Stress Concentration at the Bottom of a Borehole and its Effect on Borehole Breakout Formation

Summary Stress concentration at the bottom of a borehole due to the corners with small radius of curvature in an axial section and its effect on the azimuth of breakout was studied. To this end, a 3-D finite element analysis was conducted and the stress around the borehole was examined for boreholes arbitrarily oriented to three principal axes of remote stress. Results show that, in the case of high strength rock, compressive failure resulting in spalling of a borehole may occur only at the bottom of the borehole. The spalling can occur continuously with drilling, and results in continuous spalling with depth, i.e., a breakout. This type of breakout tends to form on one side of the borehole and its orientation is approximately perpendicular to the orientation of standard breakouts, inferred from the stress concentration due to the cylindrical shape of the borehole.     

Simulation of drilling‐induced compaction bands using discrete element method

Rock failure is observed around boreholes often with certain types of failure zones, which are called breakouts. Laboratory‐scale drilling tests in some high‐porosity quartz‐rich sandstone have shown breakouts in the form of narrow localized compacted zones in the minimum horizontal stress direction. They are called fracture‐like breakouts. Such compaction bands may affect hydrocarbon extraction by forming barriers that inhibit fluid flow and may also be a source of sand production. This paper presents the results of numerical simulations of borehole breakouts using 3D discrete element method to investigate the mechanism of the fracture‐like breakouts and to identify the role of far‐field stresses on the breakout dimensions. The numerical tool was first verified against analytical solutions. It was then utilized to investigate the failure mechanism and breakout geometry for drilled cubic rock samples of Castlegate sandstone subjected to different pre‐existing far‐field stresses. Results show that failure occurs in the zones of the highest concentration of tangential stress around the borehole. It is concluded that fracture‐like breakout develops as a result of a nondilatant failure mechanism consisting of localized grain debonding and repacking and grain crushing that lead to the formation of a compaction band in the minimum horizontal stress direction. In addition, it is found that the length of fracture‐like breakouts depends on both the mean stress and stress anisotropy. However, the width of the breakout is not significantly changed by the far‐field stresses. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Borehole instability in high-porosity Berea sandstone and factors affecting dimensions and shape of fracture-like breakouts

Stress-induced breakouts in vertical boreholes are failure zones caused by excessive compressive stress concentration at the borehole wall along the springline of the least horizontal far-field stress. Wellbores are sometimes drilled into aquifers or oil reservoirs that are weak, poorly consolidated, and highly porous sandstone formations, which are often conducive to breakout formation. Breakouts are an expression of borehole instability and a potential source of sand production. On the other hand, the breakout phenomenon can be used advantageously in obtaining an estimate of the in situ stress condition. The average orientation of breakouts, as identified by borehole geophysical logging, is a reliable indicator of in situ stress directions. It has also been suggested that breakout dimensions could potentially be used as indicators of in situ stress magnitudes. The research reported here has concentrated on the unique type of breakouts observed for the first time in high-porosity Berea sandstone. Drilling experiments in rock blocks subjected to critical far-field true triaxial stress regimes, simulating in situ conditions, induced breakouts that were unlike the ‘dog-ear’ ones previously observed in granites, limestones, and low-porosity sandstones. The newly observed breakouts were thin, tabular, and very long, resembling fractures that counterintuitively extended perpendicular to the maximum principal stress. We found that a narrow zone ahead of a fracture-like breakout tip underwent apparent localized grain debonding and compaction. In the field, such zones have been termed ‘compaction bands’, and are a source of concern because in oil fields and aquifers they constitute curtains of low permeability that can impede the normal flow of oil or water. In order to determine whether a correlation exists between fracture-like breakouts and in situ stress, we conducted several series of tests in which the minimum horizontal and vertical stresses were held constant and the maximum horizontal stress (σ_H) was increased from test to test. These tests showed strong dependence of the breakout length on far-field stress, signaling that potentially the ability to assess fracture-like breakout length in the field could be used to estimate in situ stress magnitudes in conjunction with other indicators. Another series of tests revealed that breakout length increased substantially when borehole diameter was enlarged. This result suggested that in the field, where wellbore size is considerably larger, fracture-like breakout could extend to sizable distances, creating a sand production hazard. Two series of tests, one to evaluate the effect of drill-bit penetration rate, and the other to verify the drilling-fluid flow rate effect on breakout formation and dimensions yielded inconsistent results and showed no unique trends. Remarkably, fracture-like breakouts maintained a consistent narrow width of about 5–10 grain diameters, irrespective of the test conditions. This characteristic supports the suggestion that fracture-like breakouts are emptied compaction bands.     

