Mechanical properties and modeling of seal-forming lithologies. Technical progress report No. 2, March 15, 1991--March 14, 1992

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10141314· OSTI ID:10141314

Kronenberg, A K; Russell, J E; Carter, N L; Ibanez, W; Mazariegos, R

Both rocksalt and shale lithologies are actively deformed in response to gravitational loads associated with deposition, and both form effective seals to petroleum and natural gas. Thus, the shapes of seal-forming units, and the nature of fractures and faults that may breach them depend upon either the mechanical properties of salt or those of shale, and the loading histories to which they have been subjected. The objectives of this research include the determination of the mechanical properties under controlled conditions of well-characterized shales, and the numerical modeling of rocksalt (and eventually shale) formations using laboratory-based rheologies. Progress has been made towards these goals over this project period, both in our experimental program on shale deformation and model development for the growth of salt diapirs. The mechanical anisotropy of an illite-bearing shale from Louisiana has been determined and related to the preferred orientation and distribution of clays. Its strength in the absence of pore fluids has been determined at confining pressures of up to 250 MPa and at high pressure we have investigated the effects of deformation rate and temperature. A numerical finite difference code has been developed to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations and validated using a two- layer linear viscous model for which analytic solutions are available. Although the code has only been validated for the linear viscous case, it is capable of solving for highly nonlinear constitutive laws as well as solving for arbitrary interfaces between the salt and overburden.

• Research Organization: Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Center for Tectonophysics
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG05-87ER13711
• OSTI ID: 10141314
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/13711-5; ON: DE92012597
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Apr 1992
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
58 GEOSCIENCES
SHALES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
LITHOLOGY
ROCKS
STRUCTURAL MODELS
DEFORMATION
ANISOTROPY
SEALS
RHEOLOGY
SCHISTS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
WATER SATURATION
CATIONS
ION EXCHANGE
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
STRAINS
STRESSES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NAVIER-STOKES EQUATIONS
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
PROGRESS REPORT
360603
360602
580000
STRUCTURE AND PHASE STUDIES
GEOSCIENCES