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Effects of Temperatures on Strength and Deformability of Tak Granite

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Kittikron Rodklang, Supattra Khamrat and Kittitep Fuenkajorn

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Strength of granite under elevated temperatures is an important parameter governing

the long-term stability of waste disposal boreholes. The objective of this study is to

experimentally determine the effects of elevated temperatures on the compressive strengths

and elasticity of Tak granite. The rock strength and deformability are determined under

various temperatures and confining pressures. The confining stresses are maintained

constant at 0, 3, 7, to 12 MPa using a polyaxial load frame. The rectangular block

specimens have nominal dimensions of 5×5×10 cm3. The testing temperatures are varied

from 273 to 773 Kelvin. The results indicate that the granite strength and elasticity

exponentially decrease as the temperature increases. The distortional strain energy

criterion is proposed to describe the rock strengths as a function of mean strain energy.

The criterion fits well to the test results. The proposed strength criterion is useful to predict

the strength and deformation of granite around waste disposal boreholes under elevated

temperatures.

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strain energy; elevated temperature; strength; elasticity