Thermo-mechanical properties of Indian and other granites

The knowledge of thermo-mechanical and transport properties of granites is required to understand and model a number of processes in the earth crust such as folding, geothermal activity, magmatic intrusions, plate tectonics and nuclear waste disposal. Authors have studied various thermo-mechanical properties of Indian granite (IG) at high temperatures in the range of 30-160 1 degrees C, keeping in view the highest temperatures expected in underground nuclear waste repositories. These properties are Young's modulus, uniaxial compressive strength, tensile strength, Poisson's ratio, coefficient of linear thermal expansion, creep behaviour and the development of micro-crack on heating using scanning electron microscope ( SEM). In addition, a literature survey was carried out to collect data on the properties of granites at high temperatures including first five properties mentioned above for IG and some other properties such as viscosity, permeability, melting point, specific heat, thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity. The information gathered in this paper would be useful in thermo-mechanical characterisation of granites for modelling of several geological phenomena. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.