A Discussion on Possible Mechanisms of Nonlinear Hysteretic Behavior in Sedimentary Granular Rocks: Grain Contact Adhesion vs. Stick Slip Sliding,

The stress-strain behavior of dry and saturated Berea sandstones has been studied in detail in order to investigate the relative contributions of grain contact adhesion hysteresis and stick-slip sliding on energy loss in granular sedimentary rocks. The information gathered from the uniaxial stress cycling experiments show evidence of frictional stick-slip sliding when the samples were saturated with hexadecane and CTAB solutions. Dry and brine saturated cases did not show any stick-slip effects. The pore fluids at the grain contacts were found to play an important role in the observed hysteresis in the stress-strain diagrams and in determining the stick-slip effects.