Unraveling Fluid–Rock Coupling in Mudstone Fault Zones: Experimental Perspectives from Southwestern Taiwan

This study investigated the fluid–rock interactions in fault zones in Southwestern Taiwan using locally sourced rock samples from the Chishan and Chegualin faults in autoclave experiments with different synthetic brines designed to simulate the fault fluids along those faults. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because fully characterize the mineralogy of the samples before and after reaction with the synthetic brines to gain an understanding of the specific mineralogical and microstructural changes occurring in the fault zone as a result of the fluid–rock interactions, which has important implications for risk mitigation along those fault systems.