Development and verification of the comprehensive model for physical properties of hydrate sediment

Natural gas hydrate is widely distributed all over the world and may be a potential resource in the near future, whereas hydrate dissociation during the development affects wellbore stability and drilling safety. However, the present modeling of hydrate reservoir parameters ignored the influence of effective stress and only considered the hydrate saturation. In this paper, a series of stress sensitivity experiments for the unconsolidated sandstone were carried out, and the influence of mean effective stress on physical parameters was obtained; a comprehensive model for the physical parameters of hydrate reservoir was developed subsequently. With the help of ABAQUS finite element software, the established comprehensive model was verified by the use of the wellbore stability numerical model of hydrate reservoir. The verification results show that ignoring the effect of mean effective stress on the parameters of hydrate formation aggravates the invasion of drilling fluid into the hydrate formation. Besides, ignoring the stress sensitivity of reservoir physical parameters will underestimate the wellbore instability during hydrate drilling, which will be a threat to the safety of gas hydrate drilling. At the end of the drilling operation, the maximum plastic strain of the model for considering and not considering stress sensitivity was 0.0145 and 0.0138, respectively. Therefore, the established comprehensive model will provide a theoretical support for accurately predicting the engineering geological disasters in hydrate development process.     

Evolution of the shape parameter in the Weibull distribution for brittle rocks under uniaxial compression

Applying the statistical damage theory based on the Weibull distribution to describe rock deformation and failure processes is an important development in rock mechanics. The shape parameter of the Weibull distribution, m, determines the basic shape of the distribution curve; additionally, it also represents a physical characteristic which can be applied when constructing rock constitutive models. To study the evolution of m during rock failure when applying the Weibull distribution to rock mechanics, uniaxial cyclic loading tests of shale specimens were conducted and previous rock mechanics experiments under different temperatures and loading rates were reviewed. The results indicate that m varied with the accumulation of damage but was almost constant between the volume expansion point and the peak strength point of each specimen. Combined with previous studies about the accelerated failure behavior of rocks, we conclude that between the volume expansion point and the peak strength point, the mechanical behavior of the rock fracture process did not change significantly. Based on the characteristics of m at different damage stages during the rock failure process, ranges of m values at different damage stages are proposed. The conclusions reached in this study may be used as an important reference for theoretical research on rock mechanics.     

Porosity and wave velocity evolution of granite after high-temperature treatment: a review

The evolution of porosity and changes in wave velocity in granite after high-temperature treatment has been experimentally investigated in different studies. Statistical analysis of the test results shows that there is a temperature threshold value that leads to variations in porosity and wave velocity. At a temperature that is less than 200 °C, the porosity of granite slowly increases with increases in temperature, while the wave velocity decreases. When the temperature is greater than 200 °C (especially between 400 and 600 °C), the porosity quickly increases, while the wave velocity substantially decreases. The temperature ranges of room temperature to 200 and 200–400 °C correspond to the undamaged state and the micro-damage state, respectively. The results confirm that there is an important link between the variations of physical and mechanical properties in response to thermal treatment. By studying the relationships among rock porosity, wave velocity and temperature, this provides the basis for solving multi-variable coupling problems under high temperatures for the thermal exploitation of petroleum and safe disposal of nuclear waste.     

A GIS-based method of risk assessment on no. 11 coal-floor water inrush from Ordovician limestone in Hancheng mining area,China

The no. 11 coal seam in the deep area of Hancheng mining area is mining in recent years, which is threatened by the water inrush from the Ordovician limestone aquifer. Coal-floor water inrush is governed by the water abundance of coal-floor aquifer, the water-resisting performance of coal-floor aquitard, and the pathway connecting the water source and the working face. To make an accuracy risk assessment of water inrush from the no. 11 coal seam floor, a GIS-based vulnerability index method (VIM) is adopted for its superior comprehensive consideration of more controlling factors, powerful spatial analysis, and intuitively display functions. This study firstly established an index system including the water pressure of the coal-floor aquifer, the unit water inflow, the thickness, the core recovery percentage, the thickness ratio of brittle rocks to ductile rocks, the thickness of effective aquitard, and the accumulated length of faults and folds, of which the former six indexes governed the water abundance of the coal-floor aquifer which was combined with the last two factors to determine the risk of coal-floor water inrush. Secondly, the thematic map of each controlling factor is established by GIS using the geological prospecting data, and the weight of each factor is determined by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) after consulting the expert review panel. At last, a vulnerability index is obtained and used to assess the risk of coal-floor water inrush of the no. 11 coal seam. The risk of water inrush of the no. 11 coal seam of the study area was ranked to three zones: the southeastern shallow area in red color is the dangerous zone, the wide northwestern area in green color is the safe zone, and the transition area in yellow color is the moderate-risk zone. Compared with the actual water-inrush incidents, the risk assessment result was verified to achieve an accuracy of 82.35%, which is proved to be a dependable reference for the prevention and controlling of coal-floor water inrush of the no. 11 coal seam in Hancheng mining area.     

Stability study on the northern batter of MBC Open Pit using Plaxis 3D

Cracks appeared on the northern batter at Maddingley Brown Coal Open Pit Mine, Victoria, Australia, on 8 November 2013 and a 2-day rainfall event happened 5 days later. This study models the stability of the northern batter considering the effect of the rainfall event and an emergency buttress using finite element method (FEM) encoded in Plaxis 3D. It is found that the batter tended to lead to block sliding after overburden removal. The observed vertical crack would be a combined action of the overburden removal and groundwater flow. The simulated location of cracks agrees well with the actual location, and the simulated heave of the coal seam is in good agreement with the experience in Victoria brown coal open pit mining. The rainfall accelerated the development of the cracks. With the construction of the emergency buttress, the batter became stable that is in good agreement with the monitored data.     

