The effects of confining pressure on the strength and elastic properties of the Paintbrush tuff recovered from boreholes USW NRG-6 and USW NRG-7/7A: Data report

Experimental results are presented for bulk and mechanical properties measurements on specimens of the Paintbrush tuff recovered from the USW NRG-6 and USW NRG-7/7A borehole at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Measurements have been performed on five thermal/mechanical units: TCw, PTn, TSw2, and TSw3. The following bulk properties are reported for each specimen: dry bulk density, saturated bulk density, average grain density and porosity. Confined compression to failure tests were performed on selected specimens recovered from the boreholes at confining pressures of 5 and 10 MPa. In addition, compressional and shear wave velocities were measured on the specimens prior to testing. Measurements were conducted under drained conditions at room temperature on nominally water saturated specimens. The nominal strain rate for the experiments was 10{sup -5} s{sup -1}