1887
Volume 67 Number 4
  • E-ISSN: 1365-2478

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Shales play an important role in many engineering applications such as nuclear waste, CO storage and oil or gas production. Shales are often utilized as an impermeable seal or an unconventional reservoir. For both situations, shales are often studied using seismic waves. Elastic properties of shales strongly depend on their hydration, which can lead to substantial structural changes. Thus, in order to explore shaly formations with seismic methods, it is necessary to understand the dependency of shale elastic properties on variations in hydration. In this work, we investigate structural changes in Opalinus shale at different hydration states using laboratory measurements and X‐ray micro‐computed tomography. We show that the shale swells with hydration and shrinks with drying with no visible damage. The pore space of the shale deforms, exhibiting a reduction in the total porosity with drying and an increase in the total porosity with hydration. We study the elastic properties of the shale at different hydration states using ultrasonic velocities measurements. The elastic moduli of the shale show substantial changes with variations in hydration, which cannot be explained with a single driving mechanism. We suggest that changes of the elastic moduli with variations in hydration are driven by multiple competing factors: (1) variations in total porosity, (2) substitution of pore‐filling fluid, (3) change in stiffness of contacts between clay particles and (4) chemical hardening/softening of clay particles. We qualitatively and quantitatively analyse and discuss the influence of each of these factors on the elastic moduli. We conclude that depending on the microstructure and composition of a particular shale, some of the factors dominate over the others, resulting in different dependencies of the elastic moduli on hydration.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1111/1365-2478.12673
2018-08-10
2024-03-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. BeloborodovR., PervukhinaM., LuzinV., Delle PianeC., ClennellM.B., ZandiS.et al. 2016. Compaction of quartz‐kaolinite mixtures: the influence of the pore fluid composition on the development of their microstructure and elastic anisotropy. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 78, 426–438.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. BerrymanJ.G., GrechkaV.Y. and BergeP.A.1999. Analysis of Thomsen parameters for finely layered VTI media. Geophysical Prospecting47, 959–978.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. BeucherS. and LantuéjoulC.1979. Use of watersheds in contour detection. Proceedings of International Workshop on Image Processing, Real‐Time Edge and Motion Detection/Estimation, Rennes, France.
  4. BeucherS. and MeyerF.1993. The morphological approach to segmentation: the watershed transformation. In: Mathematical Morphology in Image Processing (ed. E.R.Dougherty), pp. 433–481. Marcel Dekker, Inc.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. BrownR. and KorringaJ.1975. On the dependence of the elastic properties of a porous rock on the compressibility of the pore fluid. Geophysics40, 608–616.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. CarrierB., VandammeM., PellenqR.J.‐M. and Van DammeH.2014. Elastic properties of swelling clay particles at finite temperature upon hydration. The Journal of Physical Chemistry118, 8933–8943.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. DewhurstD.N. and SigginsA.F.2006. Impact of fabric, microcracks and stress field on shale anisotropy. Geophysical Journal International165, 135–148.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. DomenicoS.N.1976. Effect of brine‐gas mixture on velocity in an unconsolidated sand reservoir. Geophysics4, 882–894.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. EbrahimiD., PellenqR.J.‐M. and WhittleA.J.2012. Microscale elastic properties of montmorillonite upon water adsorption. Langmuir28, 16855–16863.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. FerrariA., FaveroV., MarschallP. and LalouiL.2014. Experimental analysis of the water retention behaviour of shales. International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences72, 61–70.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Gasc‐BarbierM. and TessierD.2007. Structural modifications of a hard deep clayey rock due to hygro‐mechanical solicitations. International Journal of Geomechanics7, 227–235.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. GhorbaniA., ZamoraM. and CosenzaP.2009. Effects of desiccation on the elastic wave velocities of clay‐rocks. International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences46, 1267–1272.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. GreenspanL.1977. Humidity fixed points of binary saturated aqueous solutions. Journal of Research of the National Bureau of Standards, Section A: Physics and Chemistry81, 89–96.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. HashinZ. and ShtrikmanS.1963. A variational approach to the elastic behavior of multiphase materials. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids11, 127–140.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. HelbigK. (1983). Elliptical anisotropy – its significance and meaning. Geophysics48, 825–832.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. HornbyB.E., SchwartzL.M. and HudsonJ.A.1994. Anisotropic effective‐medium modeling of the elastic properties of shales. Geophysics59, 1570–1583.