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Title: Design and implementation of a shearing apparatus for the experimental study of shear displacement in rocks

Abstract

Fluid flow in the subsurface is not well understood in the context of “impermeable” geologic media. This is especially true of formations that have undergone significant stress fluctuations due to injection or withdrawal of fluids that alters the localized pressure regime. When the pressure regime is altered, these formations, which are often already fractured, move via shear to reduce the imbalance in the stress state. While this process is known to happen, the evolution of these fractures and their effects on fluid transport are still relatively unknown. Numerous simulation and several experimental studies have been performed that characterize the relationship between shearing and permeability in fractures; while many of these studies utilize measurements of fluid flow or the starting and ending geometries of the fracture to characterize shear, they do not characterize the intermediate stages during shear. We present an experimental apparatus based on slight modifications to a commonly available Hassler core holder that allows for shearing of rocks, while measuring the hydraulic and mechanical changes to geomaterials during intermediate steps. The core holder modification employs the use of semi-circular end caps and structural supports for the confining membrane that allow for free movement of the sheared material while preventingmore » membrane collapse. By integrating this modified core holder with a computed tomography scanner, we show a new methodology for understanding the interdependent behavior between fracture structure and flow properties during intermediate steps in shearing. Here, we include a case study of this device function which is shown here through shearing of a fractured shale core and simultaneous observation of the mechanical changes and evolution of the hydraulic properties during shearing.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]
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  1. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); AECOM, Morgantown, WV (United States)
  2. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
OSTI Identifier:
1491099
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1432911; OSTI ID: 1476991; OSTI ID: 1478392
Report Number(s):
CONTR-PUB-279
Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Grant/Contract Number:  
FE0004000
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Review of Scientific Instruments
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 89; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 0034-6748
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; shearing; CT scanning

Citation Formats

Moore, Johnathan, Crandall, Dustin, Gill, Magdalena, Brown, Sarah, and Tennant, Bryan. Design and implementation of a shearing apparatus for the experimental study of shear displacement in rocks. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1063/1.5018419.
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Moore, Johnathan, Crandall, Dustin, Gill, Magdalena, Brown, Sarah, & Tennant, Bryan. Design and implementation of a shearing apparatus for the experimental study of shear displacement in rocks. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5018419
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Moore, Johnathan, Crandall, Dustin, Gill, Magdalena, Brown, Sarah, and Tennant, Bryan. Thu . "Design and implementation of a shearing apparatus for the experimental study of shear displacement in rocks". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5018419. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1491099.
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@article{osti_1491099,
title = {Design and implementation of a shearing apparatus for the experimental study of shear displacement in rocks},
author = {Moore, Johnathan and Crandall, Dustin and Gill, Magdalena and Brown, Sarah and Tennant, Bryan},
abstractNote = {Fluid flow in the subsurface is not well understood in the context of “impermeable” geologic media. This is especially true of formations that have undergone significant stress fluctuations due to injection or withdrawal of fluids that alters the localized pressure regime. When the pressure regime is altered, these formations, which are often already fractured, move via shear to reduce the imbalance in the stress state. While this process is known to happen, the evolution of these fractures and their effects on fluid transport are still relatively unknown. Numerous simulation and several experimental studies have been performed that characterize the relationship between shearing and permeability in fractures; while many of these studies utilize measurements of fluid flow or the starting and ending geometries of the fracture to characterize shear, they do not characterize the intermediate stages during shear. We present an experimental apparatus based on slight modifications to a commonly available Hassler core holder that allows for shearing of rocks, while measuring the hydraulic and mechanical changes to geomaterials during intermediate steps. The core holder modification employs the use of semi-circular end caps and structural supports for the confining membrane that allow for free movement of the sheared material while preventing membrane collapse. By integrating this modified core holder with a computed tomography scanner, we show a new methodology for understanding the interdependent behavior between fracture structure and flow properties during intermediate steps in shearing. Here, we include a case study of this device function which is shown here through shearing of a fractured shale core and simultaneous observation of the mechanical changes and evolution of the hydraulic properties during shearing.},
doi = {10.1063/1.5018419},
journal = {Review of Scientific Instruments},
number = 4,
volume = 89,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Apr 12 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Thu Apr 12 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5018419
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Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 4 works
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Figures / Tables:

FIG. 1 FIG. 1: Traditional Hassler style core holder with a geologic sample under pressure. Red arrows indicate the radial confining pressure.
All figures and tables (10 total)
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Works referenced in this record:

CT scanning and flow measurements of shale fractures after multiple shearing events
journal, December 2017

  • Crandall, Dustin; Moore, Johnathan; Gill, Magdalena
  • International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Vol. 100
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2017.10.016

Influence of asperity degradation on the mechanical behavior of rough rock joints under cyclic shear loading
journal, October 2001

  • Lee, H. S.; Park, Y. J.; Cho, T. F.
  • International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Vol. 38, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1016/s1365-1609(01)00060-0

X-ray CT based numerical analysis of fracture flow for core samples under various confining pressures
journal, November 2011

Numerical method for the determination of contact areas of a rock joint under normal and shear loads
journal, February 2013

Evaluation Of Fluid Flow Field In Single Rock Fracture During Frictional Sliding
conference, January 2008

  • Nemoto, K.; Watanabe, N.; Tsuchiya, N.
  • 2007, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.2896957

Fracture-permeability behavior of shale
journal, September 2015

  • Carey, J. William; Lei, Zhou; Rougier, Esteban
  • Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources, Vol. 11
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.juogr.2015.04.003

Volumetric imaging of aperture distributions in connected fracture networks
journal, September 1997

  • Pyrak-Nolte, Laura J.; Montemagno, Carlo D.; Nolte, David D.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 24, Issue 18
  • DOI: 10.1029/97gl02057

Shear-Induced Flow Channels in a Single Rock Fracture and Their Effect on Solute Transport
journal, December 2010

  • Vilarrasa, Victor; Koyama, Tomofumi; Neretnieks, Ivars
  • Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 87, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11242-010-9698-1

Geometric Effect of Asperities on Shear Mechanism of Rock Joints
journal, August 2015

  • Fathi, Ali; Moradian, Zabihallah; Rivard, Patrice
  • Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, Vol. 49, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1007/s00603-015-0799-6

Modeling surface roughness degradation of rock joint wall during monotonic and cyclic shearing
journal, November 2007

Simulating stress-dependent fluid flow in a fractured core sample using real-time X-ray CT data
journal, January 2016

Simulating stress-dependent fluid flow in a fractured core sample using real-time X-ray CT data
text, January 2016

Simulating stress-dependent fluid flow in a fractured core sample using real-time X-ray CT data
text, January 2016

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    Figures / Tables found in this record:

    FIG. 1 (p. 2)figure
    FIG. 2 (p. 2)figure
    FIG. 3 (p. 3)figure
    FIG. 4 (p. 3)figure
    FIG. 5 (p. 3)figure
    FIG. 6 (p. 4)figure
    FIG. 7 (p. 5)figure
    FIG. 8 (p. 5)figure
    TABLE I (p. 5)table
    FIG. 9 (p. 6)figure
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