparison of constitutive models for the mechanical behavior of rock salt II. Extensive laboratory test program with clean salt from WIPP

Since 2004, three Joint Projects on the “Comparison of Constitutive Models for the ThermoMechanical Behavior of Rock Salt” have been performed. The general objectives are to document, check, and compare the different advanced models and modeling procedures developed and applied by the participants, to validate their suitability for numerical simulations and reliability, to increase confidence in the results, and to enhance the acceptance of conclusions. This contribution focuses on the US-German collaboration in the third project phase since October 2010 with a check and comparison of the modeling of the temperature influence on the deformation behavior of rock salt. This is of particular importance for the design, operation, and evaluation of the long-term safety of underground repositories for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in rock salt.