Experimental Anelastic Strain Recovery Compliance of Three Typical Rocks

The experimental determination of anelastic strain recovery (ASR) compliances for three types of rocks (granite, marble, and sandstone) was performed in the laboratory. Preloading of specimens for uniaxial compression creep tests was at 50 % of the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) for each rock type. We obtained the shear mode Jas(t) and volumetric mode Jav(t) ASR compliances and calculated the ratio of Jas(t) to Jav(t). The Kelvin model for rock rheology was then applied in numerical simulations and the results were in good agreement with the measured data for Jas(t) and Jav(t). These results showed that both the magnitude and rate of increase of the ASR compliances are strongly dependent on the rock type, and the values of the Jas(t)/Jav(t) ratio for a loading of 50 % of the UCS showed a trend leading to different constants for each of the three rock types. Further experimental and numerical analyses showed approximate power-law relationships between the ASR compliances at 50 % of UCS, and both the UCS and the tangential Young’s modulus at 50 % of UCS (E _t50). These relationships may be useful for the preliminary estimation of ASR compliances.