Effects of Strain Rate and Confining Pressure on the Deformation and Failure of Shale

Abstract

Summary Previous work on shale mechanical properties has focused on the slow deformation rates appropriate to wellbore deformation. Deformation of shale under a drill bit occurs at a very high rate, and the failure properties of the rock under these conditions are crucial in determining bit performance and in extracting lithology and pore-pressure information from drilling parameters. Triaxial tests were performed on two nonswelling shales under a wide range of strain rates and confining and pore pressures. At low strain rates, when fluid is relatively free to move within the shale, shale deformation and failure are governed by effective stress or pressure (i.e., total confining pressure minus pore pressure), as is the case for ordinary rock. If the pore pressure in the shale is high, increasing the strain rate beyond about 0.1 %/sec causes large increases in the strength and ductility of the shale. Total pressure begins to influence the strength. At high strain rates, the influence of effective pressure decreases, except when it is very low (i.e., when pore pressure is very high); ductility then rises rapidly. This behavior is opposite that expected in ordinary rocks. This paper briefly discusses the reasons for these phenomena and their impact on wellbore and drilling problems.