A two scale model of porous rocks with Drucker–Prager matrix: Application to a sandstone

The present paper is devoted to a micromechanical model of porous rocks and its application to a sandstone. This original model takes advantage of a recent homogenization-based macroscopic yield function which couples Drucker–Prager type plasticity of the solid matrix and evolving porosity. Its formulation and implementation are described. Application to a Vosges sandstone shows that, except for very low confining pressures for which the mechanical behavior is quasi-brittle, the model predicts well the ductile behavior at moderate or high confining pressures (for which the pore collapse mechanism is expected to play a dominant role).