Creep of argillites under small mechanical loading

Study of rocks under small (typically s = 0.1 MPa) mechanical loading is of great importance both for a better understanding of geological deformation features and for the analysis of rock mass behavior at large distance from underground openings. A very small amount of experimental data is available. Very long-term tests are required, as the creep rates induced by such small mechanical loading are exceedingly small (10 ­13 to 10-12s-1). Accurate displacement measurements and a thorough control of both hygrometry and temperature must be used. We used high resolution displacements sensors, whose resolution is 10-9m, designed for purpose by P.A.Blum from IPG Paris. The creep test system were set in a 20-m deep gallery where hygrometry is close to 100%PHs suburbs ; and in a 200-m deep salt mine where hygrometry is 54+/-2% RH . In both sites daily temperature fluctuations are smaller than a few hundredth of a Celsius degree, allowing for quite constant ambient conditions during several month long tests, the observed displacement-versus-time curves can be corrected from the thermoelastic effects. Creep of salt samples was measured in the 200-m deep mine ; transient creep, steady-state creep and the effcts of stress drop were observed during a 18-month long test. The measured steady-state creep rates (10-12s-1) are much faster than the values extrapolated from standard tests performed under larger mechanical loading. Argillite creep was measured in the 20-m deep gallery. High hygrometry conditions result in relatively fast clay swelling. In this context, argillite creep rate, which is slower than swelling rate by one order of magnitude, is difficult to identif