Deformation, Cracking and Healing Mechanisms in Rock Salt: a Microscale Study

Abstract Hydrogen has raised increasing interest with the need of switching our energy sources to low-carbon ones. Its storage in salt caverns could be a promising solution but the adaptation from seasonal underground storage of hydrocarbons to shorter term storage of hydrogen produced from renewable energies still needs a better understanding of the behavior of rock salt. X-Ray microcomputed tomography imaging during triaxial compression tests allows time-resolved study of micro-damage development during deformation, for different confining pressures. Two types of synthetic rock salt have been prepared in dry and humid conditions to investigate the effect of the presence of brine on deformation mechanisms. Although networks of micro-cracks are observed in both types of material, they are observed at an earlier stage of deformation in the dry material.