Mesoscale numerical study on the evolution of borehole breakout in heterogeneous rocks

Inherent heterogeneity of a rock strongly affects its mechanical behavior. We numerically study the mechanisms governing the initiation, propagation, and ultimate pattern of borehole breakouts in heterogeneous rocks. A two-dimensional finite element model incorporating material heterogeneity is established to systematically examine the effects of several key factors on borehole failure, including borehole diameter, far-field stress, and rock heterogeneity. The inherent heterogeneity of a rock is explicitly characterized by prescribing the rock mechanical properties of mesoscale elements statistically obeying the Weibull distribution. Elastic damage mechanics is used to represent the constitutive law of the mesoscale element. We find that borehole diameter reduction remarkably changes the crack failure from tensile to shear and elevates the critical hydrostatic pressure. Far-field stress anisotropy strongly affects the shape of the borehole breakout. Rock heterogeneity dictates the location of the preferred crack under the hydrostatic stress, which leads to local stress concentration, and determines the types of breakouts around the borehole. Our findings facilitate in-depth understanding of the classic borehole stability problems in heterogeneous rocks.     

Fracture-like borehole breakouts in high-porosity sandstone: Are they caused by compaction bands?

We induced borehole breakouts in a 25%-porosity Berea sandstone by drilling 23 mm diameter holes into 152×152×229 mm blocks subjected to constant true triaxial far-field stresses. BSen5 consists of large quartz grains (0.5 mm) cemented mainly by sutured grain contacts. Breakouts in BSen5 are demonstratively different from those observed in granite, limestone, and lower porosity sandstones. Rather than the typically short ‘V’-shaped breakouts, BSen5 displays long fracture-like tabular slots, which counterintuitively, develop orthogonally to σ_H. These breakouts originate at the points of highest compressive stress at the borehole wall, along the σ_h spring line. Micrographs of BSen5 breakouts show an apparent compaction band created just ahead of the breakout tip in the form of a narrow layer of grains that are compacted normal to σ_H. The compaction band characteristics are nearly identical to those observed in the field. The mechanism leading to fracture-like breakouts is seen as anti-dilatant, and related directly to grain debonding and porosity reduction accompanying the formation of the compaction band. Some compacted grains at the borehole wall are expelled as a result of the line of tangential loading and the radial expansion of adjacent grains. The circulating drilling fluid flushes out the remaining compacted loose grains at the borehole-rock interface. As the breakout tip advances, the stress concentration ahead of it persists, extending the compaction band, which in turn leads to additional grain removal and breakout lengthening. By extrapolation, this process may continue for considerable distance (at least several times the wellbore diameter) in field situations, leading potentially to substantial sand production.     

中国大陆科学钻主孔现今地应力状态

用钻孔崩落法确定了中国大陆科学钻探主钻孔5 047 m深度以上的现今地应力状态.由钻孔声波成像测井资料发现, 科学钻主钻孔在1 200 m深度以下出现了钻孔崩落现象.我们从1 216~5 047 m的深度范围内采集了143个钻孔成像测井图象资料, 对钻孔崩落椭圆长轴方位进行了统计, 结果表明崩落椭圆长轴平均方位为319.5°±3.5°, 最大水平主应力方位平均为49.5°±3.5°.利用崩落形状要素(崩落深度和崩落宽度) 以及岩石的内聚力和内摩擦角, 估算了1 269 m至5 047 m范围内52个深度上的最大和最小水平主应力的大小.结果表明, 在浅处1 216 m深度, 最大水平主应力为42 MPa, 最小水平主应力为30.3 MPa; 在深处5 000 mm深度, 最大水平主应力为160.5 MPa, 最小水平主应力为120 MPa; 地应力随深度近于线性增加.据岩石密度测井资料计算了各个深度上静负载应力.3个主应力的大小和方向反映出科学钻主孔位置的应力场处于走滑应力状态, 与临近地区地震震源机制解和其他方法得到的应力场一致.利用声发射法对岩心试件进行了声发射测量, 得到了最大水平主应力幅值, 并与崩落法测量结果进行了对比, 两者十分一致.      

