Abstract
The purpose of this suggested method (SM) is to present a set of unified recommendations for water (single-phase, wetting pore fluid) saturation of rock in laboratory experiments associated with a constant bulk modulus of fluid Kf. Full water saturation is usually not the end in itself; it is often a prerequisite for hydromechanical testing of rock. However, measuring material parameters, e.g., poroelastic properties described in the SM for uniaxial-strain compressibility testing for reservoir geomechanics (Dudley et al. 2016), is outside the scope of this SM. Apparatus, procedures, and calculations are described, with an emphasis on how they are adapted to the permeability of the rock sample. Water–rock chemical interactions, as well as rate dependence (e.g., creep), are assumed to be negligible at the time scale of the laboratory experiment, meaning that this SM applies to rock with insignificant water sensitivity.