International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of
Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrmms

Dynamic compressive strength of rock salts T

⁎
Stephen J. Bauer , Bo Song, Brett Sanborn
Geothermal Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA

A B S T R A C T

Mining rock salt results in subsurface damage, which may affect the strength because of applied stress, anisotropy, and deformation rate. In this study, we used a
Kolsky compression bar to measure the high strain rate response of bedded and domal salt at strain rates up to approximately 50 s−1 in parallel and perpendicular
directions to bedding or foliation direction depending on rock salt type. Both types of salt exhibited a negative strain rate effect wherein a decrease in strength was
observed with increasing strain rate compared to strength measured in the quasi-static regime. Both materials exhibited strength anisotropy. Fracturing and mi-
crofracturing were the dominant deformation mechanisms. High pore pressures and frictional heating due to the high loading rate may have contributed to reduction
in strength.

1. Introduction
Salt caverns are used to store a variety of materials ranging from gas
to liquefied hydrocarbons from the oil and gas industry to solid nuclear
waste. Rock salt formations are well-suited to house such hazardous
materials because the rock salt creeps over geologic time scales to seal
the space surrounding these materials. For safety assessments of
structural integrity of storage locations or facilities, knowledge of the
mechanical properties of the salt rock material is critical. Factors that
may influence design of facilities are rock salt stress-strain response,
stress-state (confined compared to unconfined strength), moisture,
temperature, mechanical anisotropy, and deformation rate.
Understanding the high strain rate mechanical behavior of rock salt is
pertinent to rapid loading events such as fracture in an earthquake,
underground explosions, and can even be applied to estimation of en-
ergy consumption requirements for drilling, mining, and comminution
for product processing. Furthermore, once the dynamic mechanical
properties are known, improved constitutive models can be developed
which can lead to improved facility design as well as enhanced drilling
or mining practices.
Like other rocks, the quasi-static compressive strength of rock salt
depends on temperature, strain rate, confining pressure, and for rock
salt, impurities play a role.1 Generally, fracturing is readily suppressed
and crystal-plastic deformation mechanisms dominate with increasing
temperature, decreasing strain rate, and increasing confining pressure.2
The interest in the present study are the unconfined compressive
strengths for bedded salt which range from 16 to 32 MPa and un-
confined compressive strengths for domal salts which range from 12 to
29 MPa1.
Available studies on the effect of strain rate on the strength of rock
salt have been mainly limited to quasi-static strain rates, which ranged
from 10−7 s−1 to 10−3 s−1.3–5 All papers investigated the compressive
response of rock salt under triaxial confinement. In general, increasing
strength with increasing strain rate was observed.
While strain rate effects within quasi-static regime have been stu-
died, the response of rock salt at higher dynamic strain rates is sparse in
the literature. The only study that the authors found was that of Fang
et al.6 in which the dynamic compressive response of rock salt under
different confining conditions and temperatures at strain rates up to
400 s−1. They found that the compressive strength of the salt increased
with increasing strain rate under confinement, and decreased with in-
creasing temperature. The dynamic unconfined strength was not re-
ported.
Rocksalt is also anisotropic7 and anisotropy has been observed in
both domal and bedded rock salts primarily due to grain elongation. In
domal salts, anisotropy results from grain elongation during the meta-
morphic transport process when the salt dome is formed.8 Grain elon-
gation is subparallel to the flow direction.8 In bedded sedimentary salt,
anisotropy results from material layering during deposition. In this
case, grain elongation is parallel to bedding from post depositional
solid-state flow.9 The effect of anisotropy on the quasi-static unconfined
strength is not apparent.10 Anisotropic effects at high strain rate for
either bedded or domal salt are yet unstudied.
In this study, the quasi-static and dynamic compressive properties of
rock salt were investigated. Quai-static unconfined compression of
domal salt was measured using a hydraulic load frame. High strain rate
compressive response of unconfined domal and bedded salts was ex-
amined at a strain rate of approximately 50 s−1 using a large-diameter
Kolsky compression bar. At quasi-static strain rate, domal salt was de-
formed parallel to the foliation plane. At high strain rate, bedded salt

