Advances in the testing of the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of shales.
Event details
| Date | 17.01.2013 |
| Hour | 17:00 › 18:00 |
| Speaker | Dr. Alessio Ferrari, EPFL-ENAC-LMS |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
The geomechanical behaviour of shales is quickly becoming one of the most important issues in modern geomechanics, largely driven by petroleum industries (i.e., the extraction of shale gas), the sequestration of CO2 and the nuclear waste geological storage. In any such application, a deep understanding of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of the involved materials is of primary signicance. Advanced experimental techniques and apparatuses have been developed at the Laboratory for Soil Mechanics of the EPFL for testing the thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviour of shales. Some of these advances in shale testing are presented. A methodology established for the analysis of the water retention behaviour in non-isochoric conditions is introduced; the method allows for the determination of the main drying and wetting paths in addition to the volume change response upon total suction variations. A high-pressure oedometric cell is then presented; the apparatus allows for the analysis of the transition from the pre-yield behaviour to the normally consolidated state. The analysis of the settlement versus time curves yields information on the permeability of the material as a function of the void ratio. The test results are illustrated for two Mesozoic shales from the northern region of Switzerland, namely, the Opalinus Clay from Mont Terri and the so called “Brown Dogger” from the Schlattingen site in the Molasse Basin.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. l. Laloui, LMS