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Deformation characteristics, gas permeability and energy evolution of low-permeability sandstone under cyclic loading and unloading path

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Abstract

To guarantee the safety and stability of underground disposal, deformation behavior and permeability evolution of host rock mass are studied in the present work, with a special attention to the influence of loading and unloading cycles of deviatoric stress and confining pressure. A series of triaxial compression tests with loading-unloading cycles and gas permeability measurements are performed on a low-porosity sandstone using a rock automatic servo-controlled triaxial testing system. Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, Biot’s coefficient, gas permeability and energy evolution of studied sandstone obtained under different levels of confining pressure and deviatoric stress are analyzed and discussed. Under cyclic loading and unloading, Poisson’s ratio of sandstone increases linearly with increasing of cycle number while elastic modulus of specimens increases firstly, and then tends to a constant value and terminates by a decrease phase. Moreover, with the increase of cycle number, the permeability decreases firstly and then increases progressively, even a rapid increase after peak stress. These phenomena are related to the propagation and compaction of micro-cracks inside the sandstone specimens.

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Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12072102, 51939004, 12102129), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. B220202014), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2021M690047), Six talent peaks project in Jiangsu Province and the Program to Cultivate Middle-aged and Young Science Leaders of Colleges and Universities of Jiangsu Province, China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Geomechanics and Embankment Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210098, China

    Wei Wang, Xuelei Duan, Yajun Cao, Qizhi Zhu & Shifan Liu

  2. Geotechnical Research Institute, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 210098, China

    Wei Wang, Xuelei Duan, Yajun Cao, Qizhi Zhu & Shifan Liu

  3. University of Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, UMR 9013 Laboratoire de mecanique multiphysique et multiechelle, F59000, Lille, France

    Yun Jia

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  1. Wei Wang
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  2. Xuelei Duan
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Correspondence to Wei Wang.

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Wang, W., Duan, X., Jia, Y. et al. Deformation characteristics, gas permeability and energy evolution of low-permeability sandstone under cyclic loading and unloading path. Bull Eng Geol Environ 81, 369 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-022-02858-x

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