人工神经网络在岩体初始应力场反演中的应用

岩土工程问题的有限元分析一般需要考虑初始地应力场，而可供工程应用的初始应力值，主要靠少数实测资料。根据少数测点值，采用人工神经网络与有限元相结合的方法求解岩体初始应力场。通过算例说明：文中所提方法是合理的。     

考虑洞室岩体应力型破坏特征的局部地应力反演方法及应用

介绍了一种考虑地下洞室片帮、钻孔剥落等岩体应力型破坏特征为信息源,通过数值模拟智能反演方法预测高应力大型地下洞室群围岩局部应力场的新思路。该方法将地下洞室群片帮、钻孔剥落等应力型破坏的位置、深度或者宽度进行定量描述,以弹性模型计算获得的常偏应力大于岩体启裂强度的范围来表示应力型破坏范围,通过分析实测地应力数据约束部分地应力数量,然后采用智能数值反演方法得到其他的地应力分量。采用该方法预测了白鹤滩水电站右岸地下厂房0+76断面附近围岩地应力场,反演获得最大主应力在34 MPa左右。通过其他部位岩体破裂的数值模拟和观测结果对比,验证了地应力场预测的合理性。     

In Situ Stresses in Borehole Blanche-1/South Australia Derived from Breakouts,Core Discing and Hydraulic Fracturing to 2 km Depth

The development of Hot-Dry Rock (HDR) geothermal energy in Australia with drillings to some kilometres depth yields an impetus for deep stress logging. For the Olympic Dam HDR-project, borehole Blanche-1 was drilled to almost 2 km depth and provided the possibility to estimate the in situ stresses within the granitic borehole section by the analysis of borehole breakouts and core discing, as well as by hydraulic fracturing combined with acoustic borehole televiewer logging for fracture orientation determination. Although the stress magnitudes derived by the different methods deviate significantly, they clearly indicate for the depth range between 800 and 1,740 m a compressional stress regime of S _v ≤ S _h < S _H and a consistent East–West orientation of maximum horizontal compression in agreement with existing stress data for Australia. The minor horizontal stress S _h derived from the hydraulic fracturing closure pressure values is about equal to the overburden stress and may be regarded as most reliable.     

Compaction bands induced by borehole drilling

Drilling experiments in rock blocks subjected to pre-existing true triaxial far-field stresses simulating real in situ conditions often result in localized failure around the created borehole, which brings about the formation of borehole breakouts. In weakly bonded quartz-rich porous sandstones breakouts take the form of narrow tabular (slot-like) openings extending along a plane perpendicular to the maximum applied-stress direction. Scanning electron microscopes images of failed boreholes strongly suggest that these breakouts are compaction bands that have been emptied to different extents. The bands form as a result of the stress concentration accompanying the creation of the borehole. The evacuation of the compaction bands is brought about by the circulating drilling fluid flushing out debonded and often fragmented grains from within these bands (Haimson and co-workers, 2003–2007). The objective of this paper is to predict the conditions under which compaction bands are formed around boreholes. To this end, a new analytical model is formulated that enables prediction of the stress field around emptied and filled compaction bands, the various factors affecting the breakouts lengths, and their final length. Good agreement of the developed analytical model with experimental results obtained by Haimson and co-workers (Haimson and Klaetsch in Rock physics and geomechanics in the study of reservoirs and repositories, vol 284, pp 89–105, 2007; Haimson and Kovachich in Eng Geol 69:219–231, 2003; Klaetsch and Haimson in Mining and tunneling innovation and opportunity, University of Toronto press, pp 1365–1371, 2002; Sheets and Haimson in Proceedings, paper ARMA/NARMS 04-484, 2004) is demonstrated. The presented study is of practical relevance: boreholes are often drilled deep into weak porous sandstone formations for the purpose of extracting oil and gas, and the question of borehole stability is crucial. In addition, borehole breakouts are often used to estimate the state of stress in the Earth’s crust, and our new formulation will help improve these estimates.     

靖边气田煤层地应力及井壁稳定研究

煤层地应力测量难度很大,煤层垮塌失稳力学机理的研究还无法深入。针对这一现状,利用含煤层系中硬岩层的地应力实测结果,以组合弹簧模型为基础,反求出构造作用引起岩层水平方向的应变量,以此来确定后续地应力有限元模拟的边界条件,将硬岩层的地应力实测、理论模型计算以及有限元数值模拟三者有机结合起来,反演得到煤层地应力状态,从而建立起一套含煤岩系等软岩层地应力研究新方法。利用该方法对靖边气田某区块LP-1井煤层井壁稳定进行了研究,结果表明：沿最小水平地应力方向钻井井壁稳定性最好,沿最大水平地应力方向钻井井壁稳定性最差,而沿最大和最小水平地应力角角平分线方向钻井井壁稳定性介于前两者之间。     

Wellbore breakouts of the main borehole of Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD) and determination of the present tectonic stress state

