Mechanical Properties of Oil Shale of Importance to in-Situ Rubblization

摘要

Current proposals for true in-situ processing of oil shale employ deeply buried explosive charges to produce the desired rubblization. At short times after the explosion, the dynamic behavior of the material is of interest and can be studied in shockwave experiments. At intermediate times the divergence of the flow field requires a multidimensional specification of the material behavior which appears to be best determined from triaxial test data. At late times the possible formation of tensile stresses requires knowledge of the fracture mechanics and tensile behavior of the shale. This report presents a summary of techniques and results of triaxial compression, extension and fracture toughness tests on two grades of oil shale. Results indicate that oil shale differs significantly from most rocks and suggest that models originally developed for composite materials may be appropriate for describing the mechanical behavior of oil shale. (ERA citation 03:002500)