Investigation on the Influence of Temperature and Confining Pressure on the Hydraulic Conductivity of the Integrated and Fractured Jurassic Conglomerates

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the properties of hydraulic conductivity and permeability of conglomerates under different temperatures and confining pressures with integrated samples and samples with shear failure. Constant head tests were carried out in a temperature-controlled triaxial cell with samples obtained from the Zhuxianzhuang Coal Mine. Five levels of temperatures (10°C, 20°C, 28°C, 35°C, and 50°C) and three levels of confining pressures (3 MPa, 5 MPa, and 7 MPa) were chosen for the tests. The results show that there is a negative relationship between hydraulic conductivity and confining pressure with both original and shear failure samples. An inflection point of 35°C is found in the relationship between the flow rate and temperature. However, with increasing temperature conditions, hydraulic conductivity first increases and then decreases at 50°C with the intact sample, while hydraulic conductivity first decreases from 20°C and then increases with the shear failure sample. Finally, nonlinear regression equations of hydraulic conductivity and temperature were obtained under different confining pressures.