M. Martín-Ruiz et al.: Quartz-sand compressibility at high stresses and temperatures QUARTZ-SAND COMPRESSIBILITY AT HIGH STRESSES AND TEMPERATURES STISLJIVOST KREMENOVEGA PESKA PRI VISOKIH OBREMENITVAH IN TEMPERATURI Miriam Martín-Ruiz José Alvarellos Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, UPM, Repsol Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structuress Madrid, Spain Madrid, Spain E-mail: jose.alvarellos@repsol.com E-mail: miriam.martinr@alumnos.upm.es Jordi Delgado José María Goicolea University of A Coruna, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Department of Civil Engineering Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structures A Coruna, Spain Madrid, Spain E-mail: jorge.delgado@udc.es E-mail: jose.goicolea@upm.es https://doi.org/10.18690/actageotechslov.16.239-49.2019 DOI Keywords compressibility, particle crushing, temperature effect, high-stresses effect, subcritical cracking growth Ključne besede stisljivost, drobljenje delcev, temperaturni učinek, učinek visokih obremenitev, rast mejne kritične razpoke Abstract The effects of temperature on the degree of grain crushing and the stress-strain response of a granular soil subjected to high stresses are a matter of interest for unconventional geomechanical projects. As a part of a research program on the thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical compressibility of quartz sand from a heavy oil reservoir, we have conducted a series of oedometric tests under dry conditions, high stresses (up to 50 MPa) and constant temperatures, ranging from 25 to 250°C. Acoustic emissions were recorded throughout the tests, and SEM photomicrographs of sieved grain-size fractions before and after the experiments were analysed. The results show that the temperature has a negligible effect on the macroscopic compressibility, with similar oedometric curves for all the tests. Conversely, the acoustic-emission counts drop off, and changes in the particle size distribution are minor, though grains subjected at high temperature show incipient fractures attributed to subcritical cracking through stress-corrosion. Izvleček Za nekonvencionalne geomehanske projekte je zanimiv vpliv temperature na stopnjo drobljenja zrn in napeto-stno-deformacijski odziv zrnatih zemljin, izpostavljenih visokim obremenitvam. Kot del raziskovalnega programa o termo-hidromehansko-kemijski stisljivosti kremeno-vega peska iz težkega naftnega rezervoarja so avtorji izvedli serijo edometrskih preizkusov pri suhih pogojih, visokih obremenitvah (do 50 MPa) in konstantnih temperaturah v razponu od 25 do 250 °C. Med preizkusi so bile zabeležene akustične emisije in analizirane SEM fotomikrografije presejanih frakcij velikosti zrn pred in po preizkusih Rezultati kažejo, da ima temperatura zanemarljiv vpliv na makroskopsko stisljivost, pri podobnih krivuljah stisljivosti za vse preizkuse. Nasprotno pa število akustičnih emisij upada in so spremembe v porazdelitvi velikosti delcev manjše, čeprav zrna, izpostavljena visoki temperaturi, kažejo začetne lome, ki se pripisujejo mejnemu kritičnemu razpokanju zaradi napetostne korozije. Acta Geotechnica Slovenica, 2019/2 39. M. Martín-Ruiz et al.: Quartz-sand compressibility at high stresses and temperatures Thus, the compressibility of the samples tested at high and low temperatures can be explained within the same grain-scale mechanisms of cracking: critical rapid Herzian crack growth, at low temperatures, and subcritical silent crack growth by stress-corrosion, at the higher temperatures. 1 INTRODUCTION While geotechnical practice does not typically require a knowledge of temperature effects, emerging geoen-vironmental and geomechanical applications require a knowledge of the grain crushing in soils and granular materials under high stresses and temperatures. Examples of this kind are thermal oil recovery in petroleum engineering, CO2 capture and storage (CCS), storage of radioactive waste and unconventional foundations or structures. The compressibility and crushing of quartz sand at high pressures, considered either as an assembly of single particles or as a bulk skeleton, have been examined using compression (or oedometric) data for quartz sands, plotted as e - logav curves and the identification of a stress threshold that leads to a steepening of its slope at high stresses. While large stresses have been achieved, the effects of temperature on compressibility and grain cracking require further study. The point of maximum curvature, commonly known as the yield point, is a stress level that marks the onset of particle crushing. Particle rearrangement and packing are the main sources of strains at low loads (conventional geotechnics); as the