Electric strength of rocks at a pulsed voltage under high pressures at high temperatures

The electric strength of rocks (granite, limestone, and sandstone) for the first time has been measured under the simultaneous effect of the pressure up to 35 MPa and temperature up to 120°C in the system of rod-rod electrodes arranged on one sample surface and point-plane electrodes in the liquid medium of a drilling agent. With the simultaneous increase in pressure and temperature, the electric strength of rocks for point-plane electrodes continuously increases (especially rapidly in the pressure range of 10–24 MPa and temperature range of 35–85°C), while for rod-rod electrodes arranged on the same sample surface, the electric strength varies with a maximum at pressures of 5–12 MPa and temperatures 20–35°C.