Explosively produced fracture of oil shale. Progress report, July-September 1980

Technical Report · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:6090673

The Los Alamos National Laboratory conducted explosive cratering experiments in the Colony Oil Shale Mine near Rifle, Colorado, during 1978 and 1979. These experiments were part of the research effort to study the explosively produced fracture of oil shale. The experiments were designed to identify and analyze the major factors involved in the fracturing of oil shale, to provide data for the verification of the computer models, and ultimately to lead to the design of a rubble bed for in situ retorting oil shale. The rubble excavated from eight cratering experiments was separated into various piles by passing it through screens of different sizes. The volumes of rubble in each screened size category are presented, along with the background of the experiments. The plots of the cumulative percentage of the volume of rubble screened are included. Also presented are the data from the detailed investigation of the joint/fracture attitudes (strikes and dips) within a crater interior after excavation. The data have been tabulated and plotted to allow future comparisons and analyses pertinent to similar experiments. A brief discussion of the experiment site and the graphical representation of the data are included. Finally, since the homogeneity of the oil shale is an important consideration in the selection of a site for these explosive fracture experiments, cores were taken and analyzed. The identification of the geological parameters and their extent and how they delineate the overall characterization of the experiment site, including the subsurface geology, is given. It is shown how the postshot core analysis, when compared with the analysis of the preshot core, will indicate how the blast affected the rock.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 6090673
• Report Number(s): LA-9045-PR; ON: DE82004182
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
040200 -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
040300* -- Oil Shales & Tar Sands-- Drilling
Fracturing & Mining
COLORADO
COMMINUTION
DATA
DRILL CORES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPLOSIVE FRACTURING
FRACTURING
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
INFORMATION
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OIL SHALE DEPOSITS
RESOURCES
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
SCREENING
USA
VOLUME