⁎
Correspondence to: Geothermal Research Department, Sandia National Laboratories, MS 1033, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
E-mail address: sjbauer@sandia.gov (S.J. Bauer).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2018.11.004
Received 8 September 2017; Received in revised form 2 November 2018; Accepted 11 November 2018
Available online 06 December 2018
1365-1609/ © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY/4.0/).
S.J. Bauer et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120

was deformed parallel and perpendicular to bedding and domal salt was
deformed parallel and perpendicular to the foliation plane. The stress-
strain behavior of rock salts at high strain rates is presented and the
attendant deformation mechanisms were evaluated using scanning
electron microscopy (SEM).
2. Materials and specimens
The domal and bedded rock salts under investigation were prepared
from cores from two separate locations. The bedded salt originated in
the salt horizon of the Permian Salado formation taken from the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico. The formation
and brines occurred approximately 200 Ma.11,12 X-ray diffraction ana-
lysis showed up to 5% water-soluble and water-insoluble impurities,
including quartz, gypsum and clays which is consistent with previous
studies of WIPP salt.11 WIPP salt has been shown to contain on the
order of 0.5–0.6% water by weight.13 The WIPP salt was characterized
at a quasi-static strain rate of 10−4 s−1 under unconfined compression
previously and that data is used for comparison in this study.14–16
Specimens from the quasi-static compression experiments in those
studies had nominal dimensions of 10 cm diameter and length of 20 cm.
wave.” In a Kolsky compression bar test, the specimen must have a
lower mechanical impedance, ρCA, than the pressure bars, to generate a
higher particle velocity and larger displacement at the incident bar/
specimen interface than those at the specimen/transmission bar inter-
face, such that the specimen is compressed. A momentum trap bar that
is in contact with the transmission bar is used to absorb the impact
energy transmitted through the specimen. In addition, a computer-
controlled hydraulic brake system, a mechanical clamp system, and a
steel resonant plate backstop system with an aluminum honeycomb
block, are alternative options to further stop the Kolsky compression
bar system after dynamic loading.
A pair of strain gages was installed axial-symmetrically on the
surface of the incident bar while another pair of strain gages was in-
stalled on the transmission bar to measure the stress wave propagation
during dynamic loading. According to one-dimensional stress wave
theory, the strain rate, strain, and stress in the specimen are calculated
as
v1 − v 2 C
ε̇ = = B (εi − εr − εt )
Ls Ls (1)
t CB t

The domal salt was taken from a vertical core originating at depths
ε= ∫0 ̇ =
εdt
Ls
∫0 (εi − εr − εt ) dt
(2)
ranging 1.2–1.6 km from a salt dome in southern Louisiana; the salt is
exceptionally pure, with a halite content greater than 99% determined AB
σ1 = ⋅EB (εi + εr )
by X-ray diffraction. Quasi-static specimens for domal salt were tested As (3)
only in the parallel to foliation direction in this study. Specimens had AB
nominal dimensions of 10 cm diameter and were 20 cm in length. Six σ2 = ⋅EB εt
As (4)
specimens were compressed to generate an average strength for com-
parison to the high rate response. where the subscripts i, r, and t represent the incident, reflected, and
High-rate samples from both rock salts were prepared parallel and transmitted pulses, respectively; Ls is the original length of the spe-
perpendicular to foliation (for domal salt) or bedding (for bedded salt) cimen; AB and As are the cross-sectional areas of the bars and the spe-
directions. As-received cores are shown in Fig. 1. The cores were taken cimen, respectively; Cb and Eb are one-dimensional elastic longitudinal
parallel to foliation for domal salt and parallel to bedding for bedded wave speed and Young's modulus of the bar material, respectively; σ1
salt. The initial 10.2 cm diameter cores were cut and ground into in- and σ2 represent the stresses at the front and back ends of the specimen,
dividual specimens (also shown in Fig. 1) with dimensions listed in respectively. When the specimen stress is equilibrated,
Table 1. Each sample was subjected to a hydrostatic pressure of σ1 = σ2, orεi + εr = εt (5)
68.9 MPa for 72 h at ambient temperature for recompaction/micro-
crack healing. The density of the bedded salt was lower than the domal the calculations of specimen strain rate, strain, and stress are simplified
salt due to impurities. as
CB
ε ̇ = −2 εr
3. Experimental setup LS (6)

