Failure mode and weakening effect of water on sandstone

Patrick Baud; Wenlu Zhu; Teng‐fong Wong

doi:10.1029/2000jb900087

journal article Jul 10, 2000

Failure mode and weakening effect of water on sandstone

Patrick Baud Wenlu Zhu

Teng‐fong Wong

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans Vol. 105 No. B7 pp. 16371-16389 · American Geophysical Union (AGU)

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Abstract

Previous studies have shown that brittle strength of a rock is generally reduced in the presence of water. However, for siliciclastic rocks, there is a paucity of data on the waterweakening behavior in the cataclastic flow regime. To compare the weakening effect of water in the brittle faulting and cataclastic flow regime, triaxial compression experiments were conducted on the Berea, Boise, Darley Dale, and Gosford sandstones (with nominal porosities ranging from 11% to 35%) under nominally dry and saturated conditions at room temperature. Inelastic behavior and failure mode of the nominal dry samples were qualitatively similar to those of water‐saturated samples. At elevated pressures, shear localization was inhibited, and all the samples failed by strain hardening. The compactive yield strengths (associated with the onset of shear‐enhanced compaction) in the saturated samples were lower than those in the dry samples deformed under comparable pressure conditions by 20% to 70%. The reductions of brittle strength in the presence of water ranged from 5% to 17%. The water‐weakening effects were most and least significant in the Gosford and Berea sandstones, respectively. The relation between water weakening and failure mode is consistently explained by micromechanical models formulated on the basis that the specific surface energy in the presence of water is lowered than that in vacuum by the ratio λ. In accordance with the Hertzian fracture model the initial yield stress in the compactive cataclastic flow regime scales with the grain‐crushing pressure, which is proportional to λ3/2. In the brittle faulting regime, damage mechanics models predict that the uniaxial compressive strength scales with λ1/2. In the presence of water the confined brittle strength is lower due to reductions of both the specific surface energy and friction coefficient.

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References

Details

Published: Jul 10, 2000
Vol/Issue: 105(B7)
Pages: 16371-16389
License: View

Authors

P

Patrick Baud

Université de Strasbourg CNRS UMR 7063 Institut Terre et Environnement de Strasbourg Strasbourg France

W

Wenlu Zhu

Science and Technology on Reliability Physics and Application of Electronic Component Laboratory, China Electronic Product Reliability and Environmental Testing Research Institute, Guangzhou, China

T

Teng‐fong Wong

Cite This Article

Patrick Baud, Wenlu Zhu, Teng‐fong Wong (2000). Failure mode and weakening effect of water on sandstone. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 105(B7), 16371-16389. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000jb900087

Failure mode and weakening effect of water on sandstone

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