WIARYGODNOŚĆ OCEN PARAMETRÓW SPRĘŻYSTOŚCI OŚRODKÓW SKALNYCH NA DUŻYCH GŁĘBOKOŚCIACH

Abstract

THE RELIABILITY OF EVALUATION OF ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF ROCKS AT GREAT DEPTHSAbstract. The paper is an introduction to the other papers published in this volume, devoted to the methods and results of laboratory testing of rocks from great depths prepared by the authors from Department of Geomechanics: P. Łukaszewski and A. Dziedzic, A. Domonik as well as A. Dziedzic and J. Pinińska. In the paper the reliability of determination of rock elastic properties at great depths, due to geological factors, technological measuring inconsistencies, and erroneous methods of data interpretation are discussed. Possible diminishing of determination uncer-tainty would be dependable on accuracy of recognition of three essential factors: the local stress-field, local elastic properties of rock media, and the correctness of correlation of the mechanical and geophysical data. The actual accuracy for determination of stress distribution in a rock massif is considered to be within a range of 10 to 20 percent and the local deviations of horizontal strain may reach 15 to 25 percent at the distance of several meters. The axial deformation modulus under laboratory test conditions may be underestimated by several dozens of percents or overestimated up to 100 percent, what depends on certain standard rules applied to determination of a linear deformation interval according to Domonik & Dziedzic (2009). As it appears in geophysical field researches, the rocks at depth have the elastic deformation range higher than that defined in laboratory mechanical tests. It is the main reason for difficulties in correlating geophysical and the geomechanical data.