Strength tests were made on three types of rock, both 'air-dry' and water-saturated, at temperatures from +25 to -195C, and stress/strain tests were made down to -60C. Strength of air-dry specimens increased with decreasing temperature at an average rate of approximately .002/C and quasi-elastic moduli increased at comparable rates. Static fatigue mechanisms in air-dry rock were apparently influenced by temperature-modification of adsorbed water. Strength of water-saturated specimens increased dramatically as pore water froze, and continued to increase down to -120C, where compressive and tensile strengths were greater than room temperature values by factors of 5, 4 and 2 for sandstone, limestone and granite respectively. Compressive stress/strain curves for saturated rocks became steeper after freezing, and initial tangent moduli for saturated high porosity rocks increased by well over an order of magnitude. (Author).

Measurements of dynamic properties of rock at high temperatures and pressures have many applications to geology and solid earth geophysics. Elastic wave velocities are obtained from rock cylinders in which delay times are measured using a pulse transmission technique. The longitudinal and shear velocities and bulk densities allow the calculation of isotropic elastic moduli. Techniques and equipment used for measuring velocities as functions of confining pressure, pore pressure, and temperature are summarized.

Rock physics encompasses practically all aspects of solid and fluid state physics. This book provides a unified presentation of the underlying physical principles of rock physics, covering elements of mineral physics, petrology and rock mechanics. After a short introduction on rocks and minerals, the subsequent chapters cover rock density, porosity, stress and strain relationships, permeability, poroelasticity, acoustics, conductivity, polarizability, magnetism, thermal properties and natural radioactivity. Each chapter includes problem sets and focus boxes with in-depth explanations of the physical and mathematical aspects of underlying processes. The book is also supplemented by online MATLAB exercises to help students apply their knowledge to numerically solve rock physics problems. Covering laboratory and field-based measurement methods, as well as theoretical models, this textbook is ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in rock physics. It will also make a useful reference for researchers and professional scientists working in geoscience and petroleum engineering.