An improved Maxwell creep model for salt rock

The creep property of salt rock significantly influences the long-term stability of the salt rock underground storage. Triaxial creep tests were performed to investigate the creep behavior of salt rock. The test results indicate that the creep of salt rock has a nonlinear characteristic, which is related to stress level and creep time. The higher the stress level, the longer the creep time, the more obvious the nonlinear characteristic will be. The elastic modulus of salt rock decreases with the prolonged creep time, which shows that the creep damage is produced for the gradual expansion of internal cracks, defects, etc., causing degradation of mechanical properties; meanwhile, the creep rate of salt rock also decreases with the prolonged creep time in the primary creep stage, which indicates that the mechanical properties of salt rock are hardened and strengthened. That is to say, damage and hardening exist simultaneously during the creep of salt rock. Both the damage effect and the hardening effect are considered, an improved Maxwell creep model is proposed by connecting an elastic body softened over time with a viscosity body hardened over time in series, and the creep equation of which is deduced. Creep test data of salt rock are used to evaluate the reasonability and applicability of the improved Maxwell model. The fitting curves are in excellent agreement with the creep test data, and compared with the classical Burgers model, the improved Maxwell model is able to precisely predict the long-term creep deformation of salt rock, illustrating our model can perfectly describe the creep property of salt rock.