Tensile strength of a foliated serpentinite from Vermont

The interaction of CO2-rich fluids with mafic and ultramafic formations is being promoted as a mechanism for solubilizing CO2 and helping to regulate climate change. This process requires access of CO2-rich fluid to the matrix of serpentinized ultramafics, but the low permeability of these formations is expected to be rate limiting. Formation of new fractures in the intact matrix may play a role in accerating the fluid access and reaction kinetics. In this study, we investigate the fracture properties of a foliated serpentinite parallel to the foliation. The rock sample is an antigorite-rich serpentinite from Vermont, US. The fracture initiation and propagatin were studied in center-notched three-point bend specimen with crack growth parallel to the foliation.