Fracturing of viscoelastic geomaterials and application to sedimentary layered rocks

S.T. Nguyen (1) , L. Jeannin (2) , Luc Dormieux (3) , F. Renard (4, 5)

1 navier umr 8205 - Laboratoire Navier
2 GDFSUEZ EandP, 1 place Samuel de Champlain, 92930 Paris La Défense Cedex, France
3 multi-échelle - Modélisation et expérimentation multi-échelle pour les solides hétérogènes
4 ISTerre - Institut des Sciences de la Terre
5 PGP - Physics of Geological Processes [Oslo]

We study analytically the behavior of a viscoelastic brittle solid loaded in tension, in which fractures may grow or not depending on the amount of dissipation allowed by the viscous behavior. We highlight a threshold in extension rate, below which the solid will not be fractured. Applied to sedimentary rocks, this model shows how viscous effects can prevent fracture growth in geological formations. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Domaines: Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]

S.T. Nguyen, L. Jeannin, Luc Dormieux, F. Renard. Fracturing of viscoelastic geomaterials and application to sedimentary layered rocks. Mechanics Research Communications, 2013, 49 (-), pp.50-56. ⟨10.1016/j.mechrescom.2013.02.006⟩. ⟨hal-00946101⟩