Change in Permeability of Loose Rocks in Partial Impregnation with High-Elastic Polymer

Abstract

The article describes the laboratory testing of permeability and structure of loose rock hardened with two-component highly elastic polyurethane resin at different methods of impregnation and at different consumptions of the polymer. Two methods of impregnation are tested: with a single solution as a mixture of two resin components and with a double solution of separate components mixed inside the test rock. It is shown that the decrease in the volume of resin from 20–40 to 5–10 vol% results in abundance of inter-grain voids and through permeable pore channels, and in an increase in the rock permeability by two–three orders of magnitude. The single-solution impregnation with the ready mixture ensures lower permeability of the test samples.