HYDROMECHANICAL BEHAVIOUR OF FONTAINEBLEAU SANDSTONE

Abstract

The hydromechanical behaviour of Fontainebleau sandstone is studied on the basis of isotropic and triaxial compression tests in drained and undrained conditions on water saturated samples. The effect of the evolution of the compressibility of the rock with the applied stress on the poromechanical parameters is shown. On the basis of micro-mechanical considerations, a new expression for the Skempton coefficient B is proposed as a function of the porosity, the drained bulk compressibility and the grain and fluid compressibility. The relation between rock deformation and pore-pressure evolution in undrained deviatoric tests is analysed. An elasto-plastic constitutive model with stress-dependent elasticity and damage is proposed to describe the behaviour of the rock and validated through back analysis of drained and undrained tests.