Abstract
In this work, a newly designed experimental setup is used to perform in-lab fracking under controlled triaxial loading on cylindrical cores of Berea sandstone. Fracking tests are conducted at 10 MPa confining pressure, with vertical compressive loading, as well as two horizontal stresses that simulate reservoir triaxial stress state. Multiple injection scenarios are tested to investigate the effect of the pore fluid injection conditions on the fracking and failure mechanisms. In-situ micro-seismic monitoring via eight acoustic emissions sensors is used for logging the fracking events evolution with time. Post-experimental characterization included computational tomography (CT) scanning to characterize the resulting fracture patterns.
Highlights
A precise understanding of the hydraulic fracking (HF) mechanisms is of vital importance to maximize oil/gas recovery from tight reservoirs
The purpose is to improve the understanding of the tensile failure and HF mechanism that is activated via the applied pore pressure
The Brazilian tests at 10 MPa confinement resulted in sample failure at σ H (Braz) (248 ± 1.3) MPa as an average of the failure points obtained from both tests
Summary
A precise understanding of the hydraulic fracking (HF) mechanisms is of vital importance to maximize oil/gas recovery from tight reservoirs. Experimental shreds of evidence on the effect of pore pressure on tensile fractures are well known in literature [1,2,3,4], as well as the role of the effective confining pressure in augmenting the tensile strength of porous rocks [5]. The purpose is to improve the understanding of the tensile failure and HF mechanism that is activated via the applied pore pressure. Post-experimental characterization included micro-computed tomography (CT) scanning of the produced fracking surface. The effect of the pore fluid viscosity and its injection rate on the pore pressure evolution and the related HF mechanisms are explored
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