A review of the use of natural analogues to test performance assessment models of a cementitious near field

In repository performance assessment, the evolution of the properties of cementitious materials is extrapolated from conventional laboratory timescales to periods more typical of geological processes. The validity of the models used for such extrapolation can be tested, to some extent, by comparison of such predictions with observations of analogous geological or archaeological samples. This paper reviews the work to date in analogue studies of cementitious materials and highlights the main conclusions of such work and areas identified as requiring further study.