Compaction bands and induced permeability reduction in Tuffeau de Maastricht calcarenite

The mechanical behavior and permeability of the Tuffeau de Maastricht calcarenite were studied. Compactions bands were found to form in the “transitional” regime between brittle faulting and cataclastic flow. In order to predict the formation of compaction bands, bifurcation analysis was applied on a model developed by Lade and Kim. The numerical results proved to be in good agreement with the experimental ones where the localization point was identified to be the onset of shear-enhanced compaction (a threshold in differential stress after which significant reduction of porosity is induced). Before the onset of shear-enhanced compaction, permeability was primarily controlled by the effective mean stress, independent of the deviatoric stresses. With the onset of shear-enhanced compaction, however, coupling of the deviatoric and hydrostatic stresses induced considerable permeability and porosity reduction.