9614558 Wang The PI proposes to experimentally determine rock poroelastic properties by utilizing existing and newly developed laboratory techniques. The laboratory data are needed for studying coupled stress-pore pressure processes in rocks, which are important in applications in geophysics, hydrology, and petroleum engineering. An experimental database will be developed to address the Biot theory premise that pore pressure is not coupled with shear strain, and experiments will investigate the dependence of poroelastic moduli on pore pressure and confining pressure, the general variations of poroelastic moduli with rock type, and the relationships between poroelastic moduli and micromechanical properties. The research should provide a solid experimental basis for poroelastic modeling of geophysical phenomena in the earth's upper crust. ***
