Effects of sample disturbance on the stress-induced microfracturing characteristics of brittle rock

1999 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Eberhardt ◽  
D Stead ◽  
B Stimpson
Keyword(s):  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Elastic Stiffness ◽  
In Situ Stress ◽  
Brittle Rock ◽  
Stress Threshold ◽  
Fracture Crack ◽  
Sample Disturbance ◽  
Underground Research Laboratory ◽  
Stress Domains

The effects of sampling disturbance on the laboratory-derived mechanical properties of brittle rock were measured on cored samples of Lac du Bonnet granite taken from three different in situ stress domains at the Underground Research Laboratory of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. A variety of independent measurements and scanning electron microscope observations demonstrate that stress-induced sampling disturbance increased with increasing in situ stresses. The degree of damage was reflected in laboratory measurements of acoustic velocity and elastic stiffness. Examination of the stress-induced microfracturing characteristics during uniaxial compression of the samples revealed that the degree of sampling disturbance had only minor effects on the stress levels at which new cracks were generated (i.e., the crack initiation stress threshold). Crack-coalescence and crack-damage thresholds, on the other hand, significantly decreased with increased sampling disturbance. The presence of numerous stress-relief cracks in the samples retrieved from the highest in situ stress domains was seen to weaken the rock by providing an increased number of planes of weakness for active cracks to propagate along. A 36% strength decrease was seen in samples retrieved from the highest in situ stress domain (sigma1 - sigma3 approximate 40 MPa) as compared with those taken from the lowest in situ stress domain (sigma1 - sigma3 approximate 10 MPa).Key words: sample disturbance, brittle fracture, crack initiation, crack propagation, material properties, rock failure.

Characterizing in situ stress domains at the AECL Underground Research Laboratory

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. D. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Research Laboratory ◽  
Microseismic Monitoring ◽  
In Situ Stress ◽  
Thrust Faults ◽  
Geological Features ◽  
In Situ Stress Measurements ◽  
Underground Research Laboratory ◽  
Stress Domains

The Underground Research Laboratory access shaft was excavated from the surface to about the 185 m depth in jointed pink granite. Below this depth to the 443 m depth the shaft was excavated in massive grey granite. The grey granite is essentially unjointed, except for a major low-dipping thrust fault and associated minor splays. Overcoring, hydraulic fracturing, convergence measurements, microseismic monitoring, and observations of shaft-wall failure and core discing indicate that unusually high in situ stresses can be associated with large volumes of massive, unjointed granite at fairly shallow depth. The database of in situ stress measurements collected at the Underground Research Laboratory indicates that major geological features, such as thrust faults, can act as boundaries for in situ stress domains and that both the magnitude and direction of the in situ stress state can change when these geological features are traversed. Key words: in situ stress, anisotropy, stress domains, thrust faults, overcoring, hydraulic fracturing, convergence measurements, excavation damage zones.

scholarly journals Experimental Study of Volumetric Fracturing Properties for Shale under Different Stress States

Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Hongjian Wang ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Fei Zhao ◽  
Jinyu Dong ◽  
Yanzong Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crack Initiation ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
In Situ Stress ◽  
Failure Strength ◽  
Constant Loading ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Shale Rock ◽  
Volumetric Fracturing

Shale gas can be commercially produced using the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) with multistage fracturing or multiwell synchronous fracturing. These fracturing technologies can produce additional stress fields that significantly influence the crack initiation pressure and the formation of an effective fracture network. Therefore, this study primarily investigated the evolution of crack initiation and propagation in a hydraulic rock mass under various stress conditions. Combining the in situ stress characteristics of a shale reservoir and fracturing technology, three types of true triaxial volumetric fracturing simulation experiments were designed and performed on shale, including three-dimensional constant loading, one-dimensional pressurization disturbance, and one-dimensional depressurization disturbance. The results indicate that the critical failure strength of the shale rock increases as the three-dimensional constant loads are increased. The rupture surface is always parallel to the maximum principal stress plane in both the simulated vertical and horizontal wells. Under the same in situ stress conditions in the wellbore direction, if the lateral pressure becomes larger, the critical failure strength of shale rock would increase. Additionally, when the lateral in situ stress difference coefficient is smaller, the rock specimen has an evident trend to form more complex cracks. When the shale rock was subjected to lateral disturbance loads, the critical failure strength was approximately 10 MPa less than that in the state of constant loading, indicating that the specimen with disturbance loads is more likely to be fractured. Moreover, shale rock under the depressurization disturbance load is more easily fractured compared with the pressurization disturbance. These findings could provide a theoretical basis and technical support for multistage or multiwell synchronous fracturing in shale gas production.

