ZMIANY PRĘDKOŚCI PODŁUŻNEJ FALI ULTRADŹWIĘKOWEJ PODCZAS ŚCISKANIA OSIOWEGO W WARUNKACH WYSOKICH CIŚNIEŃ I TEMPERATUR W WYBRANYCH RODZAJACH SKAŁ

Abstract

CHANGES OF LONGITUDINAL ULTRASONIC WAVE VELOCITY DURING AXIAL COMPRESSION UNDER CONDITIONS OF HIGH PRESSURES AND TEMPERATURES IN THE SELECTED TYPES OF ROCKSAbstract. The article presents the research results on changes in longitudinal ultrasonic wave velocity under variable conditions of high pressure and temperature during triaxial compression conditions in thermo-pressurized chamber. The study was conducted on 6 varieties of rocks of different lithological origin in a laboratory simulated 8 levels of depth, from the surface to approximately 3.5 km depth. The results have shown that, with the modeled depth longitudinal wave propagation, the velocity changes depend on the lithology of the rock. The changes are varied: from a few percents in basalts from the Sudetes to over 200% in the flysch Cięźkowice sandstones, but the changes according the depth are irregular. It has observed that under high pressure and temperature, the similar wave velocity can be recorded in significantly different rocks. Therefore the setting of clear boundaries based on geological and geophysical surveys, in which elastic waves are a tool to analyze geological structure of the lithosphere will have to be interpreted very carefully. The research also has shown that the dominant growth rate of the wave velocity occurs during the compaction under unstable loading and temperature conditions (stage I) rather than during axial compression in the stable conditions (stage II). Conducted parallel analysis of deformation paths and the longitudinal waves changes under the loading, also have shown that the maximum speed of the wave does not always occur at the same stress level as determined on the deformation curve at the threshold of macrodilatancy. This observation proves that the elastic wave velocity depends not only on the compaction of the rock, but also on very complex rock structure reconstruction under deformation process. Under high load and temperature in each rock body different, heterogenous distribution of a stress-field within the polymineral rocks and in a single mineral is created. The degree of cracking at the deformation phases is also different.