The mechanism of deformation and fracture in potash rock

Specimens of potash rock from the Rocanville mine of the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan were subjected to uniaxial compression tests and to time-dependent creep tests under static, uniaxial loading.During the first cycle of loading, the main sources of the measured strain are compaction and dilation at grain boundaries and consolidation of the clay phase. The crystals of halite and sylvite deform elastically at low stress and in a brittle manner at high stress. There is little, if any, evidence for constant-volume plastic deformation at any level of uniaxial stress.The stress–strain curve can be divided into three parts, each representing a different dominant deformational process: a low-stress quasi-elastic, an intermediate-stress ductile, and a high-stress brittle mechanism. The three parts are separated by the yield point (1–8 MPa) and the crack initiation point (10–13 MPa). The strength of the Rocanville potash specimens ranged between 15 and 18 MPa.The deformation of potash rock is strongly time dependent. There is evidence for the existence of all three stages of creep: transient, steady-state, and tertiary. There is very little interrelationship between the axial and lateral creep strains; the volumetric strain is negative at low stress and positive (dilatant) at high stress, but rarely, if ever, constant. Key words: creep, dilatant, ductile, elastic, fracture, microfracture, plastic, potash, salt.