The Geomechanics Laboratory provides advanced facilities to measure rock properties under a wide range of simulated service conditions, including very high pressures, elevated temperatures, and complex loading paths. These capabilities support research and development efforts in underground construction, geothermal drilling and development, mining, oil and gas production, reservoir management, and subsurface energy storage.
Accurate prediction of rock mass response and fluid flow requires quantitative models of deformation and fracture processes. Data collected in the Geomechanics Laboratory inform these models, enabling analysis and numerical design for real-world applications.
The laboratory’s robust capabilities support research across diverse fields, including:
- Critical mineral recovery
- Underground construction
- Mining
- Oil and gas production and reservoir management
- Geothermal drilling and development
- Subsurface hydrogen storage
- Geologic carbon dioxide storage
- Hydrocarbon and compressed air storage
- Hazardous waste disposal
- Fluid flow and contaminant transport
- Laboratory and bench-scale evaluation of geotechnical design procedures
Geothermal drilling and development require thorough characterization of in-situ rock properties, fracture processes, and borehole stability, all of which can be characterized through experimental facilities at Sandia.
The Geomechanics Laboratory is currently looking to study these processes at higher temperature conditions (more than 100 degrees Celsius) to evaluate geothermal reservoirs’ stability as well as the various drilling tools and reservoir engineering technologies developed to enhance production capabilities.
Learn more about our experience understanding the mechanical, hydrological, chemical, and thermal forces at play in geothermal systems and during drilling projects.
Supported by laboratory experiments and in situ observations, the Geomechanics Laboratory specializes in:
- Characterizing natural fracture systems
- Identifying and modeling rock deformation and failure mechanisms
- Measuring thermo-mechanical and transport properties of intact rock and fractures, including coupled effects
- Extrapolating laboratory data to field conditions
- Conducting in situ stress measurements and evaluating boundary conditions
- Performing laboratory and bench-scale validation studies
The laboratory can characterize a wide range of materials, including:
- Rocks, sands, soils, and clays
- Composite materials
- Concretes
- Select ceramics
- Foams
- Metals
The Geomechanics Laboratory is equipped with specialized instruments to assess rock properties under diverse simulated conditions:
- Servo-controlled testing machines (0.1–5 MN capacity)
- Normal load/torsion testing machine (1 MN/10 kN·m)
- Pressure vessels (70 MPa to 1 GPa, up to 15 cm cavity diameter)
- True tri-axial testing systems
- Hopkinson/Kolsky bar for intermediate strain-rate testing (2.5 cm sample diameter)
- Tri-axial creep apparatus with high strain-rate resolution (10⁻¹⁰ s⁻¹)
- Elevated temperature testing up to 400°C
- Permeability apparatus with hydrostatic and deviatoric loading
- Thermal property testing (expansion and conductivity) up to 300°C
- Non-destructive testing, including real-time acoustic emission location and digital image correlation
- Laser surface profiler (10 Å resolution)
- Petrographic laboratory
- Specialty machining and sample preparation facilities
To use the Geomechanics Laboratory, contact the user liaison.
Contact
Ben Cook
bkcook@sandia.gov