Thermal properties of rock salt and quartz monzonite to 573{sup 0}K and 50-MPa confining pressure

Abstract

Measurements of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal linear expansion have been made on two rock types, a rock salt and a quartz monzonite, at temperatures from 300 to 573{sup 0}K and confining pressures from 10 to 50 MPa. The samples were taken from deep rock formations under consideration as possible sites for a nuclear waste repository - the rock salt from a domal salt formation at Avery Island, Louisiana, and the quartz monzonite from the Climax Stock, Nevada Test Site, Nevada. The testing temperature and pressures are meant to bracket conditions expected in the repository. In both rock types, the thermal properties show a strong dependence upon temperature and a weak or non-dependence upon confining pressure. Thermal conductivity and diffusivity both decrease with increasing temperature in approximately linear fashion for samples which have not been previously heated. At 50 MPa in both rocks this decrease closely matches the measured or expected intrinsic (crack-free) behavior of the material. Preliminary indications from the quartz monzonite suggest that conductivity and diffusivity at low pressure and temperature may decrease as a result of heat treatment above 400{sup 0}K.