Laboratory evaluation of damage criteria and permeability of Big Hill salt

To establish strength criteria of Big Hill salt, a series of quasi-static triaxial compression tests have been completed. This report summarizes the test methods, set-up, relevant observations, and results. The triaxial compression tests established dilatant damage criteria for Big Hill salt in terms of stress invariants (I{sub 1} and J{sub 2}) and principal stresses ({sigma}{sub a,d} and {sigma}{sub 3}), respectively: {radical}J{sub 2}(psi) = 1746-1320.5 exp{sup -0.00034I{sub 1}(psi)}; {sigma}{sub a,d}(psi) = 2248 + 1.25 {sigma}{sub 3} (psi). For the confining pressure of 1,000 psi, the dilatant damage strength of Big Hill salt is identical to the typical salt strength ({radical}J{sub 2} = 0.27 I{sub 1}). However, for higher confining pressure, the typical strength criterion overestimates the damage strength of Big Hill salt.