Unconfined quasi-static compression experiments were conducted CB t

using a servo-hydraulic load frame. Calibrated linear variable differ-
ential transformers (LVDTs) were used to measure specimen displace-
ment and a calibrated load cell was used to measure the force at a strain
rate of 1 × 10−4 s−1. The engineering stress-strain response was used
to determine Young's modulus as well as the specimen failure stress.
Dynamic compression experiments were conducted with a 7.62-cm-
diameter Kolsky compression bar as shown in Fig. 2. The design of this
Kolsky compression bar followed the same concept as a conventional
Kolsky bar,17 but with an air bushing system to support the large-dia-
meter bar system with minimal friction. The incident and transmission
bars were 365.8 cm and 213.4 cm long, respectively, followed by an-
other 152.4 cm-long momentum trap bar. All bars were made of C300
maraging steel. A solid striker with the same diameter was placed in the
gun barrel and propelled using an air gun system. The gun barrel
consisted of a series of 7.62 cm internal diameter air bushings stacked
inside a steel tube to minimize the friction between the striker and the
gun barrel during the launching process. To initiate the experiment, the
air gun system fires the striker which impacts the incident bar end,
generating a dynamic compressive loading pulse (“incident wave”) in
the incident bar. When the incident wave propagates to the specimen
that is sandwiched between the incident and transmission bars, part of
the incident wave is reflected back into the incident bar as a “reflected
wave” and the rest transmits into the transmission bar as a “transmitted
ε = −2
LS
∫0 εr dt
(7)
AB
σ= ⋅EB⋅εt
As (8)
The stress-strain curve is obtained by eliminating the time term in
Eqs. (7) and (8).
To satisfy Eq. (5) for stress equilibrium, pulse shaping techniques
have been developed and applied to Kolsky compression bar experi-
ments since the 1970s.17 The idea of the pulse shaping technique is to
increase the rise time of the incident pulse which gives the specimen
sufficient time to achieve stress uniformity. In general, once the in-
cident wave enters the specimen, it takes several round trips of pro-
pagation inside the specimen before the stress at the incident and
transmission bar interfaces are equal.18 When the specimen stress is
equilibrated, the stress and strain calculated with above equations re-
present the intrinsic response of the specimen material. In addition, the
pulse shaping technique enables one to achieve constant strain rate in
the specimen during dynamic loading through changing the profile of
the incident pulse. Typically, a “tip” material is placed on the impact
end of the incident bar as the pulse shaper. Upon impact of the striker,
the pulse shaper is significantly deformed. The mechanical response of
the pulse shaper under impact determines the stress wave profile that
transmits into the incident bar. Many materials have been used as the

113
S.J. Bauer et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120

Fig. 1. Cylindrical salt samples parallel to foliation/bedding direction; top: as received core, middle: cut pieces, bottom: end-ground samples after being subjected to
a hydrostatic pressure of 68.9 MPa for 72 h.

pulse shaper but annealed copper has become the most commonly used
material. The geometry and dimensions of the pulse shaper are also
critical to the profile of the stress wave. Therefore, to generate an in-
cident wave to facilitate both dynamic stress equilibrium and constant
strain rate deformation in the specimen, the pulse shaper needs to be
carefully designed in terms of material selection and geometry. In ad-
dition, since the pulse shaper is usually made of relatively soft material,
the high-frequency components of the stress wave are reduced during
the impact of the striker on the pulse shaper/incident bar, which
minimizes the effect of dispersion as the pulse propagates along the bar.
When a larger-diameter Kolsky bar is used, the size of the pulse
shaper usually needs to be correspondingly larger. However, when the
pulse shaper is too large, lateral inertia during deformation of the pulse
shaper may overshadow the mechanical response of the pulse shaper
during high-speed impact.19 In this study, four annealed copper disks
each with a diameter of 1.35 cm and a thickness of 0.04 cm, were used
as pulse shapers. Fig. 3a shows the configuration of the pulse shapers,
which were arranged equally spaced in a ring with a radius of 2 cm

Table 1
Rock salt sample information.
Parallel to bedding or foliation Perpendicular to bedding or foliation

Specimen ID Length (cm) Avg. dia. (cm) Mass (g) Density (g/cc) Specimen ID Length (cm) Avg. dia. (cm) Mass (g) Density (g/cc)

