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PRELIMINARY!GEOLOGICAL!SURVEY!OF!TIHANGE!
NUCLEAR!POWER!STATION!
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Dalia!Irina!Scurei!
Le!Ngoc!Ha!
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Academic!year!2015/2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Table!of!Contents!
AIM$OF$THE$STUDY$

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DESCRIPTION$OF$THE$GEOLOGICAL$CONDITONS$OF$THE$SITE$

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GEOLOGICAL$CROSS$SECTIONS$

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GEOLOGICAL$MAP$

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ISOPACH$CURVES$

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BUILDING$LOCATION$

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Academic!year!2015/2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Aim!of!the!study!!

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In!order!to!construct!a!nuclear!power!plant,!a!geological!survey!needed!to!be!conducted!
in!order!to!find!the!optimal!location!for!the!construction.!To!do!so,!a!series!of!borehole!
and!the!geotechnical!formation!data!were!used!to!provide!maps!and!cross!sections!of!
the!geological!condition!of!the!site.!From!this!data,!the!most!suitable!location!in!terms!of!
lithology!and!geomechanical!characteristics!was!chosen.!!

Description!of!the!geological!conditions!of!the!site!
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! Located!on!an!anticline!with!a!dip!
! Alluvium!over!a!depth!of!10!m!
! Bedrock!at!60!m!depth!composed!of!Silurian!shales!
o! Composed!of!5!units!(A/E)!with!different!geological!and!geomechanical!
properties!
o! Layers!B!and!C!are!most!preferable!to!build!upon!as!they!have!the!highest!
percentage!of!Quartz!amongst!the!options!available.!This!makes!them!the!
toughest.!
o! Layers!A,!D!and!E!have!higher!percentages!of!swelling!clay!which!is!
susceptible!to!changes!in!volume!and!can!cause!differential!settlements!or!
cracks!in!the!construction.!They!should!therefore!be!avoided.!

Geological!Cross!Sections!
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A!series!of!41!boreholes!were!carried!out!and!their!location!was!indicated!on!the!map.!
These!provided!the!different!layers!which!were!encountered!beneath!the!surface!and!
their!corresponding!thicknesses.!The!cross!sections!showing!the!different!layers!can!be!
found!in!the!annex!1.!!
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Figure$1.$Anticline$with$a$dip$

The!inclination!of!the!layers!seen!in!the!cross!section!is!due!to!the!anticline!structure!
with!a!dip!(inclination)!as!Figure!1!illustrates.!The!oldest!rock!formations!are!the!E!unit!
formations!and!the!youngest!are!the!A!unit!formations.!One!can!tell!on!which!side!of!an!
anticline!they!are!located!by!looking!at!the!the!progression!of!the!layers!(from!youngest!!
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Academic!year!2015/2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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to!oldest!or!vice!versa).!In!this!case,!the!layers!go!from!younger!to!older!(A/>E).!Hence,!
the!semicircle!to!the!right!in!the!cross!sections.!The!semicircle!represents!the!beginning!
of!a!sinkline!which!follows!an!anticline.!!
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Weathering!and!erosion!may!lead!to!the!partial!or!complete!removal!of!some!layers.!In!
this!case,!the!Cb!and!Cc!layers!have!experienced!losses!in!thickness!in!some!areas.!This!
formed!a!cavity!into!which!deconsolidated!argilleceous!material!(Ca)!was!deposited.!!
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The!cross!section!does!not!give!details!about!the!depth!of!the!last!layer.!The!borehole!
data!is!only!valid!until!the!end!of!the!borehole!test!performed.!This!does!not!mean!the!
last!layer!ends!there.!!!

