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Changes in Mineralogy, Microstructure, Compressive Strength and Intrinsic Permeability of Two Sedimentary Rocks Subjected to High-Temperature Heating

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Abstract

This study falls in the context of underground coal fires where burning coal can elevate the temperature of a rock mass in excess of 1000°. The objective of the research is to experimentally characterize the change in mechanical behaviour, mineralogy and microstructural texture of two sedimentary rocks when subjected to temperatures up to 1200 °C for 24 h. Specimens of local sandstone and mudstone were comprehensively characterized by X-ray diffraction and thermal-gravimetric analysis. These analyses were complemented by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy on polished thin sections. In addition, pore size distributions of these heated rocks were inferred by means of mercury intrusion porosimetry. These results were extended to an estimation of the intrinsic permeability using the Katz–Thompson model. Investigations at micro scale were followed by mechanical testing (both unconfined and confined compression tests) on cylindrical specimens of heated rocks. Results show that the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of both rock types tends to increase when the temperatures increases up to 900 °C, beyond which the UCS tends to slightly decrease. As for the permeability, a clear increase in intrinsic permeability was observed for both rocks. The macroscopic behaviour was found to be fully consistent with the changes observed at micro scale.

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Acknowledgments

The authors kindly acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Council (Linkage project ID: LP100200717) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering. The authors would also like to express their gratitude to Prof. Terry Wall for allowing us to perform the heating treatment of rocks using their temperature-controlled furnace, to Dr. Yanyan Sun for her help with the preparation of thin sections and optical microscopy, and to Dr. David Phelan and Dr. Jenny Zobec for their help with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Priority Research Centre for Geotechnical and Materials Modelling, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia

    Xianfeng Liu, Shengyang Yuan, Yannick Sieffert, Stephen Fityus & Olivier Buzzi

  2. Université Joseph Fourier, Laboratoire 3S, 38041, Grenoble Cedex 9, France

    Yannick Sieffert

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  1. Xianfeng Liu
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  2. Shengyang Yuan
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  3. Yannick Sieffert
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  4. Stephen Fityus
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  5. Olivier Buzzi
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Correspondence to Olivier Buzzi.

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Liu, X., Yuan, S., Sieffert, Y. et al. Changes in Mineralogy, Microstructure, Compressive Strength and Intrinsic Permeability of Two Sedimentary Rocks Subjected to High-Temperature Heating. Rock Mech Rock Eng 49, 2985–2998 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-0950-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-016-0950-z

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