ELECTROMETRIC TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINING THE STRESS-STRAIN STATE OF ROCK BODIES

Abstract

A knowledge of the kind of stress-strain state of rocks and the way in which it is altered by mining is of fundamental importance in numerous geomechanical problems related to the stability of subterranean structures, the development of standard bulk strength data for rocks and the investigation of subtle geomechanical and geodynamic processes. Thus, if we drill a well through a rock body and pass, say, a DC current between two electrodes in this well, the shape of the distribution of the electrical potential function over the surface of the drillhole (well) will depend on the electrical anisotropy of the rocks, which is related in a known fashion to the type of stress-strain state the rock is under. Given this, we can define the parameters of the electrical anisotropy of the rock body from the distribution (structure) of the potential function over the surface of the drillhole. Our method should be of interest in geodynamic investigations and in exploration geophysics where it can be used in combination with existing electrical exploration techniques.