Geological!Map!
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Not!taking!into!account!the!alluvial!deposits,!the!geological!map!of!the!bedrock!was!
drawn.!This!helps!make!a!decision!in!regards!to!where!the!optimal!place!for!the!
buildings!would!be.!The!geological!map!can!be!found!in!the!annex!2.!
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The!Frasnian/Silurian!limit!corresponds!to!the!the!limit!between!the!younger!and!the!
older!rock!formations.!The!Frasnian!formation!being!382.7!million!years!old!and!the!
Silurian!being!443.8!million!years!old.!Within!the!Silurian!formations,!there!is!also!a!
younger!to!older!progression!of!layers,!as!mentioned!earlier!(A/>E).!The!progression!of!
the!layers!can!be!seen!on!the!map.!!
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As!the!map!indicates,!there!appear!to!be!discontinuities!caused!by!faults.!Faults!with!
horizontal!displacements!such!as!these!are!known!as!Strike/Slip!Faults!and!are!caused!
by!shear!tectonic!forces.!Figure!2!illustrates!the!displacement!caused!by!a!strike/slip!
fault.!
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Figure$2.$StrikeKslip$fault$

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The!fault!does!not!necessarily!continue!over!a!long!distance.!Where!there!no!longer!
seems!to!be!a!discontinuity!in!the!bed!rock,!the!fault!is!no!longer!present.!!
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Although!building!on!the!fault!itself!is!not!recommended!due!to!the!different!
characteristics!of!the!bedrock,!building!on!either!sides!of!it!is!acceptable.!!
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Isopach!Curves!

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Isopach!curves!represent!areas!with!an!equal!thickness.!In!this!case,!the!isopach!curves!
of!the!gravel!deposit!was!represented.!The!alluvial!deposits!consist!of!gravel!(pebbles!
and!coarse!sand!matrix)!and!sandy!silt!but!since!the!sandy!silt!is!only!found!over!a!short!
distance!and!offers!little!to!no!resistance,!it!is!neglected!on!the!map.!The!map!can!be!
found!in!the!annex!3.!!
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The!thickness!of!the!gravel!layer!at!every!borehole!was!marked!and!the!points!with!
equal!thickness!were!joined!to!form!the!isopach!curves.!!
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Since!gravel!is!only!deposited!due!to!weathering!and!erosion,!it!is!loose!and!offers!little!
resistance!to!the!loads!that!could!be!transmitted!from!the!structure.!Therefore,!it!would!
need!to!be!removed!to!get!to!the!solid!bedrock!(units!B!and!C!in!this!case).!The!thicker!
the!gravel!layer,!the!more!work!there!would!need!to!be!done!to!remove!it.!Therefore,!an!
ideal!location!is!one!with!the!least!thickness!of!gravel.!It!can!eventually!be!used!as!a!part!
of!the!backfill,!however,!but!not!the!main!foundation!support!system.!!
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Building!location!!

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As!previously!mentioned,!the!the!B!and!C!layers!are!the!most!suitable!layers!to!build!
upon!as!they!have!the!highest!percentage!of!quartz!and!lowest!percentage!of!swelling!
clay.!Having!the!base!of!the!foundations!in!a!strong!bearing!layer!such!as!quartz!would!
ensure!the!safe!transmission!of!loads!to!the!ground!due!to!its!high!bearing!resistance.!
The!low!percentage!of!swelling!clay!is!beneficial!as!swelling!clay!tends!to!expand!and!
contract!considerably!with!varying!water!contents,!resulting!in!differential!settlements!
or!cracks.!!
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Moreover,!the!Elastic!and!Deformation!moduli!of!the!C!layer!prove!that!it!is!stiffer!than!
the!other!layers.!Although!the!Elastic!modulus!of!the!E!layer!can!reach!that!of!one!of!the!
C!layer!sub/classes,!its!Deformation!modulus!is!still!low.!!
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The!gravel!deposit!was!preferable!to!be!kept!to!be!kept!to!a!minimum!as!it!would!not!be!
the!base!of!the!foundation,!it!would!only!be!used!as!a!a!part!of!the!backfill!material!and!
can!contribute!noticeably!to!the!excavation!time!needed.!!!
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Therefore,!the!construction!was!chosen!to!be!built!in!the!C!layer.!The!reactor!was!chosen!
to!be!built!on!the!left!side!of!the!fault,!entirely!in!the!C!layer.!The!auxilliary!reactor!
building!!and!the!engine!room!were!chosen!to!be!built!on!the!right!side!of!the!fault,!also!
in!entirely!in!the!C!layer.!Building!only!on!the!C!layer!and!with!minimum!gravel!content!
meant!that!shorter!pile!foundations!were!needed!in!order!to!reach!the!desired!layer,!if!
needed!at!all.!!The!map!can!be!found!in!the!annex!1.!!
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Academic!year!2015/2016!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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