scholarly journals Predicting Fracture Network Development in Crystalline Rocks

Author(s):  
Jessica McBeck ◽  
J. M. Aiken ◽  
B. Cordonnier ◽  
Y. Ben-Zion ◽  
F. Renard

AbstractThe geometric properties of fractures influence whether they propagate, arrest, or coalesce with other fractures. Thus, quantifying the relationship between fracture network characteristics may help predict fracture network development, and perhaps precursors to catastrophic failure. To constrain the relationship and predictability of fracture characteristics, we deform eight one centimeter tall rock cores under triaxial compression while acquiring in situ X-ray tomograms. The tomograms reveal precise measurements of the fracture network characteristics above the spatial resolution of 6.5 µm. We develop machine learning models to predict the value of each characteristic using the other characteristics, and excluding the macroscopic stress or strain imposed on the rock. The models predict fracture development more accurately in the experiments performed on granite and monzonite, than the experiments on marble. Fracture network development may be more predictable in these igneous rocks because their microstructure is more mechanically homogeneous than the marble, producing more systematic fracture development that is not strongly impeded by grain contacts and cleavage planes. The varying performance of the models suggest that fracture volume, length, and aperture are the most predictable of the characteristics, while fracture orientation is the least predictable. Orientation does not correlate with length, as suggested by the idea that the orientation evolves with increasing differential stress and thus fracture length. This difference between the observed and expected relationship between orientation and length highlights the influence of mechanical heterogeneities and local stress perturbations on fracture growth as fractures propagate, link, and coalesce.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McBeck ◽  
John Mark Aiken ◽  
Ben Cordonnier ◽  
Yehuda Ben-Zion ◽  
Francois Renard

<p>The geometric properties of fractures influence whether they propagate, arrest and coalesce with other fractures. Thus, quantifying the relationship between fracture network characteristics may help predict fracture network development, and hence precursors to catastrophic failure. To constrain the relationship and predictability of fracture characteristics, we deform eight rock cores under triaxial compression while acquiring in situ X-ray tomograms. The tomograms reveal precise measurements of the fracture network characteristics above 6.5 microns. We develop machine learning models to predict the value of each characteristic using the other characteristics, and excluding the macroscopic stress or strain imposed on the rock. The models predict fracture development more accurately in the experiments performed on granite and monzonite, than the experiments on marble. Fracture network development may be more predictable in these igneous rocks because their microstructure is more mechanically homogeneous than the marble, producing more systematic fracture development that is not strongly impeded by grain contacts and cleavage planes. The varying performance of the models suggest that fracture volume, length, and aperture are the most predictable of the characteristics, while fracture orientation is the least predictable. Orientation does not correlate with length, as suggested by the idea that the orientation evolves with increasing differential stress and thus fracture length. This difference between the observed and expected predictability of orientation highlights the significant influence of local stress perturbations on fracture growth within brittle material in laboratory-scale systems with many propagating and interacting fractures.</p>


Author(s):  
Hannes Hofmann ◽  
Tayfun Babadagli ◽  
Günter Zimmermann

The creation of large complex fracture networks by hydraulic fracturing is imperative for enhanced oil recovery from tight sand or shale reservoirs, tight gas extraction, and Hot-Dry-Rock (HDR) geothermal systems to improve the contact area to the rock matrix. Although conventional fracturing treatments may result in bi-wing fractures, there is evidence by microseismic mapping that fracture networks can develop in many unconventional reservoirs, especially when natural fracture systems are present and the differences between the principle stresses are low. However, not much insight is gained about fracture development as well as fluid and proppant transport in naturally fractured tight formations. In order to clarify the relationship between rock and treatment parameters, and resulting fracture properties, numerical simulations were performed using a commercial Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) simulator. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis is presented to identify typical fracture network patterns resulting from massive water fracturing treatments in different geological conditions. It is shown how the treatment parameters influence the fracture development and what type of fracture patterns may result from different treatment designs. The focus of this study is on complex fracture network development in different natural fracture systems. Additionally, the applicability of the DFN simulator for modeling shale gas stimulation and HDR stimulation is critically discussed. The approach stated above gives an insight into the relationships between rock properties (specifically matrix properties and characteristics of natural fracture systems) and the properties of developed fracture networks. Various simulated scenarios show typical conditions under which different complex fracture patterns can develop and prescribe efficient treatment designs to generate these fracture systems. Hydraulic stimulation is essential for the production of oil, gas, or heat from ultratight formations like shales and basement rocks (mainly granite). If natural fracture systems are present, the fracturing process becomes more complex to simulate. Our simulation results reveal valuable information about main parameters influencing fracture network properties, major factors leading to complex fracture network development, and differences between HDR and shale gas/oil shale stimulations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Yuan ◽  
Jijin Yang

