Stress-induced permeability changes in Indiana limestone

This paper examines the influence of triaxial stress states with confining stresses between 5 and 30MPa, including post-failure, on the alteration of intrinsic permeability of Indiana Limestone. The permeating fluid used in the experiments was distilled/de-aired water. Experimental results are used to develop an empirical state space model of permeability evolution due to the action of maximum and minimum principal stresses imposed on the sample. The developed empirical model is implemented in a computational code to examine the influence of stress-induced permeability alterations on the flow into an unlined cylindrical cavity located in a rock mass subjected to geostatic stresses. •Experimental evaluation of isotropic permeability changes with triaxial stresses.•Post-failure permeability values determined from one-dimensional flow tests.•An analytical expression is proposed to describe the variation of permeability with the principal stresses.