Domal 4409.3/1 3.81 7.64 376.51 2.15 4427.8/2 3.82 7.64 377.40 2.15
4408.5/1 3.78 7.64 372.95 2.15 4427.8/1 3.83 7.64 378.27 2.15
4408.5/2 3.81 7.64 376.81 2.15 5174/2 3.83 7.67 381.01 2.15
4408.5/3 3.81 7.64 377.35 2.16 5174/1 3.84 7.64 379.13 2.15
4408.5/4 3.81 7.64 377.69 2.16 4409.3/1 3.83 7.64 377.42 2.15
Bedded QGU10-2/1 3.81 7.64 367.08 2.10 QGU10-9/2 3.83 7.66 371.17 2.11
QGU10-2/2 3.78 7.63 359.77 2.09 QGU18-4/2 3.84 7.67 372.20 2.10
QGU10-2/3 3.80 7.63 362.79 2.09 QGU18-4/1 3.83 7.67 374.57 2.12
QGU10-5/1 3.80 7.64 368.62 2.12 QGU18-5/2 3.84 7.67 377.13 2.13
QGU10-5/2 3.77 7.64 366.26 2.12 QGU18-5/1 3.85 7.66 378.62 2.14
QGU10-16/1 3.84 7.66 373.83 2.11
QGU10-9/1 3.83 7.66 370.36 2.10
QGU18-25/1 3.84 7.66 378.11 2.14

114
S.J. Bauer et al.
Fig. 2. (a) 7.62 cm diameter Kolsky Compression Bar; (b) schematic diagram.
Fig. 3. (a) Photograph of pulse shaper configuration; (b) Rock salt sample in-
stalled between the incident and transmission bars.
Fig. 4. Typical set of oscilloscope records from a pulse-shaped Kolsky com-
pression bar experiment on rock salt.
115
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120
Fig. 5. Dynamic force equilibrium.
Fig. 6. Strain rate and strain histories.
from the center of the bar. The pulse shapers were held in place with
vacuum grease.
Because of the relatively large mass of the samples and extremely
low friction on the bars due to the air bearing system, the specimen was
held in position using a combination of high pressure vacuum grease
and four rubber bands attached to the incident and transmission bars as
shown in Fig. 3b. The rubber bands were taped to the incident and
transmission bars in an initially unstretched state. When the specimen
S.J. Bauer et al.
Fig. 7. Typical stress-strain curve.
Fig. 8. Dynamic compressive stress-strain curves of bedded rock salt. (a)
Parallel to bedding; (b) Perpendicular to bedding.
was placed between the bars, the rubber bands were stretched which
provided a small amount of pre-compression force to the specimen. This
pre-compression force was enough to prevent the specimen from sliding
down. The pre-force applied by the rubber bands was measured to be
approximately 15 N using a small static load cell that had the same
length as the specimen. Since the failure force of the salt specimens was
approximately 80 kN, the pre-force applied by the rubber bands did not
significantly affect strength measurements of the salt specimens.
Fig. 4 shows a typical set of incident, reflected, and transmitted
signals from an experiment on a domal rock salt in the direction parallel
to foliation (Specimen #4408.5/1). Through pulse shaping, the incident
116
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120
Fig. 9. Dynamic compressive stress-strain curves of domal salt. (a) Parallel to
foliation; (b) Perpendicular to foliation.
pulse possesses a rise time of approximately 150 µs, which is much
longer than a pulse (~ 40 µs) generated in a conventional non-pulse-
shaped experiment. The longer rise time allows the specimen to achieve
dynamic stress equilibrium. The incident pulse also shows a slight
hardening behavior compared to conventional plateau loading after the
ramp due to the pulse shapers. This slight hardening behavior is ne-
cessary to generate a plateau in the reflected pulse, owing to the slight
hardening behavior in the transmitted signal. The plateau in the re-
flected pulse indicates that constant strain-rate deformation of the
specimen was achieved.
After the incident, reflected, and transmitted signals are recorded,
the specimen stress at both ends are calculated using Eqs. (3) and (4)
and are shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 5 shows that the specimen achieved
equilibrium after approximately 100 µs of initial loading. The time to
achieve stress equilibrium can also be checked through calculation of
the sample wave speed.20 The Young's modulus of domal rock salt, Es,
measured in the quasi-static portion of this study was found to be
26 GPa. For reference, the modulus of the bedded salt perpendicular to
bedding was reported to be 33 GPa.14 Using the density, ρs, from
Table 1, the elastic wave speed of the material is calculated using
Es
cs = .
ρs (9)
This results in a wave speeds of 3480 m/s for the domal salt and
3940 m/s for bedded salt. The propagation time for the stress wave
across the 3.81 cm-long specimen is approximately 10 µs. Therefore, the
equilibration time for the specimen is approximately could range from
60 to 100 µs (at least three round trips18), which is consistent with the
S.J. Bauer et al. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120

