For his Bachelor End Project, Gertjan is researching how different fluids affect the tensile strength of rocks.
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In the rocks are tiny open spaces in which fluids can be present. The ratio between the volume of the open spaces and the volume of the rock is called 'porosity'.
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Gertjan first does a visual check and measures the geometry and porosity of the rock samples.
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Then saturates the samples with various fluids that occur in the subsurface.
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Finally, he measures what the fluid has done to the 'tensile strength' (the maximum pulling force the rock can handle).
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That way, he can figure out how much force you need to apply until the rocks break…
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Knowing more about the effects of different fluids within rocks contributes to our understanding of the subsurface.
