Development of 3D Printed Jackets Using Hard-Rubber Resin for Permeability and Mechanical Test of Rocks

Abstract

Recent experiments in the field of rock mechanics have seen an increase in the type of measured properties and a rise in the complexity of experimental setups, particularly in the shape of jackets. Using 3D printer to fabricate jackets would eliminate the inconvenience of taking sensor cables out of the jacket. In the last few years, rubber resins have been developed and used for stereolithography 3D printer. This allows a high printing accuracy to be achieved and complex three-dimensional shapes to be printed. These have a high printing accuracy and can be used to print complicated three-dimensional shapes. In this study, we attempted to fabricate a jacket using a 3D printer with a hard-rubber resin and evaluate its sealing ability for permeability and mechanical tests of rocks. The results of the leakage test indicated that the pore pressure did not change even when the confining pressure was increased to 20 MPa, demonstrating that the jacket seal was complete. In addition, the performance of the resin was evaluated, and the rubber was found to be sufficiently capable when utilised as a jacket for permeability and mechanical tests when water was used as the confining pressure medium.