Dimensional Changes in Geological Sandstone Caused by Wetting

Abstract Induced seismicity has received a lot of attention in recent years. This new natural phenomenon appeared as a result of active human influence on nature. The phenomenon has been detected in places of natural gas and oil recovery, and geological storage of CO2. One of the main reasons for the observed seismic activity is associated with the adsorption-induced deformation of rocks. We present experimental data and a simple model describing adsorption-induced deformation using the example of the Berea sandstone. We suggest a simplified experiment for the undergraduate university laboratory.