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Mechanical Behaviors of Granite After Thermal Treatment Under Loading and Unloading Conditions

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Abstract

Understanding the mechanical behaviors of granite after thermal treatment under loading and unloading conditions is of utmost relevance to deep geothermal energy recovery. In the present study, a series of loading and unloading triaxial compression tests (20, 40 and 60 MPa) on granite specimens after exposure to different temperatures (20, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 °C) was carried out to quantify the combined effects of thermal treatment and loading/unloading stress conditions on granite strength and deformation. Changes in the microstructure of granite exposed to high temperatures were revealed by optical microscopy. The experimental results indicate that both, thermal treatment and loading/unloading stress conditions, degrade the mechanical behaviors and further decrease the carrying capacity of granite. The gradual degradation of the mechanical characteristics of granite after thermal treatment is mainly associated with the evolution of thermal micro-cracks based on optical microscopy observations. The unloading stress state induces the extension of tension cracks parallel to the axial direction, and thus, the mechanical properties are degraded. Temperatures above 400 °C have a more significant influence on the mechanical characteristics of granite than the unloading treatment, whereby 400 °C can be treated as a threshold temperature for the delineation of significant deterioration. This study is expected to support feasibility and risk assessments by means of providing data for analytical calculations and numerical simulations on granite exposed to high temperatures during geothermal energy extraction.

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Acknowledgments

This work is jointly supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41602374 and No. 41674180), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities-Cradle Plan for 2017 (Grant No. CUGL170207) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFB1504201, No. 2019YFB1504203 and No. 2019YFB1504204).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Lumo Road 388, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Zhennan Zhu, Hong Tian, Guosheng Jiang & Bin Dou

  2. National Center for International Research On Deep Earth Drilling and Resource Development, China University of Geosciences, Lumo Road 388, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Zhennan Zhu, Hong Tian, Guosheng Jiang & Bin Dou

  3. Fluid Systems Modeling, Telegrafenberg, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Thomas Kempka

  4. University of Potsdam, Institute for Geosciences, Karl-Liebknecht-Str, 24-25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany

    Thomas Kempka

  5. School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences, Xueyuan Road 29, Beijing, 100083, China

    Gang Mei

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  1. Zhennan Zhu
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Correspondence to Hong Tian.

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Zhu, Z., Tian, H., Kempka, T. et al. Mechanical Behaviors of Granite After Thermal Treatment Under Loading and Unloading Conditions. Nat Resour Res 30, 2733–2752 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09815-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-021-09815-7

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