Effect of water on critical and subcritical fracture properties of Woodford shale
Abstract
Subcritical fracture behavior of shales under aqueous conditions is poorly characterized despite increased relevance to oil and gas resource development and seal integrity in waste disposal and subsurface carbon sequestration. In this paper, we measured subcritical fracture properties of Woodford shale in ambient air, dry CO2 gas, and deionized water by using the double-torsion method. Compared to tests in ambient air, the presence of water reduces fracture toughness by 50%, subcritical index by 77%, and shear modulus by 27% and increases inelastic deformation. Comparison between test specimens coated with a hydrophobic agent and uncoated specimens demonstrates that the interaction of water with the bulk rock results in the reduction of fracture toughness and enhanced plastic effects, while water-rock interaction limited to the vicinity of the propagating fracture tip by a hydrophobic specimen coating lowers subcritical index and increases fracture velocity. Finally, the observed deviation of a rate-dependent subcritical index from the power law K-V relations for coated specimens tested in water is attributed to a time-dependent weakening process resulting from the interaction between water and clays in the vicinity of the fracture tip.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[1];
- Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Bureau of Economic Geology. Jackson School of Geosciences
- Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States). Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering. Cockrell School of Engineering
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1461956
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FE0023316
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 122; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9313
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES; subcritical fracture; water-rock interaction; Woodford shale; clay mineral; stress corrosion
Citation Formats
Chen, Xiaofeng, Eichhubl, Peter, and Olson, Jon E. Effect of water on critical and subcritical fracture properties of Woodford shale. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1002/2016JB013708.
Chen, Xiaofeng, Eichhubl, Peter, & Olson, Jon E. Effect of water on critical and subcritical fracture properties of Woodford shale. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013708
Chen, Xiaofeng, Eichhubl, Peter, and Olson, Jon E. Wed .
"Effect of water on critical and subcritical fracture properties of Woodford shale". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013708. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1461956.
@article{osti_1461956,
title = {Effect of water on critical and subcritical fracture properties of Woodford shale},
author = {Chen, Xiaofeng and Eichhubl, Peter and Olson, Jon E.},
abstractNote = {Subcritical fracture behavior of shales under aqueous conditions is poorly characterized despite increased relevance to oil and gas resource development and seal integrity in waste disposal and subsurface carbon sequestration. In this paper, we measured subcritical fracture properties of Woodford shale in ambient air, dry CO2 gas, and deionized water by using the double-torsion method. Compared to tests in ambient air, the presence of water reduces fracture toughness by 50%, subcritical index by 77%, and shear modulus by 27% and increases inelastic deformation. Comparison between test specimens coated with a hydrophobic agent and uncoated specimens demonstrates that the interaction of water with the bulk rock results in the reduction of fracture toughness and enhanced plastic effects, while water-rock interaction limited to the vicinity of the propagating fracture tip by a hydrophobic specimen coating lowers subcritical index and increases fracture velocity. Finally, the observed deviation of a rate-dependent subcritical index from the power law K-V relations for coated specimens tested in water is attributed to a time-dependent weakening process resulting from the interaction between water and clays in the vicinity of the fracture tip.},
doi = {10.1002/2016JB013708},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth},
number = 4,
volume = 122,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Wed Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
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