Collapse of Reacted Fracture Surface Decreases Permeability and Frictional Strength
Abstract
Underneath the surface of the earth lie many layers of rock formations. Some of these formations contain open pores where fluids can be stored. Natural examples include groundwater and oil formations. Many engineering applications utilize this space underground as storage. One example is the injection of greenhouse gasses for climate change mitigation. To prevent the fluids from leaking to the surface, storage rock formations are often located where overlying rock formation can contain fluids. Several risks include the inducement of small earthquakes and the leakage of fluids toward the surface. These risks are most prominent along rock fractures, where rock material is most susceptible to earthquakes and fluid can easily flow. In addition, the injection of fluids into the subsurface can produce acids that exacerbate these risks. In this study, we conducted experiments and found that these acids weaken fracture surfaces. Once exposed to mechanical stress, these surfaces collapse and seal the fracture. However, this collapse also decreases the frictional strength of the fracture. For relevant energy activities, these finding are helpful for minimizing the risks of injecting fluids underground. In context of climate change mitigation, these findings will help appropriate site selection to store greenhouse gas emissions safely.
- Authors:
-
- Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Princeton University Princeton NJ USA
- Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University University Park PA USA, Jackson School of Geosciences Now at University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USA
- Energy and Mineral Engineering, Pennsylvania State University University Park PA USA
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1580620
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1580621; OSTI ID: 1799772
- Grant/Contract Number:
- DE‐FE0023354; FE0023354
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth Journal Volume: 124 Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9313
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; Geochemistry & Geophysics
Citation Formats
Spokas, K., Fang, Y., Fitts, J. P., Peters, C. A., and Elsworth, D. Collapse of Reacted Fracture Surface Decreases Permeability and Frictional Strength. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1029/2019JB017805.
Spokas, K., Fang, Y., Fitts, J. P., Peters, C. A., & Elsworth, D. Collapse of Reacted Fracture Surface Decreases Permeability and Frictional Strength. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JB017805
Spokas, K., Fang, Y., Fitts, J. P., Peters, C. A., and Elsworth, D. Sat .
"Collapse of Reacted Fracture Surface Decreases Permeability and Frictional Strength". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JB017805.
@article{osti_1580620,
title = {Collapse of Reacted Fracture Surface Decreases Permeability and Frictional Strength},
author = {Spokas, K. and Fang, Y. and Fitts, J. P. and Peters, C. A. and Elsworth, D.},
abstractNote = {Underneath the surface of the earth lie many layers of rock formations. Some of these formations contain open pores where fluids can be stored. Natural examples include groundwater and oil formations. Many engineering applications utilize this space underground as storage. One example is the injection of greenhouse gasses for climate change mitigation. To prevent the fluids from leaking to the surface, storage rock formations are often located where overlying rock formation can contain fluids. Several risks include the inducement of small earthquakes and the leakage of fluids toward the surface. These risks are most prominent along rock fractures, where rock material is most susceptible to earthquakes and fluid can easily flow. In addition, the injection of fluids into the subsurface can produce acids that exacerbate these risks. In this study, we conducted experiments and found that these acids weaken fracture surfaces. Once exposed to mechanical stress, these surfaces collapse and seal the fracture. However, this collapse also decreases the frictional strength of the fracture. For relevant energy activities, these finding are helpful for minimizing the risks of injecting fluids underground. In context of climate change mitigation, these findings will help appropriate site selection to store greenhouse gas emissions safely.},
doi = {10.1029/2019JB017805},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth},
number = 12,
volume = 124,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {12}
}
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