Thermo-Physical and Mechanical Properties of Al Hashimiyya Basaltic Rocks, Jordan

Abstract

Geothermal exploration in northern Jordan is in juvenile phase. North eastern basaltic desert is expected to host, with other rock formations, a shallow geothermal field. For efficient geothermal potential evaluation, a complete understanding of thermo-physical properties of deep reservoir rocks is of utmost importance. Due to the complex technical thermo-physical evaluations of basalts in depth, surficial basalts extending to the west were evaluated. Accordingly, six basaltic sub-flows from Al Hashimiyya were examined into their thermo-physical and mechanical properties. The flows represent the western extinction of large olivine basalt eruption. Different properties were evaluated for oven dried samples: thermal conductivity, permeability, porosity, density and specific heat capacity. In addition, basalts mechanical properties were examined: compressional wave velocity, unconfined compressive strength, indirect tensile strength and point load tests. The results were correlated in proportional patterns. They indicated that thermal conductivity of the studied basalts is dependent on porosity and permeability in parallel with mineral composition. It's found that mechanical properties are controlled by porosity and permeability, too. The studied basalt properties exhibit slight deviation from the continental basalts thermo-physical and mechanical properties reported in the region. Thermal conductivity ranges between 1.89 and 1.32 W•m −1 •K −1 , whereas the porosity and permeability averages at 10.64% and 9.75899E−15 m 2 , respectively. Additionally, unconfined compressive strength averages at 104.9 Mpa and it's almost 20 times higher than indirect tensile strength which ranges from 8.73 to 2.21 Mpa. As the samples were tested under laboratory conditions, in situ conditions will not be reflected by such values. At greater depth, temperature, pressure and hydrothermal activities will certainly affect rock properties. Micro fractures, whether it will be filled or not, will affect basalts properties, too. The results of this work will be used to develop a comprehensive thermo-physico-mechanical How to cite this paper: Al-Zyoud, S. (2019) Thermo-Physical and Mechanical Properties of Al Hashimiyya Basaltic Rocks, Jordan.

Characterization of the Physical and Mechanical Properties of the Harrat Ash Shaam Basalt (HASB)/Northeast Jordan

“…Reported by [23], similar conclusion also were reported on the Gs of the basalt in Harrat Irbid Basaltic rocks Irbid [16], and is comparable with Al-Hashimiyya basalt that is reported by [17], which gives a specific gravity average of 2.59. The relationship between specific gravity (Gs) and absorption is shown in Figure 4.…”

“…According to the IAEG, the basalt samples can be classified as high ultrasonic wave velocity of class 4. [17] reported the ultrasonic wave velocity in Al-Hashimiyya basalt as 5067 m/s, which is slightly less than those of Harrat Ash Shaam basalt, with averages about 4308 m/s. This is due to the weak texture of the volcanic clastic materials and presence of internal micro cracks, which support the idea that the ultrasonic traveling velocities are high in homogenous rock masses with good mechanical properties and can be used to identify the quality of the rock structure [25].…”

“…The authors studied the geo-engineering evaluation of basaltic rocks in the Harrat Irbid area. [17] studied thermo physical and mechanical properties of Al Hashimiyya Basalt in Jordan. [18] investigated the relationships between point load index and the uniaxial compressive strength for basaltic rock derived from different regions in Jordan and examinined potential relationships between basalt physical properties and ultrasonic pulse value.…”

Evaluation of Jordanian Basalt as a Thermal Insulation Material

“…The composition is expressed in percentage, K -thermal conductivity at W/mK and density g/cm 3 . However, the contribution of this study is to include the aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) along with ferromagnesian oxides, because, surprisingly, it was found that overall thermal conductivity measurements of basalt increased with the aluminium oxide content.…”

Monte Carlo Predictions of Aero-Engine Performance Degradation Due to Particle Ingestion

“…However, the ability to carry out these quantitative damage predictions using deterministic approaches such as computational fluid dynamics relies on complete knowledge of the particle properties and flow boundary conditions, with the rate of deposition shown to be a function of particle size, composition and concentration. Attempts have also been made to characterise physical properties of ingested particles [7][8][9], with the inability to determine these in a real-world scenario, such as during an exposure event, proving a hindrance to deterministic approaches [10,11]. This introduces a high degree of uncertainty into the numerical models currently available to predict the likelihood of deposition and limits confidence in the results obtained.…”