Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking Process

Abstract Mineral hydration and carbonation can produce large solid volume increases, deviatoric stress, and fracture, which in turn can maintain or enhance permeability and reactive surface area. Despite the potential importance of this process, our basic physical understanding of the conditions und...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: S. Lambart, H. M. Savage, B. G. Robinson, P. B. Kelemen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-09-01
Series:Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GC007609
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849419081721053184
author S. Lambart
H. M. Savage
B. G. Robinson
P. B. Kelemen
author_facet S. Lambart
H. M. Savage
B. G. Robinson
P. B. Kelemen
author_sort S. Lambart
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Mineral hydration and carbonation can produce large solid volume increases, deviatoric stress, and fracture, which in turn can maintain or enhance permeability and reactive surface area. Despite the potential importance of this process, our basic physical understanding of the conditions under which a given reaction will drive fracture (if at all) is relatively limited. Our hydration experiments on CaO under uniaxial loads of 0.1 to 27 MPa show that strain and strain rate are proportional to the square root of time and exhibit negative, power law dependence on uniaxial load, suggesting that (1) fluid transport via capillary flow is rate limiting and (2) decreasing strain rate with increasing confining pressure might be a limiting factor in reaction driven cracking at depth. However, our experiments also demonstrate that crystallization pressure due to hydration exceeds 27 MPa (consistent with a maximum crystallization pressure of 153 MPa for the same reaction, Wolterbeek et al., https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440‐017‐0533‐5). As a result, full hydration can be achieved at crustal depths exceeding 1 km, which is relevant for engineered fracture systems.
format Article
id doaj-art-e98bce7aec2247218d611caacdd1f530
institution Kabale University
issn 1525-2027
language English
publishDate 2018-09-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
spelling doaj-art-e98bce7aec2247218d611caacdd1f5302025-08-20T03:32:15ZengWileyGeochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems1525-20272018-09-011993448345810.1029/2018GC007609Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking ProcessS. Lambart0H. M. Savage1B. G. Robinson2P. B. Kelemen3Lamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Palisades NY USALamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Palisades NY USALamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Palisades NY USALamont‐Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Palisades NY USAAbstract Mineral hydration and carbonation can produce large solid volume increases, deviatoric stress, and fracture, which in turn can maintain or enhance permeability and reactive surface area. Despite the potential importance of this process, our basic physical understanding of the conditions under which a given reaction will drive fracture (if at all) is relatively limited. Our hydration experiments on CaO under uniaxial loads of 0.1 to 27 MPa show that strain and strain rate are proportional to the square root of time and exhibit negative, power law dependence on uniaxial load, suggesting that (1) fluid transport via capillary flow is rate limiting and (2) decreasing strain rate with increasing confining pressure might be a limiting factor in reaction driven cracking at depth. However, our experiments also demonstrate that crystallization pressure due to hydration exceeds 27 MPa (consistent with a maximum crystallization pressure of 153 MPa for the same reaction, Wolterbeek et al., https://doi.org/10.1007/s11440‐017‐0533‐5). As a result, full hydration can be achieved at crustal depths exceeding 1 km, which is relevant for engineered fracture systems.https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GC007609CaO hydrationpressure of crystallizationfluid transportexperimentsreactive cracking
spellingShingle S. Lambart
H. M. Savage
B. G. Robinson
P. B. Kelemen
Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking Process
Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
CaO hydration
pressure of crystallization
fluid transport
experiments
reactive cracking
title Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking Process
title_full Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking Process
title_fullStr Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking Process
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking Process
title_short Experimental Investigation of the Pressure of Crystallization of Ca(OH)2: Implications for the Reactive Cracking Process
title_sort experimental investigation of the pressure of crystallization of ca oh 2 implications for the reactive cracking process
topic CaO hydration
pressure of crystallization
fluid transport
experiments
reactive cracking
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GC007609
work_keys_str_mv AT slambart experimentalinvestigationofthepressureofcrystallizationofcaoh2implicationsforthereactivecrackingprocess
AT hmsavage experimentalinvestigationofthepressureofcrystallizationofcaoh2implicationsforthereactivecrackingprocess
AT bgrobinson experimentalinvestigationofthepressureofcrystallizationofcaoh2implicationsforthereactivecrackingprocess
AT pbkelemen experimentalinvestigationofthepressureofcrystallizationofcaoh2implicationsforthereactivecrackingprocess