Table 2
Comparison of dynamic and quasi-static experimental results.
Cut Direction Dynamic Experimental Results Quasi-static
Spec ID Strain Yield Avg. Yield Failure Avg. Failure Depth (km) Failure Avg. Failure DIF*
Rate (1/ Strength Strength Strength Strength Strength Strength (MPa)
s) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)

Domal Salt Parallel 4409.3/1 40 18.1 14.8 ± 2.9 22.3 22.3 ± 2.3 1.2–1.4 26 ± 7.5 0.86
4408.5/1 48 12.1 18.6
4408.5/2 42 15.2 22.9
4408.5/3 43 11.7 23.2
4408.5/4 38 16.9 24.7
Perpendicular 4427.8/2 42 18.2 14.3 ± 2.5 20.1 18.2 ± 3.3
4427.8/1 39 14.4 21.9
5174/2 49 12.7 14.8
5174/1 49 11.8 14.8
4409.3/1 43 14.5 19.7
Bedded Salt Parallel QGU10-2/1 46 16.3 15.3 ± 1.3 20.2 19.6 ± 0.7 0.57 28b 23.5 ± 5.9 0.7
QGU10-2/2 45 16.0 19.8
QGU10-2/3 45 16.1 20.0
QGU10-5/1 43 14.6 19.4
QGU10-5/2 44 13.3 18.4
Perpendicular QGU10-9/2 55 14.4 14.2 ± 0.9 16.4 17.1 ± 1.4 0.64 21.5c 0.79
QGU18-4/2 48 14.8 16.6
QGU18-4/1 44 13.8 18.9
QGU18-5/2 49 15.1 19.0
QGU18-5/1 46 15.1 17.5
QGU10–16/1 50 12.8 15.7
QGU10-9/1 48 13.4 15.5
QGU18–25/1 30 11.9a

* Ratio of dynamic to quasi-static strength.

a
Specimen did not fail due to lower strain rate. This was not included in the average.
b
16.
c
14,15.

4. Experimental results

Dynamic compressive stress-strain curves of the bedded salt tested

Fig. 10. Anisotropy and strain rate effect for domal and bedded rock salts
(quasi-static values for bedded salt:14–16; domal salt: this work).
behavior in Fig. 5. In Kolsky bar experiments, the initial portion of the
stress-strain behavior before stress equilibrium occurs may not be re-
liable to determine modulus.21 However, after equilibration, the stress-
strain behavior can be used to obtain properties such as plastic flow
stress as well as UCS. Fig. 6 shows the strain rate and engineering strain
histories calculated using Eqs. (6) and (7). As shown in Fig. 6, a con-
stant flow (or plastic) strain rate of 48 s−1 was achieved in this ex-
periment. The corresponding flow stress was 15 MPa and the ultimate
compressive strength (UCS) was 18.34 MPa. Eliminating the time term
of the specimen stress and strain histories, the dynamic compressive
stress-strain curve is obtained at the strain rate of 48 s−1 and is shown
in Fig. 7. Following the same experimental and data processing pro-
cedures, all specimens were dynamically characterized in compression
at similar strain rates.
parallel and perpendicular to bedding are shown in Fig. 8. The bedded
salt specimens along the direction perpendicular to bedding exhibited
better consistency in dynamic compressive stress-strain response than
those along the direction perpendicular to bedding. Generally, the
compressive stress-strain curves showed an “elastic-plastic” response,
which is usually used to describe the mechanical behavior of metallic
materials, though the deformation mechanisms may be different. In
addition, the bedded salt exhibited a small failure strain of approxi-
mately 1%, regardless of loading direction. The yield and flow stress of
the bedded salt were higher along the direction parallel to bedding
compared to the direction perpendicular to bedding.
Fig. 9 shows a comparison of the dynamic compressive stress-strain
curves of domal salt parallel and perpendicular to the foliation direc-
tion. The experimental results are significantly scattered along both
loading directions. The stress-strain response of the domal salt was
anisotropic, particularly in plastic flow stress. Parallel to foliation di-
rection, the material exhibited strain hardening, while perpendicular to
the foliation direction, the material had nearly perfect plastic flow be-
havior. The failure strain of the domal salt along both directions was
reasonably consistent. Like the bedded salt, domal salt failed at ap-
proximately 1% engineering strain.
Table 2 shows a summary of the dynamic experimental results for
both salt types as well as quasi-static failure strength of domal salt
obtained in this study and reference values for bedded salt from the
literature. The unconfined strength of domal salt was comparable to
literature values.1,22 Anisotropy information and strain rate effects on
UCS and yield strength for the bedded and domal salts are also shown in
Fig. 10. The dynamic UCS ratios of the domal salt and bedded salt along
parallel direction to perpendicular direction were 1.23 and 1.15, re-
spectively, which indicates significant anisotropy for both materials.
Both rock salt types exhibited a negative strain rate effect wherein the
dynamic UCS were lower than quasi-static UCS. This is also represented

