Open AccessRelation between static and dynamic rock properties in welded and nonwelded tuff
Author(s) -
R.H. Price,
P.J. Boyd,
Jean-Yves Noël,
R. F. Martin
Publication year - 1994
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/145247
Subject(s) - borehole , geology , porosity , geotechnical engineering , lithology , shear (geology) , longitudinal wave , ultimate tensile strength , rheology , modulus , mineralogy , materials science , composite material , petrology , wave propagation , physics , quantum mechanics
An integral part of the licensing procedure for the potential nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada involves accurate prediction of the in situ rheology for design and construction of the facility and emplacement of the canisters containing radioactive waste. The data required as input to successful thermal and mechanical models of the behavior of the repository and surrounding lithologies include bulk density, grain density, porosity, compressional and shear wave velocities, elastic moduli, and compressional and tensile strengths. In this study a suite of experiments was performed on cores recovered from the USW-NRG-6 borehole drilled to support the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) at Yucca Mountain. USW-NRG-6 was drilled to a depth of 1100 feet through four thermal/mechanical units of Paintbrush tuff. A large data set has been collected on specimens recovered from borehole USW-NRG-6. Analysis of the results of these experiments showed that there is a correlation between fracture strength, Young`s modulus, compressional wave velocity and porosity. Additional scaling laws relating; static Young`s modulus and compressional wave velocity; and fracture strength and compressional wave velocity are promising. Since there are no other distinct differences in material properties, the scatter that is present at each fixed porosity suggests that the differences in the observed property can be related to the pore structure of the specimen. Image analysis of CT scans performed on each test specimen are currently underway to seek additional empirical relations to aid in refining the correlations between static and dynamic properties of tuff