The Sulu-Dabie high-pressure (HP)-ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt as the product of subduction-collision between the northern China plate and Yangtze plate underwent a process of formation and evolution from deep subduction→exhumation→extension→slow uplift. The study of its modern tectonic stress field has great significance for a complete understanding of the process of formation and evolution of the HP-UHP metamorphic belt, especially the exhumation and uplift of the belt. Wellbore breakouts are the most visual tectonic phenomenon which can characterize the modern stress action in the main borehole of Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling (CCSD). Ultrasonic borehole televiewer reflection wave data show that wellbore breakouts began to occur at 1216 m depth of the main borehole. A total of 143 borehole televiewer images were collected from 1216 to 5118 m depth (hole completion depth). After data processing and statistics, the average azimuth of the long dimension of the wellbore breakout obtained was 319.5° ± 3.5°, indicating that the average azimuth of the maximum horizontal principal stress causing wellbore breakout initiation was 49.5° ± 3.5°. The maximum and minimum horizontal principal stress values at 52 depths in the interval of 1269 to 5047 m were estimated using the elements of wellbore shapes (wellbore depth and width), combined with the cohesive strength and internal frictional angle of the rock obtained by rock mechanical tests on samples, and the static load stresses at corresponding depths were calculated according to the rock density logging data. The results indicate that: the maximum and minimum horizontal principal stresses are 41.4 and 25.3 MPa at 1269 m depth respectively and 164.7 and 122 MPa at 5047 m depth respectively; the maximum vertical stress is 141.3 MPa at 5047 m depth with a density of 2.8 g/cm³; the in-situ stresses increase nearly linearly with depth. The magnitudes and directions of the three principal stresses reflect that the regional stress field around the CCSD main borehole is mainly in a strike-slip state, which is consistent with the basic features of the regional stress field determined using other methods.     

Crustal Stress in the northern North Sea as inferred from borehole breakouts and earthquake focal mechanisms

The regional stress field in the northern North Sea (offshore western Norway) has been studied through the acquisition and analysis of directions of maximum horizontal compression (_H) as extracted from borehole breakouts and from earthquake focal mechanism solutions.
The results indicate that the regional stress field is dominated by NW-SE compression, with good consistency between shallow borehole breakouts (2–5 km depth) and deeper earthquakes (10–25 km depth). The broad spatial consistency in stress direction indicates that the main stress field is related to factors of primarily plate tectonic origin, and the results are in good agreement with the western Europe trend found in earlier investigations.
The Tampen Spur region in the northern North Sea has been subjected to particularly complex deformation, with two dominating fault directions trending NW-SE and NE-SW. From Tampen Spur in the west to the Sogn graben in the east an anomalous stress field is indicated, with NE-SW oriented maximum horizontal compressions. This anomaly is clearly seen both in the borehole breakout data and in the earthquake data. Possible sources for this anomaly are discussed, and include postglacial uplift and/or lateral variations in the physical properties of the crust.     

Borehole Stability Analysis of Horizontal Drilling in Shale Gas Reservoirs

Serious wellbore instability occurs frequently during horizontal drilling in shale gas reservoirs. The conventional forecast model of in situ stresses is not suitable for wellbore stability analysis in laminated shale gas formations because of the inhomogeneous mechanical properties of shale. In this study, a new prediction method is developed to calculate the in situ stresses in shale formations. The pore pressure near the borehole is heterogeneous along both the radial and tangential directions due to the inhomogeneity in the mechanical properties and permeability. Therefore, the stress state around the wellbore will vary with time after the formation is drained. Besides, based on the experimental results, a failure criterion is verified and applied to determine the strength of Silurian shale in the Sichuan Basin, including the long-term strength of gas shale. Based on this work, horizontal well borehole stability is analyzed by the new in situ stress prediction model. Finally, the results show that the collapse pressure will be underestimated if the conventional model is used in shale gas reservoirs improperly. The collapse pressure of a horizontal well is maximum at dip angle of 45°. The critical mud weight should be increased constantly to prevent borehole collapse if the borehole is exposed for some time.     