117
S.J. Bauer et al.
Fig. 11. High-speed images of deformation and fracture of domal salt (Sample 4408.5/1). Dots on inset stress-strain curves show timing of image.
Fig. 12. Post-test samples (a) domal salt; (b) bedded salt.
in the table as a dynamic increase factor (DIF), which represents the
ratio of the high strain rate UCS compared to the quasi-static UCS. A
DIF of less than 1 represents a negative strain rate effect. The DIF for
bedded salt in the parallel to bedding direction was 0.7, though the
strength measurement from.16 had a small amount (0.2 MPa) of con-
fining pressure applied, which is not expected to affect the measured
118
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120
stress. The DIF of perpendicular bedded salt was 0.79. Comparing dy-
namic and quasi-static values measured in this study the DIF for parallel
domal salt was 0.86. No values for quasi-static failure strength of per-
pendicular domal salt were found. Because of the similarity in size of
quasi-static and dynamic samples, a sample size effect does not readily
explain the lower strength observed at high rate. Reasons for the ne-
gative strain rate effect will be explored later through microstructure
analysis.
5. Fracture behavior
Specimen deformation during high rate deformation was imaged
using a Phantom high-speed camera. Fig. 11 shows high-speed images
of specimen deformation at a recording speed of 25,000 frames per
second for domal rock salt (specimen 4408.5/1) during dynamic
loading. The sample starts to crack at t = 160 µs, which coincides with
the yield stress. The density of cracks increased with time. Many cracks
were observed when the first impact loading was nearly over
(t = 280 µs). No significant catastrophic failure was observed at this
point, even though the specimen had lost load-bearing capacity. Mac-
roscopic specimen failure occurred when the specimens were subjected
to sequential impact loadings as part of each test since no momentum
trapping technique was used. Many of the post-test samples consisted of
an assortment of > 2–5 mm fragments with occasional samples that
retained some cohesion despite experiencing several loadings during
the experiment, examples of which are shown in Fig. 12.
To understand the observed strength reduction at high strain rate,
deformed samples were examined using SEM. Microstructure analysis
revealed a variety of mechanisms which may explain the reduction in
strength seen in the high rate experiments. In general, the fracture
mechanisms were the same for both bedded and domal salt. Fig. 13
shows SEM images of both rock salt types after dynamic loading. As
shown in Fig. 13, microfracture is present over many length scales.
Microfracture sites included grain boundaries, cleavage planes, and
originated at non-crystallographically controlled (or discordant) loca-
tions. This behavior contrasts with what is typically seen in rock salt
subjected to unconfined compression at quasi-static strain rates. Subject
to unconfined conditions and quasi-static strain rates, cracks may in-
itiate at grain boundaries and cleavage. Indeed, the dominant failure
mechanism in rock salt at ambient temperature is either cleavage or
creep fracture.23 Fig. 14 shows microfractures that originated from
fluid-filled negative crystals, or fluid inclusions in both types of rock
salt. Crack growth appears to originate at the negative crystal and
terminates in the bulk crystal material; the intracrystalline strain
S.J. Bauer et al.
Fig. 13. Grain boundary, cleavage, and non-crystallographically controlled
microfractures from high rate samples. (a) domal salt; (b) bedded salt.
external to negative crystals may have been sufficiently high as to
pressurize the negative crystal leading to fracture (hydraulic fractures).
This is likened to the observations of experimentally deformed rock
salt.24 wherein fractures were connected by fracturing of fluid-filled
previously separated bubbles and tubes along grain boundaries. Our
work documents microfractures originating at fluid-filled negative
crystals. Some of the fractures appeared to follow crystallographic di-
rections (cleavage) and some were curved (discordant). The discordant
