Softening rocks with stress-activated electric current

摘要：

When rocks are subjected to mechanical stress, dormant electronic defects become activated. This activation produces electron-hole pairs, which increase the electrical conductivity of rocks by releasing highly mobile defects electrons, equivalent to O- in a matrix of O2- , called positive holes and symbolized by h*. The h* charge carriers can spread from the stressed rock into surrounding unstressed rocks. Preventing the outflowof h* alters the mechanical properties of the rocks: they become softer and weaker. Ongoing studies point to a delocalization of the wave function associated with the h* charge carriers, which is far-reaching and affects many neighboring O 2–. Although the number density of positive holes may be as low as 1 in 1000, essentially all O 2– in the rock subvolume lose some of their electron density. This loss weakens the interatomic bonds between anions and cations, thus affecting the mechanical properties of rocks.

作者: F.T. Freund S.A. Hoenig A. Braun R.P. Dahlgren M. Momayez J.J. Chu

作者单位: NASA Ames Research Center, Earth Science Division, Code SGE, Moffett Field, CA,USA Department of Phy Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Bose Corporation, ElectroForce Systems Group, Eden Prairie, MN Department of Physics &Astronomy, San José State University, San José, CA, USACarl Sagan Center, The Department of Mining & Geological Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

会议类型: 国际会议

会议名称: The Fifth International Symposium on In-situ Rock Stress(第五届国际岩石应力研讨会)

会议地点: 北京

会议语种:英文

页码: 839-843

在线出版日期: 2010-08-25（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）