Porosity dependence of the elastic modulus of lithophysae-rich tuff: Numerical and experimental investigations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2003
Publication Title
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
Volume
40
Issue
6
First page number:
919
Last page number:
928
Abstract
The influence of porosity on the mechanical properties of rock has received much research attention. Portions of the Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste repository may be placed in tuff units containing lithophysal cavities, which are large, generally noninterconnected cavities that can be considered a form of macroscopic porosity. This paper presents the results of numerical modeling and uniaxial compression testing of analog models and tuff rock, in order to assess the relationships between elastic modulus and porosity.
The first part of the paper presents numerical simulation of uniaxial compression testing to calculate the elastic modulus of two-dimensional models containing randomly distributed circular holes in plane strain. The range of porosities investigated is approximately 5–40%.
In the second part, the elastic modulus determined from the uniaxial compression testing of analog models and tuff specimens is presented. The analog specimens were made of plaster of Paris containing varying amounts of spherical shaped Styrofoam® inclusions to simulate a cavity structure similar to tuff. The results from the numerical analysis and analog material testing show an exponential decrease in elastic modulus with increasing porosity, whereas the elastic moduli of tuff show a linear decrease. The difference in the two behaviors can be attributed to the nonuniform cavity shapes in the tuff specimens.
Keywords
Composite materials--Mechanical properties; Elasticity; Materials--Compression testing; Materials--Mechanical properties; Porosity; Radioactive waste repositories; Volcanic ash; tuff; etc.
Disciplines
Civil and Environmental Engineering | Engineering | Environmental Engineering | Environmental Sciences | Materials Science and Engineering
Language
English
Permissions
Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.
Repository Citation
Avar, B.,
Hudyma, N.,
Karakouzian, M.
(2003).
Porosity dependence of the elastic modulus of lithophysae-rich tuff: Numerical and experimental investigations.
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 40(6),
919-928.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1365-1609(03)00074-2