Development of an automated triaxial system for thermo-hydromechanical testing of rocks

[en] To face the challenges of oil production today, the mechanical behavior of rocks is to be studied under very specific conditions. In particular, thermo-hydro-mechanical couplings are important concerns in geomechanics of the drilling and reservoir engineering. In the Mining Engineering department of the Faculté Polytechnique de Mons (Faculty of Engineering, Mons - Belgium), we developed a new triaxial system to reproduce great depth conditions. Starting with a triaxial cell equipped with pore fluid provisions, a heating jacket and temperature control system, we designed and built a complete automated triaxial device comprising : a stiff loading frame, hydraulic equipments to control the stresses and pore fluid pressure, an electronic interface with a microcomputer, and we also developed a software to drive the tests and process the results. The equipment is designed for confining stresses and pore pressures up to 70 MPa and temperatures up to 232°C. This paper describes this apparatus and also reports the results of tests performed on a porous rock for validation.

Disciplines :

Mechanical engineering
Earth sciences & physical geography

Author, co-author :

Descamps, Fanny

Tshibangu, Katshidikaya ; Université de Mons > Faculté Polytechnique > Génie Minier

Language :

English

Title :

Development of an automated triaxial system for thermo-hydromechanical testing of rocks

Publication date :

29 June 2008

Event name :

42nd US Rock Mechanics Symposium and 2nd U.S.-Canada Rock Mechanics Symposium

Event place :

San Francisco, United States

Event date :

2008

Research unit :

F408 - Génie Minier

Available on ORBi UMONS :

since 26 January 2011

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Bibliography

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