Experimental research on stress-dependent permeability and porosity of rock-like materials with different thicknesses of smooth hidden joints

Abstract

In this paper, a method is proposed to prepare rock-like materials with different thicknesses of hidden joints. Then, permeability and porosity of the self-prepared jointed specimens under different pore pressures during confining pressure loading and unloading are measured. The experimental results indicate that the gas permeability of the jointed specimens gradually decreases with the rise of pore pressure due to the existence of Klinkenberg effect, and Klinkenberg effect gradually decreases with the rise of hidden joint thickness. As the main seepage channels, hidden joints govern the seepage characteristics, and due to the existence of hidden joints, the intrinsic permeability is improved significantly. Besides, due to the existence of hidden joints, the intrinsic permeability and porosity are more sensitive to confining pressure loading than that of the intact specimen, and the sensitivity increases with the rise of hidden joint thickness. During confining pressure loading, there is a permanent deformation of the hidden joints and pores in the specimens, which results in both the intrinsic permeability and porosity being always lower than those in the loading process. Meanwhile, the permanent deformation rises with the increases of hidden joint thickness, which leads to the increases of gap of intrinsic permeability and porosity under loading and unloading processes. Additionally, after comparison of the fitting results, the sub-cubic law can reflect the relationship between flow rate and the thickness of non-persistent joints better than the cubic law.