A study of stress induced anisotropy using the 'relaxation' method on synthetic core

Summary The seismic effects of different stresses on rock core are commonly studied using whole core under different amounts of pressure. Normally this requires positioning whole core within a total jacket which exerts triaxial pressure on it while ultrasonic transducers transmit both compressional and shear energy across the core uniaxially. The result is a better understanding of stress fracturing as a function of the application of the stress. Such a study requires a major test facility. We present an alternative approach to assist the understanding of the effects of stress, by forming synthetic whole core under pressure, and after relaxation, studying the effects of seismic wave propagation on the relaxationinduced fracture system. While this cost-effective method requires little more than a car jack and ultrasonic transducers, it can be extended to provide useful knowledge of the effects of other matrix parameters.