The influence of interstitial water on the rheological behaviour of calcite rocks

Abstract The effects of pore water on the mechanical behaviour of Solnhofen Limestone and Carrara Marble at various temperatures and confining pressures at constant strain-rate have been experimentally investigated. It is shown that water affects the strength and ductility of calcite rocks through 1. (1) physico-chemical action at grain boundaries, and 2. (2) through the mechanical effects of the pressure it exerts, according to the law of effective stress. It has been found that the sensitivity of strength to effective pressure variations decreases as the temperature is raised, except at effective confining pressures below about 250 bar, and this is interpreted as a reflection of the increasing importance of intracrystalline deformation over cataclasis as temperature and effective confining pressure are increased. The implications of these results for the deformation of calcite rocks at geological strain-rates is discussed.

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