fractures may be the result of the rapid loading rate.
The final microfracture mechanism that was observed was commi-
nution of salt along fractured surfaces, as shown in Fig. 15. Such
comminution was most likely caused by small shear zones in a crack or
microfracture. The shear-induced microcracks appeared to grow from
the fracture surface and terminated inside the grain. The comminution
process may have introduced local frictional heating during deforma-
tion. Frictional heating may have facilitated some crystal plasticity and
119
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120
Fig. 14. Microcrack growth from fluid inclusions/negative crystals present in
the high-rate samples (a) domal salt; (b) bedded salt.
contributed to the observed decrease in strength at high rate compared
to quasi-static rate. The presence of these microfracture mechanisms is
probably the result of the high strain-rate loading and/or the sub-
sequent high strain rate loadings as the stress wave amplitude decayed
in the Kolsky bar setup. More study is needed to elucidate these find-
ings.
6. Conclusions
In this study, we used a 7.62-cm-diameter Kolsky compression bar
to characterize domal and bedded rock salts in dynamic compression at
strain rates of approximately 50 s−1. The high rate stress-strain beha-
vior was measured for both materials along the directions parallel and
perpendicular to bedding (for bedded salt) or foliation (for domal salt).
Both materials behaved elastically followed by a “plastic” flow behavior
with a failure strain of approximately 1%. Bedded and domal salts had
similar yield strength but different UCS. The domal salt had an average
UCS of 22.3 ± 2.3 MPa along the direction parallel to foliation, and an
S.J. Bauer et al.
Fig. 15. Small shear zone along microfracture surface.
average UCS of 18.2 ± 3.3 MPa along the direction perpendicular to
foliation. The bedded salt exhibited lower UCSs along both directions
with 19.6 ± 0.7 MPa along the direction parallel to bedding and
17.1 ± 1.4 MPa along the direction perpendicular to bedding. The
results also indicate significant anisotropy for both materials with
parallel-to-perpendicular strength ratios of 1.23 for the domal salt and
1.15 for the bedded salt. In addition, both materials showed negative
strain-rate effect with DIFs of 0.86 parallel direction and for the domal
salt; and 0.7 along parallel direction and 0.79 along perpendicular di-
rection for the bedded salt.
The primary deformation mechanism observed was fracturing over
a wide range of length scales. Microfracturing sites included grain
boundaries, cleavage planes and microfractures of apparent non-crys-
tallographically controlled, or discordant origin. Intracrystalline cracks
also originated in fluid-filled pores due to local over pressurization. In
addition, comminution of the rock salts was observed along fracture
surfaces which implies the potential for local frictional heating. The
combination of cleavage plane fractures, discordant fractures, fluid-
filled pore fracture, and comminution at shear zones most likely caused
crystal plasticity which lead to the observed decrease in strength at high
strain rates.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the support of the United States National
Nuclear Security Administration Office of Defense Nuclear
Nonproliferation Research and Development for funding this work. This
paper describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective
views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not ne-
cessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the
120
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 113 (2019) 112–120
United States Government. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-
mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and
Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's
National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-
NA0003525.
References
1. Van Sambeek L, Fossum A, Callahan G, Ratigan J. Salt mechanics: empirical and
theoretical developments. In: Proceedings of the Seventh Symposium on Salt, Vol 1.
Amsterdam; 1993: 127–134.
