Experimental study of the time-dependent behaviour of fracture propagation in salt rock

IF 3.7 2区工程技术 Q3 ENERGY & FUELS

Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment Pub Date : 2025-06-04 DOI:10.1016/j.gete.2025.100687

Andreu Escanellas , Eduardo Cámara , Joaquín Liaudat , Ignacio Carol

{"title":"Experimental study of the time-dependent behaviour of fracture propagation in salt rock","authors":"Andreu Escanellas , Eduardo Cámara , Joaquín Liaudat , Ignacio Carol","doi":"10.1016/j.gete.2025.100687","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents an experimental study investigating the time-dependent behaviour of fracture propagation in salt rock. The research is aimed at enhancing the understanding of the fracture mechanics of salt rock, which is crucial for applications such as underground storage of hazardous waste and energy storage. Thirteen Wedge Splitting Tests (WST) were performed on salt rock specimens at four different loading rates, complemented by nine uniaxial creep tests on the same material at three stress levels. The WST results revealed major effects of the loading rate on the fracturing process, with decreasing rates leading to increased mechanical work required for splitting and reduced peak splitting force. The produced experimental dataset offers an excellent benchmark for the validation of numerical models including creep and fracture of salt rock. Additionally, the paper includes preliminary finite element simulations incorporating an inviscid discrete fracture representation and linear viscoelastic creep modelling in the bulk material that provide first insights into the origin of the observed loading rate effects. The numerical study concludes that these effects are mainly due to phenomena developed in the fracture process zone. The findings emphasise the need to consider time-dependency in Cohesive Zone Models used for salt rock fracture representation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56008,"journal":{"name":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","volume":"43 ","pages":"Article 100687"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352380825000528","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study investigating the time-dependent behaviour of fracture propagation in salt rock. The research is aimed at enhancing the understanding of the fracture mechanics of salt rock, which is crucial for applications such as underground storage of hazardous waste and energy storage. Thirteen Wedge Splitting Tests (WST) were performed on salt rock specimens at four different loading rates, complemented by nine uniaxial creep tests on the same material at three stress levels. The WST results revealed major effects of the loading rate on the fracturing process, with decreasing rates leading to increased mechanical work required for splitting and reduced peak splitting force. The produced experimental dataset offers an excellent benchmark for the validation of numerical models including creep and fracture of salt rock. Additionally, the paper includes preliminary finite element simulations incorporating an inviscid discrete fracture representation and linear viscoelastic creep modelling in the bulk material that provide first insights into the origin of the observed loading rate effects. The numerical study concludes that these effects are mainly due to phenomena developed in the fracture process zone. The findings emphasise the need to consider time-dependency in Cohesive Zone Models used for salt rock fracture representation.

查看原文本刊更多论文

盐岩裂缝扩展随时间变化特性的实验研究

本文对盐岩裂缝扩展随时间变化的特性进行了实验研究。该研究旨在提高对盐岩断裂力学的认识，这对危险废物地下储存和能源储存等应用至关重要。在四种不同加载速率下对盐岩试件进行了13次楔形劈裂试验（WST），并对同一材料在三种应力水平下进行了9次单轴蠕变试验。WST结果揭示了加载速率对压裂过程的主要影响，加载速率降低导致劈裂所需的机械功增加，峰值劈裂力降低。所建立的实验数据集为盐岩蠕变和断裂等数值模型的验证提供了良好的基准。此外，本文还包括初步的有限元模拟，包括无粘离散断裂表示和块状材料的线性粘弹性蠕变模型，这为观察到的加载速率效应的起源提供了第一个见解。数值研究表明，这些影响主要是由断裂过程区产生的现象引起的。研究结果强调了在用于盐岩裂缝表示的粘聚带模型中考虑时间依赖性的必要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment Earth and Planetary Sciences-Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology

CiteScore

5.90

自引率

11.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： The aim of the Journal is to publish research results of the highest quality and of lasting importance on the subject of geomechanics, with the focus on applications to geological energy production and storage, and the interaction of soils and rocks with the natural and engineered environment. Special attention is given to concepts and developments of new energy geotechnologies that comprise intrinsic mechanisms protecting the environment against a potential engineering induced damage, hence warranting sustainable usage of energy resources. The scope of the journal is broad, including fundamental concepts in geomechanics and mechanics of porous media, the experiments and analysis of novel phenomena and applications. Of special interest are issues resulting from coupling of particular physics, chemistry and biology of external forcings, as well as of pore fluid/gas and minerals to the solid mechanics of the medium skeleton and pore fluid mechanics. The multi-scale and inter-scale interactions between the phenomena and the behavior representations are also of particular interest. Contributions to general theoretical approach to these issues, but of potential reference to geomechanics in its context of energy and the environment are also most welcome.