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. HoubenM.E.2013. In situ characterization of the microstructure and porosity of Opalinus Clay (Mont Terri Rock Laboratory, Switzerland). M.Sc thesis, RWTH‐Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. JonesL.E.A. and WangH.F.1981. Ultrasonic velocities in Cretaceous shales from the Williston Basin. Geophysics46, 288–297.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. LimaA., RomeroE., PiñaY., GensA. and LiX.2012. Water retention properties of two Deep Belgian clay formations. In: Unsaturated Soils: Research and Applications (eds C.Mancuso, C.Jommi and F.D'Onza), pp. 179–184. Springer.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. MavkoG., MukerjiT. and DvorkinJ.2009. The Rock Physics Handbook, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. MinardiA., CrisciE., FerrariA. and LalouiL.2016. Anisotropic volumetric behaviour of Opalinus Clay shale upon suction variation. Géotechnique Letters6, 144–148.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. MonfaredM., SulemJ., DelageP. and MohajeraniM.2014. Temperature and damage impact on the permeability of Opalinus Clay. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering47, 101–110.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. MontesH.G., DuplayJ., MartinezL., EscoffierS. and RoussetD.2004. Structural modifications of Callovo‐Oxfordian Argillite under hydration/dehydration conditions. Applied Clay Science25, 187–194.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. NishizawaO.1982. Seismic velocity anisotropy in a medium containing oriented cracks − transversely isotropic case. Journal of Physics of the Earth30, 331–347.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. OsipovV., SokolovV. and EremeevV.2004. Clay Seals of Oil and Gas Deposits. A.A. Balkema Publishers.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. PervukhinaM., GurevichB., DewhurstD.N. and SigginsA.F.2009. Experimental verification of the physical nature of velocity−stress relationship for isotropic porous rocks. Geophysical Journal International181, 2010–2014.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. PervukhinaM., GurevichB., GolodoniucP. and DewhurstD.N.2011. Parameterization of elastic stress sensitivity in shales. Geophysics76, WA147–WA155.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. PimientaL., FortinJ. and GuéguenY.2014. Investigation of elastic weakening in limestone and sandstone samples from moisture adsorption. Geophysical Journal International199, 335–347.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. RomeroE., Della VecchiaG. and JommiC.2011. An insight into the water retention properties of compacted clayey soils. Géotechnique61, 313–328.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. SalagerS., NuthM., FerrariA. and LalouiL.2013. Investigation into water retention behaviour of deformable soils. Canadian Geotechnical Journal50, 200–208.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. SayersC.M.1999. Stress‐dependent seismic anisotropy of shales. Geophysics64, 93–98.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. SoeA.K.K., OsadaM., TakahashiM. and SasakiT.2009. Characterization of drying‐induced deformation behaviour of Opalinus Clay and tuff in no‐stress regime. Environmental Geology58, 1215–1225.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. SpikesK.T.2014. Error estimates of elastic components in stress‐dependent VTI media. Journal of Applied Geophysics108, 110–123.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. SzewczykD., HoltR.M. and BauerA.2018. The impact of saturation on seismic dispersion in shales – laboratory measurements. Geophysics83, MR15–MR34.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. ThomsenL.1986. Weak elastic anisotropy. Geophysics51, 1954–1966.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. TsvankinI.2001. Seismic Signatures and Analysis of Reflection Data in Anisotropic Media. Pergamon, New York.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. ValesF., Nguyen MinhD., GharbiH. and RejebA.2004. Experimental study of the influence of the degree of saturation on physical and mechanical properties in Tournemire shale (France). Applied Clay Science26, 197–207.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. VernikL. and NurA.1992. Ultrasonic velocity and anisotropy of hydrocarbon source rocks. Geophysics57, 727–735.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. WalshJ.B.1965. The effect of cracks on the compressibility of rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research70, 381–389.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. WanM., DelageP., Minh TangA. and TalandierJ.2013. Water retention properties of the Callovo‐Oxfordian claystone. International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Science64, 96–104.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. WildK.M., WymannL.P., ZimmerS., ThoenyR. and AmannF.2015. Water retention characteristics and state‐dependent mechanical and petro‐physical properties of a clay shale. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering48, 427–439.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. YurikovA., LebedevM. and PervukhinaM.2018. Ultrasonic measurements on thin samples: experiment and numerical modeling. Geophysics83, MR47–MR56.
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1111/1365-2478.12673
Loading
/content/journals/10.1111/1365-2478.12673
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Acoustics; Anisotropy; Modelling; Rock physics

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error