stress increases, the early asperity damage leads to particle splitting. Beyond that stress threshold, the compression curve fits into a linear relationship in the semi-log plot, called the normal (or virgin) compression line [1-5], which can be thought of as a "degenerated-by-crushing" normal compression line (provided the tests can be carried out at room temperature), in contrast to the classic concepts. The initial void ratio, grain shape, size, and grading govern the compressibility of quartz sands and, particularly, the yield point [5-11]. The high rates of loading intensify the grain crushing as well [12-17]. Related processes have been dealt with, on the one hand, in the scope of Earth Sciences, such as the diagenetic compaction of natural sediments [18-24] and the behaviour of cataclastic zones [25]. Tako lahko stisljivost vzorcev, preizkušenih pri visokih in nizkih temperaturah, razložimo z enakimi mehanizmi razpokanja v velikosti zrna: kritična hitra Hertzianova razpoka raste pri nizkih temperaturah, medtem, ko mejna kritična tiha razpoka zaradi napetostne korozije raste pri višjih temperaturah. 2 PURPOSE AND EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM Here, we examine the coupled thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical response of quartz sand, saturated with brine and oil, and apply the results to reservoirs in the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt of Venezuela. A series of 20 compression tests at high stresses (up to 50 MPa) were performed over a range of constant temperature (from 25 to 250 °C) in a special oedometric apparatus. Dry conditions were required to assess the effect of the temperature on the sand compressibility at high stresses. In addition, acoustic emissions (AEs) were recorded throughout the oedo-metric tests, since crushing is the basic acoustic source expected. The samples were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an optical microscope. 3 MECHANICAL RESPONSE OF SAND AGGREGATES When a sand aggregate is subjected to high stresses at room temperature in an oedometric cell, three compres-sional curvatures or stages can be distinguished along the oedometric curve, as shown in Fig. 1, from [26, 27 and 28]. Particle rearrangement, Stage I The curvature of the oedometric curve in this stage accounts for the primary compressibility, caused by particle rearrangement, up to the maximum particle packing. Despite the highly constrained conditions of the oedometric cell (radial strains remain zero), the maximum density (maximum packing) is reached as long as the vertical stress is raised up to an intermediate level (5-10 MPa). Hence, the curvature and the slope during this stage depend on the original grain size distribution, the grain morphology and the initial void ratio. Yield point, Stage II Once the maximum particle packing is reached, the potential grain movement is completely frustrated and blocked; this state is commonly known as the yield point. The applied stresses are transmitted as discrete 40. Acta Geotechnica Slovenica, 2019/2 39. M. Martín-Ruiz et al.: Quartz-sand compressibility at high stresses and temperatures 0) Golightly (1990) silica sand Loose & dense Nakata et al (2001) — Silica sand_ 0 1,4 - 1,7mm A 0,6 - 0,7mm V 0,25 - 0,3mm — Leleu & Valdes (2006) D50 = O. 7 mm, sub rounded 100 vertical stress (MPa) Figure 1. Oedometric curves of quartz sand at high stresses and room temperature (from [26, 27 and 28]). forces along the grain contacts within the soil skeleton [29]. Therefore, further strains can only occur as a result of particle crushing, which can be addressed appropriately with the concurrence of the following theories. Hertzian contact theory and critical pressure Macroscopic yielding depends on the crack initiation at loaded grains and can be examined on the scale of individual contacts between pairs of grains according to the Hertzian theory for loaded spherical bodies. The contact area of the loaded spherical bodies is circular and its radius depends on the normal force applied (Fn), the grain radii (R) and the Young's moduli (E), given by Equation 1 for two identical grains (adapted from [30]). dc= (3FnR\ 2 V 4 E ) 1/3 (1) Even though relevant research efforts in the field of granular media have been made during the past decade to establish the relationship between the macroscale ("Terzaghian" effective) stresses and the microscale (particulate level) stresses, the simplified equation for monosized spheres (Eq. 2) suffices for the purpose of the current research [31 and 32]. The total normal force applied at the contact (Fn) can be expressed as a function of the grain size (d), the normal applied stress (a) and the void ratio (e). Fn =