湘西-黔东下寒武统清虚洞组藻灰岩沉积特征及其找矿意义

铅锌矿是湘西-黔东地区的优势矿种,资源丰富,开发历史悠久,找矿潜力巨大。综合分析前人有关湘西-黔东生物礁的资料,介绍了藻灰岩的沉积特征,并结合大量实际地质资料,对藻灰岩控矿进行了论述。结果表明: 成矿物质主要来源于藻类及碳酸盐泥对Pb²⁺、Zn²⁺离子的吸取,矿床成因属于沉积成岩矿床类型,兼有成岩期后矿床性质; 藻礁灰岩与不同岩性的接合部位及其附近等微地球化学障区,往往就是铅锌富矿体产出部位; 藻礁灰岩与礁间通道的薄层泥质白云质灰岩呈指状交叉接触处,也常有铅锌富矿体产出; 铅锌富矿体基本上产于清虚洞组灰岩段中,且明显受该段藻礁灰岩控制。为满足国内外对铅锌矿日益增长的消费需要,深入研究区内铅锌矿的地层岩相岩石控矿因素及其富集规律,指导该地区藻灰岩中铅锌矿找矿工作,具有重要的现实意义。     

全国地热资源调查评价与勘查示范工程进展

地热作为一种清洁能源,在我国经济发展与能源转型过程中正发挥着越来越重要的作用。“全国地热资源调查评价与勘查示范工程”自实施以来,主要开展了京津冀地区地热资源评价以及东南沿海和青藏高原东部干热岩的勘查等工作。这些工作的开展在获得一系列科研突破成果的同时,也解决了大量地热开发的工程问题,积累了大量成果和经验。该文对工程取得的进展及成果进行了总结,对工作开展中出现的问题进行了探讨,可用于指导我国地热资源勘查开发工作。     

羌塘盆地晚侏罗世夏里组磁学参数指示的沉积环境及其成盐意义

羌塘盆地位于青藏高原中部,是一个具有沉积钠盐、钾盐远景的蒸发岩盆地。最近在羌塘盆地上侏罗统夏里组中发现多处具有钾、钠异常的盐泉这一重要的找钾盐线索,然而目前对上侏罗统夏里组的古环境演变仍然不甚了解,限制了对晚侏罗世羌塘盆地的成盐(成钾)条件和可能的层位等重大科学问题的理解。因此本文以热磁分析为主,对羌塘盆地雁石坪地区上侏罗统夏里组沉积物进行高分辨率岩石磁学研究,并讨论其古环境意义。最后,根据成盐(成钾)理论,综合分析羌塘盆地上侏罗统夏里组成盐(成钾)的构造、气候和物源条件。κ-T曲线、磁滞回线和热退磁结果共同表明磁铁矿和赤铁矿是夏里组的主要载磁矿物;磁学参数分析表明夏里组上段赤铁矿含量相对增加,揭示夏里组上段形成于干旱气候环境;综合分析构造、气候和物源条件表明,羌塘盆地上侏罗统夏里组上段最为具备良好的成盐(成钾)条件。     

碘化氨除锡后封闭酸溶-电感耦合等离子体质谱测定锡矿石中的共生和伴生元素

锡矿石是难分解的矿物,主要存在形式是锡石(SnO_2),且共生和伴生元素多,常用的酸溶方法几乎不能溶解SnO_2,从而给锡矿石中的共生与伴生元素的准确测定带来困难。本文基于碘化氨在较低温度下熔融可产生无水状态的碘化氢,利用碘化氢的酸性和氨的还原性分解SnO_2,使Sn呈SnI_4升华分离的原理处理锡矿石。实验中以高纯铂丝作催化剂,加入碘化铵在450℃的马弗炉中分解锡矿石30 min,使得Sn以SnI_4形式挥发,除锡率达到98%以上,再用2 mL氢氟酸和1 mL硝酸封闭溶解残渣,电感耦合等离子体质谱测定钴镍铜铌钽钍铀等24个共生和伴生元素。元素检出限在0. 001～2. 9μg/g之间,90%以上元素的相对标准偏差(RSD)小于5%,相对误差小于10%。本方法解决了锡矿石难分解的问题,可测定共存金属元素,也适合测定Sn含量在1. 27%～62. 49%之间的锡矿石中的微量和痕量元素及锡精矿中的微量元素。     

利用电子探针研究甘肃陇南赵家庄金矿载金矿物特征

应用偏光显微镜与电子探针相结合的手段是研究载金矿物的主要方法。本文采用镜下鉴定和电子探针分析技术,对赵家庄金矿中载金矿物含量、形态特征及其与其他矿物的空间关系开展研究,并对载金矿物进行定性和定量分析,探寻具有找矿意义的载金矿物和总结标志矿物特征。结果表明:研究区金矿石中主要载金矿物为黄铁矿,少量为黄铜矿、闪锌矿,这些载金矿物中Au含量依次为:细晶黄铁矿粗晶黄铁矿草莓状黄铁矿黄铜矿。不同时期的黄铁矿(粗晶黄铁矿、细晶黄铁矿、草莓状黄铁矿)中Au的分布均匀,但存在差异性,主要表现为细晶黄铁矿和草莓状黄铁矿中的Au含量较高(平均含量0. 14%～0. 18%),这种现象表明此类矿物为构造热液期形成,金易富集。Au以两种形式存在,一种是"可见金"包裹于脉石矿物中,或以裂隙金的形式嵌布在矿物晶隙及裂隙中;另一种是"不可见金"以纳米级颗粒金的形式存在于载金矿物中,也是Au的主要存在形式。本研究为后期矿床的成因、成矿过程和成矿机理研究提供了佐证,同时易于根据含金矿物的特征选择合适的选冶方法。