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ASTM Selected Technical Papers
Measurement of Rock Properties at Elevated Pressures and Temperatures
By
HJ Pincus
HJ Pincus
1
Geological Sciences and Civil Engineering University of Wisconsin
,
Milwaukee, WI 53201, coeditor
.
Search for other works by this author on:
ER Hoskins
ER Hoskins
2
Texas A&M University
,
editor
Search for other works by this author on:
ISBN-10:
0-8031-0237-2
ISBN:
978-0-8031-0237-8
No. of Pages:
169
Publisher:
ASTM International
Publication date:
1985

Laboratory procedures and equipment have been developed to measure thermal response of rock under a simulated in situ environment of overburden stress, pore fluid pressure, and temperature. Routine tests are conducted up to 250°C, with stress levels to 100 MPa, on basalt, shale, tuff, and sandstone. High-pressure high-temperature use of the transient “needle-probe” heat source technique for the measurement of thermal conductivity is discussed. Considerations in the design of the thermal expansion apparatus, which maximize stability and minimize error, are included.

Laboratory procedures used, calibration techniques, and overall accuracy of the testing are reviewed. Thermal conductivity and thermal expansion are measured on equipment calibrated by using fused quartz as a standard. Uncertainty of calibrations caused by some inconsistency in published values for fused quartz is discussed. Methodical specimen preparation, frequent calibrations and computer test control, and data reduction allow accuracy to be maximized and relatively long-term tests to be conducted with a high degree of repeatability.

Where possible, results of the tests are compared with previously published values. A suite of data obtained in support of studies on a potential nuclear waste repository in tuff is examined. Comparisons of theoretical thermal conductivities and expansions, derived from the behavior of the mineral constituents of the rock, and the measured responses are made.

The advantages of these systems lie in the relative ease by which specimens may be tested at elevated temperatures and pressures, and the repeatability of the results. The accuracies (which are dependent upon calibration accuracies) are well within the range of engineering investigations.

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,”
U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics, Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences
,
Washington, DC
,
07
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.
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Carslaw
,
H. S.
and
Jaeger
,
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,
Conduction of Heat in Solids
,
Clarendon Press
,
Oxford, England
,
1959
.
4.
Sprunt
,
E.
and
Brace
,
W. F.
, “
Some Permanent Structural Changes in Rocks Due to Pressure and Temperature
,”
Proceedings of the 3rd International Society of Rock Mechanics
, Vol.
II-A
, MIT,
Cambridge, MA
,
1974
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5.
Wong
,
T. F.
and
Brace
,
W. F.
,
Thermal Expansion of Rocks—Some Measurements at High Pressure
,”
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57
, No.
2/4
,
08
1979
, pp. 95-117.
6.
Johnson
,
B.
,
Gangi
,
A. F.
, and
Handin
,
J.
, “
Thermal Cracking of Rocks Subjected to Slow, Uniform Temperature Changes
,”
Proceedings of the 19th U.S. Symposium on Rock Mechanics
,
University of Nevada
,
Reno, NV
,
1978
, pp. 259-267.
7.
Friedman
,
M.
,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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, and
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,
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, “
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, Albuquerque, NM,
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,
H. C.
, “
Thermal Expansion and Inferred Permeability of Climax Quartz Monzontie to 300°C and 27.6 MPa
”,
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, Vol.
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,
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, pp. 289-296.
9.
Walsh
,
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, “
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,”
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,
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,
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, and
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, “
Thermal Conductivity of Crystalline Rocks Associated with Energy Extraction from Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Systems
,”
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11.
Horai
,
K.
and
Baldridge
, “
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,”
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,
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, “
The Use of Complete Temperature-Time Curves for Determination of Thermal Conductivity with Particular Reference to Rocks
,”
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, Vol.
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, pp. 203-217.
13.
Woodside
,
W.
and
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,
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, “
Thermal Conductivity of Porous Media: I. Unconsolidated Sands
,”
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,
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, pp. 1688-1698.
14.
Blackwell
,
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, “
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,”
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Touloukian
,
Y. S.
 et al
,
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, Vol.
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,
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,
New York
,
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.
16.
Woodside
,
W.
and
Messmer
,
J. H.
, “
Thermal Conductivity of Porous Media, II, Consolidated Rocks
,”
Journal of Applied Physics
 0021-8979, Vol.
32
, No.
9
,
09
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, pp. 1699-1706.
17.
Lappin
,
A. R.
,
Van Buskirk
,
R. G.
,
Ennis
,
D. O.
,
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,
S. W.
,
Prater
F. M.
,
Muller
C. B.
, and
Bergosha
,
J. L.
, “
Thermal Conductivity, Bulk Properties, and Thermal Stratigraphy of Silicic Tuffs from the Upper Portion of Hole USW-G1, Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada
,” Sandia Report 81-1873, Albuquerque, NM,
03
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.
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