Surface contamination and changes of mechanical damping in Berea sandstone

Small changes in the pore fluid chemistry of Berea sandstone cause significant changes in mechanical damping. A method of detecting contaminants in porous rocks is under ongoing development. Here I report several laboratory measurements done in support of this development, including that of a large difference in mechanical damping between clean and chemically treated Berea sandstone. I develop a model of a surface-chemistry related damping mechanism, and qualitatively compare results from calculations to experimental results. I rule out other damping mechanisms, and conclude that the observed damping is due to surface chemistry effects (contact angle hysteresis). To help verify experimental results, an anelastic structure with calculable damping properties was built. Damping of this structure was measured by the same method used for damping measurements on Berea sandstone. Results from these measurements show good agreement to the calculated response of the structure in the frequency range 0.03–1 Hz.*; *This dissertation includes a CD that is compound (contains both a paper copy and a D as part of the dissertation. The CD requires the following applications: Adobe Acrobat.