Mud shale can serve as source or cap rock but also as a reservoir rock, and so the development of pores or cracks in shale has become of great interest in recent years. However, prior work using non-identical samples, varying fields of view and non-continuous heating processes has produced varying data. The unique hydrocarbon generation and expulsion characteristics of shale as a source rock and the relationship with the evolution of pores or cracks in the reservoir are thus not well understood. The present work attempted to monitor detailed structural changes during the continuous heating of shale and to establish possible relationships with hydrocarbon generation and expulsion by heating immature shale samples while performing in situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging and monitoring the chamber vacuum. Samples were heated at 20°C/min from ambient to 700°C with 30 min holds at 100°C intervals during which SEM images were acquired. The SEM chamber vacuum was found to change during sample heating as a consequence of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion. Two episodic hydrocarbon expulsion stages were observed, at 300 and 500°C. As the temperature was increased from ambient to 700°C, samples exhibited consecutive shrinkage, expansion and shrinkage, and the amount of structural change in the vertical bedding direction was greater than that in the bedding direction. At the same time, the opening, closing and subsequent reopening of microcracks was observed. Hydrocarbon generation and expulsion led to the expansion of existing fractures and the opening of new cracks to produce an effective fracture network allowing fluid migration. The combination of high-resolution SEM and a high-temperature heating stage allowed correlation between the evolution of pores or cracks and hydrocarbon generation and expulsion to be examined.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1556-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Jiao ◽  
Yong Hu ◽  
Xuan Xu ◽  
Xiaobing Lu ◽  
Weijun Shen ◽  
...  

Reservoir quality and productivity of fractured gas reservoirs depend heavily on the degree of fracture development. The fracture evaluation of such reservoir media is the key to quantify reservoir characterization for the purposes such as well drilling and completion as well as development and simulation of fractured gas reservoirs. In this study, a pore-fracture network model was constructed to understand the effects of fracture on permeability in the reservoir media. The microstructure parameters of fractures including fracture length, fracture density, fracture number, and fracture radius were analyzed. Then two modes and effects of matrix and fracture network control were discussed. The results indicate that the network permeability in the fractured reservoir media will increase linearly with fracture length, fracture density, fracture number, and fracture radius. When the fracture radius exceeds 80 µm, the fracture radius has a little effect on network permeability. Within the fracture density less than 0.55, it belongs to the matrix control mode, while the fracture network control mode is dominant in the fracture density exceeding 0.55. The network permeability in the matrix and fracture network control modes is affected by fracture density and the ratio of fracture radius to pore radius. There is a great change in the critical density for the matrix network control compared with the fracture network control. This work can provide a better understanding of the relationship between matrix and fractures, and the effects of fracture on permeability so as to evaluate the fluid flow in the fractured reservoir media.


