The use of clay barriers for waste-isolating purposes has gained increasing attention in the geotechnical engineering community. Practical interest is linked to fundamental research, which includes examination of the behaviour of compacted materials and expansive clays. The interaction between the barrier, waste and the surrounding ground may involve several thermo-hydro-mechanical and chemical-coupled processes that have been analyzed by means of 'in situ' tests, laboratory experiments and numerical modelling. Large-scale field tests have been developed in recent years by European...