Effects of Grain Size and Layer Thickness on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Rock Analogs

Yao Wang (), Shengjun Li, Rui Song (), Jianjun Liu, Min Ye, Shiqi Peng and Yongjun Deng
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Yao Wang: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Shengjun Li: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Rui Song: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Jianjun Liu: State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
Min Ye: School of Mathematics and Physics, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Shiqi Peng: Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu 610000, China
Yongjun Deng: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: Due to the complexity of the sedimentary and diagenetic processes, natural rocks generally exhibit strong heterogeneity in mineral composition, physicochemical properties, and pore structure. Currently, 3D printed (3DP) rock analogs fabricated from sandy materials (silica sand) are widely applied to study the petrophysical and geomechanical characteristics of reservoir rocks, which provides an alternative and novel approach for laboratory tests to calibrate the environmental uncertainties, resolve up-scaling issues, and manufacture customized rock specimens with consistent structure and controllable petrophysical properties in a repeatable fashion. In this paper, silica sand with various grain sizes (GS) and Furan resin were used to fabricate rock analogs with different layer thicknesses (LTs) using the binder-jetting 3DP technique. A comprehensive experimental study was conducted on 3DP rock analogs, including helium porosity measurement, micro-CT scanning, SEM, and uniaxial compression. The results indicate that the LT and GS have a great influence on the physical properties, compression strength, and failure behavior of 3DP rock analogs. The porosity decreases (the difference is 7.09%) with the decrease in the LT, while the density and peak strength increase (showing a difference of 0.12 g/cm 3 and 5.67 MPa). The specimens printed at the 200 and 300 μm LT mainly experience tensile shear destruction with brittle failure characteristics. The ductility of the 3DP rocks increases with the printing LT. The higher the content of the coarse grain (CG), the larger the density and the lower the porosity of the specimens (showing a difference of 0.16 g/cm 3 and 8.8%). The largest peak compression strength with a mean value of 8.53 MPa was recorded in the specimens printed with CG (i.e., 100% CG), and the peak strength experiences a decrease with the increment in the content percentage of the fine grain (FG) (showing a difference of 2.01 MPa). The presented work helps to clarify the controlling factors of the printing process and materials characteristics on the physical and mechanical properties of the 3DP rock analogs, and allows for providing customizable rock analogs with more controllable properties and printing schemes for laboratory tests.

Keywords: 3D printing; sandstone; porosity; compression strength; failure behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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