水压致裂起裂压力的细观离散元模拟及试验研究

水压致裂起裂压力的预测对于油气开采、地应力测量、水工结构物抗裂设计等具有重要的意义。采用颗粒离散元结合域-管道渗流模型的流固耦合非连续数值模拟方法,基于扩展前端法生成的含规则形状钻孔的颗粒体模型,对水压致裂的细观起裂过程和起裂压力大小进行了定量模拟。结果表明,在消除了颗粒体中钻孔形状不规则性的基础上,钻孔壁的接触力链分布与理论解较为一致,拟合的离散元起裂压力公式也与理论解较为接近。进一步地,从颗粒材料受挤压时产生局部张拉力的角度解释了起裂压力拟合公式与理论解之间的差别。最后,设计了含预制钻孔的抗渗砂浆试块制备方法,对不同主应力组合下的起裂压力大小进行了真三轴室内试验,验证了离散元模拟结果的可靠性。     

Reservoir geomechanical parameters identification based on ground surface movements

Determination of geomechanical parameters of petroleum reservoir and surrounding rock is important for coupled reservoir–geomechanical modeling, borehole stability analysis and hydraulic fracturing design. A displacement back analysis technique based on artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic algorithm (GA) combination is investigated in this paper to identify reservoir geomechanical parameters based on ground surface displacements. An ANN is used to map the nonlinear relationship between Young’s modulus, E, Poisson’s ratio, v, internal friction angle, Φ, cohesion, c and ground surface displacements. The necessary training and testing samples for ANN are created by using numerical analysis. GA is used to search the set of unknown reservoir geomechanical parameters. Results of the numerical experiment show that the displacement back analysis technique based on ANN–GA combination can effectively identify reservoir geomechanical parameters based on ground surface movements as a result of oil and gas production.     

极地深部冰层取心钻探孔壁水压致裂研究

为了维护极地深部冰层取心钻探工作中钻孔的稳定,避免孔内事故的发生,冰层孔壁的水压致裂问题是亟待解决的重要科学问题之一。本文在深入分析国内外冰层钻探资料的基础上,结合冰盖动力学相关理论,计算得出了钻孔所在区域冰层的密度、温度及内部应力随深度的变化规律。在此基础上,结合油气资源勘探水力压裂技术与冰层钻进钻井液等相关理论,建立了合理的孔壁压差计算方法,深入探讨了适用于深部冰层钻探孔壁水压致裂机理。研制了冰层钻孔水压致裂模拟实验装置,可分析研究不同围压条件下冰样的脆性变形机理。结合我国Dome A深冰心钻探工程实际,提出钻孔可能发生水压致裂的深度区域及孔壁所需的起始裂纹长度判定,以期为后续的安全高效冰层钻进提供重要的理论依据。     

Stability of expansive cement grout borehole seals emplaced in the vicinity of underground radioactive waste repositories

An expansive cementitious borehole plug emplaced in an underground opening in the vicinity of an underground nuclear waste repository may generate radial stresses on the walls of the opening due to an axial stress applied to the borehole plug and due to plug swelling. As these radial stresses may lead to the tensile fracturing of the rock, minimizing or preferably eliminating tensile stresses in rock is particularly important to preserve waste containment. Presented in this paper are the theoretical radial (normal) stress distribution and tensile strength in a borehole plug–rock system due to combined axial, thermal and lateral loading, along with analyses of plug–rock mechanical interactions in regards to borehole stability against tensile fracturing.     

立井冻土掘进爆破技术的研究与应用

崩落爆破通常承担整个立井冻土掘进爆破40 %～60 %的破土量。宽孔距崩落爆破能够增加自由面的有效利用、增强自由面应力波的反射拉伸作用和消除或减小冻土中的应力降低区。在理论分析的基础上进行冻土爆破漏斗模型试验,综合考虑爆破漏斗体积和爆破后两炮眼间最大凸量,初步认为炮眼密集系数 =1.5左右时较为合理。结合立井崩落炮眼成圈弧形布置和冻土所受夹制作用相对较大的特点,建议应在此基础上适当降低立井冻土崩落爆破炮眼密集系数,这在进一步的工程实践中得到了验证。     

Back-analysis for initial ground stress field at a diamond mine using machine learning approaches

Exact knowledge for ground stress field guarantees the construction of various underground engineering projects as well as prediction of some geological hazards such as the rock burst. Limited by costs, field measurement for initial ground stresses can be only conducted on several measure points, which necessitates back-analysis for initial stresses from limited field measurement data. This paper employed a multioutput decision tree regressor (DTR) to model the relationship between initial ground stress field and its impact factor. A full-scale finite element model was built and computed to gain 400 training samples for DTR using a submodeling strategy. The results showed that correlation coefficient r between field measurement values and back-analysis values reached 0.92, which proved the success of DTR. A neural network was employed to store the global initial ground stress field. More than 600,000 node data extracted from the full-scale finite element model were used to train this neural network. After training, the stresses on any location can be investigated by inputting corresponding coordinates into this neural network.