Investigation of Compressive Strength of Shale Rock Under Impact Loading

Abstract

Static and dynamic uniaxial compressive strength of shale rock is studied in the present study. Shale rock is exposed to explosive loading/ impact loading during hydraulic fracturing. Which necessitate that strength of the shale rock under impact loading should be studied before performing hydraulic fracturing. For this purpose, outcrop shale rock from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan has been investigated under high strain-rates of order of 10 2 s -1 , using Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB). Two specimens were cored out from a single sample of shale rock for dynamic testing and static testing. Static compressive strength 11.84 MPa, was investigated using Universal Testing Machine (UTM). Average dynamic compressive strength 38.83 MPa was observed during testing. The compressive strength increased 3.27 times that of the static compressive strength.