An automatic loading system for rock core testing with an industrial CT scanner

Abstract

A new type of a loading and measuring system was developed for testing failure and deformation of rock core samples with an industrial CT (ICT) scanner. The loading and measuring system consisted of a loading system and a computer control system. The maximum servo-controlled force was 2 tonnes. The new system was a high-stiffness system with a small size. During ICT tests, rock core samples could be easily loaded in the axial direction. So the initiation, propagation, and coalescence of cracks in core samples were observed on ICT images. © 2011 China University of Petroleum (Beijing) and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.