No Picture

Rock, Shale Testing & Development

(Rock Testing, Instrumentation & Calibration Services)

P.O. Box 981734, Utah 84098-1734
Phone: (435) 649-4052   ~   FAX: (435) 658-3770
E-Mail: rstankovic@rstd-co.com










No Picture

Mechanical Testing    Equipment Design
   Instrumentation & Calibration

RSTD laboratory provides:

  • Mechanical Testing of Rock Samples
  • Testing Equipment Design and Development
  • Instrumentation and Calibration Services

Mechanical Testing

No Picture
A computer-controlled triaxial test frame for the
mechanical testing of rocks

Fast turn around on test results is always a priority with us!

RSTD, maintains a laboratory equipped with sample preparation tools; computer-controlled test systems and data acquisition/processing software. These test systems allow a complete line of mechanical testing of rocks including:

  • Uniaxial Compression Test
  • Hydrostatic Compression Test
  • Triaxial Compression Test
  • Uniaxial Strain Test
  • Extension Test
  • Ultrasonic Velocity Measurements
  • Rock~Fluid Interaction Test
  • Thick-Walled Cylinder Test (TWC)
  • Horizontal Permeability Test
  • Brazillian (Tensile Strength) Test
These tests can be conducted at ambient or elevated temperature, to 150 DegC, on cylindrical samples of various sizes.

A data acquisition program is used to
obtain a continuous record of:

  • Time
  • Axial Load
  • Confining Pressure
  • Pore Pressure
  • Axial and transverse displacements
  • Pore Volume Change
  • Temperature

Test data is processed to obtain:

  • Stress~Strain Plots
  • Load~Time Plots
  • Compressive Strength
  • Elastic Constants
  • Mohr's Circles & Failure Envelop
  • Shear Strength Parameters
  • Pore Compressibility
  • Ultrasonic Velocities & Dynamic Elastic Constants

Note:  Ultrasonic velocities can be measured at  any stage of a test.

Results along with the test details, are provided in a report form. Actual test data can be provided on a floppy disk or a CD.

Go to Top

Equipment Design & Development

RSTD shop builds a wide spectrum of equipment operating in high-pressure, high-temperature range in rock and other material testing laboratories. These include:

  •  Loading Frames
  • Pressure Vessels
  • Base Plugs
  • Hydraulic systems
  • Triaxial Test Machines

In conjunction with a highly qualified panel of consultants, RSTD can custom-design and develop completely automated and integrated systems for other types of tests on rock and coal samples to determine:

  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Electrical Resistivity
  • Static and Dynamic Load~Deformation Characteristics
  • Strength and Failure Parameters
  • Gas Adsorption capacity
  • Gas and Liquid Permeability

Speciality equipment for other applications can be developed to suit the purpose.


Go to Top

Instrumentation & Calibration

RSTD specializes in design and development of precision transducers and instrumentation for load and deformation measurements:

  • Load Cells
  • Displacement or Strain Transducers
  • P & S Wave velocity Transducers

These transducers can be provided as stand alone units or complete with associated electronic components such as signal conditioner, A/D converter etc. All efforts are made to achieve the measurement range and sensitivity as specified by the client.


Go to Top