2014 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Hofmann ◽  
Tayfun Babadagli ◽  
Günter Zimmermann

The creation of large complex fracture networks by hydraulic fracturing is imperative for enhanced oil recovery from tight sand or shale reservoirs, tight gas extraction, and hot-dry-rock (HDR) geothermal systems to improve the contact area to the rock matrix. Although conventional fracturing treatments may result in biwing fractures, there is evidence by microseismic mapping that fracture networks can develop in many unconventional reservoirs, especially when natural fracture systems are present and the differences between the principle stresses are low. However, not much insight is gained about fracture development as well as fluid and proppant transport in naturally fractured tight formations. In order to clarify the relationship between rock and treatment parameters, and resulting fracture properties, numerical simulations were performed using a commercial discrete fracture network (DFN) simulator. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis is presented to identify typical fracture network patterns resulting from massive water fracturing treatments in different geological conditions. It is shown how the treatment parameters influence the fracture development and what type of fracture patterns may result from different treatment designs. The focus of this study is on complex fracture network development in different natural fracture systems. Additionally, the applicability of the DFN simulator for modeling shale gas stimulation and HDR stimulation is critically discussed. The approach stated above gives an insight into the relationships between rock properties (specifically matrix properties and characteristics of natural fracture systems) and the properties of developed fracture networks. Various simulated scenarios show typical conditions under which different complex fracture patterns can develop and prescribe efficient treatment designs to generate these fracture systems. Hydraulic stimulation is essential for the production of oil, gas, or heat from ultratight formations like shales and basement rocks (mainly granite). If natural fracture systems are present, the fracturing process becomes more complex to simulate. Our simulations suggest that stress state, in situ fracture networks, and fluid type are the main parameters influencing hydraulic fracture network development. Major factors leading to more complex fracture networks are an extensive pre-existing natural fracture network, small fracture spacings, low differences between the principle stresses, well contained formations, high tensile strength, high Young’s modulus, low viscosity fracturing fluid, and large fluid volumes. The differences between 5 km deep granitic HDR and 2.5 km deep shale gas stimulations are the following: (1) the reservoir temperature in granites is higher, (2) the pressures and stresses in granites are higher, (3) surface treatment pressures in granites are higher, (4) the fluid leak-off in granites is less, and (5) the mechanical parameters tensile strength and Young’s modulus of granites are usually higher than those of shales.


Author(s):  
O.L. Krivanek ◽  
G.J. Wood

Electron microscopy at 0.2nm point-to-point resolution, 10-10 torr specimei region vacuum and facilities for in-situ specimen cleaning presents intere; ing possibilities for surface structure determination. Three methods for examining the surfaces are available: reflection (REM), transmission (TEM) and profile imaging. Profile imaging is particularly useful because it giv good resolution perpendicular as well as parallel to the surface, and can therefore be used to determine the relationship between the surface and the bulk structure.


Author(s):  
Kun Lee ◽  
Jingyi Si ◽  
Ricai Han ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Bingbing Tan ◽  
...  

There are more supports for the view that human papillomavirus (HPV) infection might be an etiological factor in the development of cervical cancer when the association of persistent condylomata is considered. Biopsies from 318 cases with squamous cell carcinoma of uterine cervix, 48 with cervical and vulvar condylomata, 14 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), 34 with chronic cervicitis and 24 normal cervical epithelium were collected from 5 geographic regions of China with different cervical cancer mortalities. All specimens were prepared for Dot blot, Southern blot and in situ DNA-DNA hybridizations by using HPV-11, 16, 18 DNA labelled with 32P and 3H as probes to detect viral homologous sequences in samples. Among them, 32 cases with cervical cancer, 27 with condyloma and 10 normal cervical epitheliums were randomly chosen for comparative EM observation. The results showed that: 1), 192 out of 318 (60.4%) cases of cervical cancer were positive for HPV-16 DNA probe (Table I)


Author(s):  
Shotaro Tada ◽  
Norifumi Asakuma ◽  
Shiori Ando ◽  
Toru Asaka ◽  
Yusuke Daiko ◽  
...  

This paper reports on the relationship between the H2 chemisorption properties and reversible structural reorientation of the possible active site around Al formed in-situ within polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) based on...


2021 ◽  
pp. 2100119
Author(s):  
Xinxiao Han ◽  
Wenda Hua ◽  
Yuqi Liu ◽  
Zhuo Ao ◽  
Dong Han
Keyword(s):  

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