“…Existing literature on numerical modeling is mostly dependent upon the idea that the effective elastic properties of rock mainly depend on the relative amount of minerals present, the elastic properties of each component, the geometrical distribution of each component, and fluid saturation (Schmitt, ). Although experimental studies confirmed the impact of humidity on the strength and stiffness of rock (Arsalan et al, ; Martin, ; Orowan, ; Pimienta et al, ; Razvi, ), it was not addressed in existing numerical studies. Since the surface energy of minerals is directly proportional to exposed surface area (Bentz et al, ), the humidity is expected to be more relevant to the development of fine‐grained thin‐bedded sandstone reservoirs, gas reservoirs, or chalk reservoirs where humidity effect is more pronounced due to increasing exposed surface area (Hossain, ).…”