scholarly journals Mechanism of Strain Burst by Laboratory and Numerical Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Manchao He ◽  
Fuqiang Ren ◽  
Cheng Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Rock Mass ◽  
In Situ Stress ◽  
Rock Material ◽  
Brittle Rock ◽  
Strain Burst ◽  
Young’S Moduli ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Released Energy ◽  
Type Of Failure

Strain burst is often considered to be a type of failure related to brittle rock material; therefore, many studies on strain burst focus on the brittleness of rock. However, the laboratory experiments show that strain burst can not only occur in hard brittle rock-like granite but also in the relatively ductile rock-like argillaceous sandstone. This result proves that behavior of rock material is not the only factor influencing the occurrence of strain burst. What must also be considered is the relative stiffness between the excavation wall/ore body and the surrounding rock mass. In order to further studying the mechanism of strain burst considering the whole system, the engineering geomechanial model and numerical model of strain burst due to excavation are built, respectively. In a series of numerical tests, the rock mass involving the excavation wall as well as roof and floor is biaxially loaded to the in situ stress state before one side of the excavation wall is unloaded abruptly to simulate the excavation in the field. With various system stiffness determined by the microproperties including the contact moduli of particles and parallel bond moduli in the models of roof and floor, the different failure characteristics are obtained. Based on the failure phenomenon, deformation, and released energy from the roof and floor, this study proves that the system stiffness is a key factor determining the violence of the failure, and strain burst is prone to happen when the system is soft. Two critical Young’s moduli ratios and stiffness ratios are identified to assess the violence of failure.

scholarly journals Mathematical Modelling of Fault Reactivation Induced by Water Injection

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thanh Son Nguyen ◽  
Yves Guglielmi ◽  
Bastian Graupner ◽  
Jonny Rutqvist
Keyword(s):  
Induced Seismicity ◽  
Water Injection ◽  
In Situ Stress ◽  
Fault Reactivation ◽  
Shear Strength Parameters ◽  
Radionuclide Migration ◽  
Strength Parameters ◽  
Mont Terri ◽  
Underground Research Laboratory

Faults in the host rock that might exist in the vicinity of deep geological repositories for radioactive waste, constitute potential enhanced pathways for radionuclide migration. Several processes might trigger pore pressure increases in the faults leading to fault failure and induced seismicity, and increase the faults’ permeability. In this research, we developed a mathematical model to simulate fault activation during an experiment of controlled water injection in a fault at the Mont-Terri Underground Research Laboratory in Switzerland. The effects of in-situ stress, fault shear strength parameters and heterogeneity are assessed. It was shown that the above factors are critical and need to be adequately characterized in order to predict the faults’ hydro-mechanical behaviour.

scholarly journals Estimating the Small Strain Stiffness of Peat Soil Using Geophysical Methods

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Kasbi Basri ◽  
Adnan Zainorabidin ◽  
Mohd Khaidir Abu Talib ◽  
Norhaliza Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Peat Soil ◽  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Geophysical Methods ◽  
Small Strain ◽  
In Situ Stress ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Small Strain Stiffness ◽  
Geotechnical Design ◽  
Sample Disturbance

Geotechnical design commonly requires that the in-situ stiffness, strength and permeability of the ground be obtained. Laboratory based investigation often related with risk of sample disturbance and difficulties to replicate the in-situ stress condition which results in overestimation or underestimation. Application of geophysical methods in geotechnical investigation previously was limited to targeting and dimensioning sub-surface features due to lack of resolution. However, rapid developments of geophysical methods result in the application of these methods in providing geotechnical design parameters. Multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) and seismic refraction were among the geophysical methods capable of obtaining stiffness parameters including the maximum shear modulus (Gmax) and maximum elastic modulus (Emax). The study revealed the efficiency of these methods to measure the small strain stiffness of peat soil with high accuracy as the results obtained were found to be similar to those obtained by previous researchers. Overall, the Gmax and Emax values of peat soil obtained range from 0.49 to 1.72 MPa and 1.46 to 5.15 MPa respectively. The Gmax and Emax values obtained shows significant increase with depth governed primarily by the effective stress. Other parameters such as degree of decomposition and peat thickness also shows potential influence on the Gmax and Emax values obtained.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document