2. Carter NL, Hansen FD. Creep of Rocksalt. Tectonophysics. 1983;92:275–333.
3. Handin J, Russell JE, Carter NL. Experimental deformation of rocksalt. In: Hobbs BE,
Heard HC, eds. Washington, D.C: American Geophysical Union; 1986:117–160.
Mineral and Rock Deformation: Laboratory Studies; 36 [The Paterson Volume].
4. Farmer IW, Gilbert MJ. Time dependent strength reduction of rock salt. In:
Proceedings of the First Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt held at the
Pennsylvania State University. University Park. Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Trans Tech
Publications; 9–11 November 1981.
5. Liang WG, Zhao Ys, Xu SG, Dusseault MB. Effect of strain rate on the mechanical
properties of salt rock. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci. 2011;48:131–167.
6. Fang Q, Ruan Z, Zhai C, Jiang X, Chen L, Fang W. Split Hopkinson pressure bar test
and Numerical analysis of salt rock Under Confining pressure and temperature. Chin J
Rock Mech Eng. 2012;31(9):1756–1765.
7. Brookes CA, Burnand RP, Morgan JE. Anisotropy and indentation creep in crystals
with the rocksalt structure. J Mater Sci Lett. 1975;10:2171–2173.
8. Kupfer DH. Structure of Salt in Gulf Coast Domes. In: Proceedings of the 1st Symposium
on Salt. Cleveland: N. Ohio Geol. Soc; 1963: 104–123.
9. Mercer JW, Beauheim RM, Snyder RP, Fairer GM. Basic Data Report for Drilling and
Hydrologic Testing of Drillhole DOE-2 set the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Site;
SAND86- 0611, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM; 1987.
10. Liang C, Yang C, Zhao Y, Dusseault MB, Liu J. Experimental investigation of me-
chanical properties of bedded salt rock. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci. 2007;44:400–411.
11. Stein CL, Krumhansl JL. A model for the evolution of brines in salt from the lower
Salado formation, southeastern new Mexico. Geochim Cosmochim Acta.
1993;52:1037–1046.
12. Lambert S. Geochemistry of the waste isolation pilot plant (WIPP) site, southeastern
New Mexico, USA. Appl Geochem. 1992;7:513–531.
13. Bauer SJ, Urquhart A. Thermal and physical properties of reconsolidated crushed
rock salt as a function of porosity and temperature. Acta Geotech.
2016;11(4):913–924.
14. Hansen FD, Mellegard KD, Senseny PE. Elasticity and strength of ten natural rock
salts. In: Proceedings of the First Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt held at
the Pennsylvania State University. University Park: Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Trans Tech
Publications; 9-11 November 1981: 71-83.
15. Wawersik WR, Hannum DW. Mechanical behavior of new Mexico rock salt in triaxial
compression up to 200 °C. J Geophys Res. 1980;1980(85):891–900.
16. Buchholz SA. Test Results and Comparison of Triaxial Strength Testing of Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant Clean Salt: Albuquerque New Mexico: Sandia National
Laboratories. 2016: SAND2016-12363R.
17. Chen W, Song B. Split Hopkinson (Kolsky) Bar, Design, Testing and Applications. New
York, New York: Springer; 2011.
18. Wang L. Foundations of Stress Waves. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Science; 2007.
19. Heard WF, Martin BE, Nie X, Slawson T, Basu PK. Annular pulse shaping technique
for large-diameter kolsky bar experiments on concrete. Exp Mech.
2014;54(8):1343–1354.
20. Song B, Chen W. Dynamic stress equilibrium on a rubber specimen during a split
Hopkinson pressure bar experiment. Exp Mech. 2004;44:300–312.
21. Chen W, Song B, Frew DJ, Forrestal MJ. Dynamic small strain measurements of a
metal specimen with a split Hopkinson pressure bar. Exp Mech. 2003;43:20–23.
22. Ratigan JL, Vogt TJ. LPG storage at Mont Belvieu, Texas: a case history. SPE Adv
Technol Ser 1. 1993;1:204–211.
23. Chan KS, Munson DE, Bodner SR, Fossum AF. Cleavage and creep fracture of rock
salt. Acta Mater. 1996;44(9):3553–3565.
24. Friedman M, Dula WF, Gangi AF, Gazonas GA. Structural petrology of experimentally
deformed synthetic rocksalt. In: Proceedings of the First Conference on the Mechanical
Behavior of Salt held at the Pennsylvania State University. University Park: Clausthal-
Zellerfeld, Trans Tech Publications; 1981.