Feasibility of the piezoelectric exploration technique for quartz vein detection ...

• Main Author: Jose, Barrie Frederick
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2010
• Subjects: Northwest Territories
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0052547; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0052547

The piezoelectric effect of quartz rich rock has been investigated both in the laboratory and a subterranean environment. In the laboratory experiment, rock specimens from the Con Mine, Northwest Territories, were examined for crystal alignment and cut into oriented 3.81 cm (1.5 in) sided cubes. The specimens were clamped, together with the measuring electrodes, between parallel plates of a compression cage designed to apply a consistent and uniform pressure distribution across the samples. A solenoid device applied a stress pulse of highly repeatable amplitude and form to the specimen and an instrumentation amplifier measured the differential piezoelectric voltage between opposite faces of the specimen. The massive samples with random fabrics were expected to yield a net "statistical effect". The measured voltage variations between orthogonal directions were attributed to signal domination by large crystals within the matrix, limited sample volume, microfracturing, and the distribution of non-piezoelectric ...