Abstract
Mechanical damage and resultant permeability evolution during compaction of highly porous reservoir rocks have strong implications on the extraction of mineral and energy resources. Laboratory Experiments can be performed to quantify this effect; however, the effect of size on these processes and the information they provide need to be evaluated before any conclusion can be drawn. As part of this study, conventional triaxial compression tests under different confining pressures were carried out on large samples (30 mm diameter and 60 mm length). These experiments were compared to the same setup for small samples with 12.7 mm diameter and 25.4 mm length which allowed monitoring of the pore structure changes through the use of an X-ray transparent triaxial cell at constant confining pressure. Both scales showed a similar mechanical response. The large-scale experiments were used to investigate the transition from brittle to ductile deformation, and the small-scale experiments allowed detailed investigation of the microstructural changes affecting the permeability evolution. The permeabilities of the specimens were continually measured during the triaxial loading at both scales. At defined increasing axial strain levels, the small sample was imaged using X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) and internal structural changes were mapped. A series of digital rock analysis techniques and Pore Network Modelling allowed accurate analysis of the evolution of the microstructure and its effect on permeability evolution using Pore Network Models. An XRCT-based, microstructurally enriched, continuum model successfully describes the permeability evolution measured during triaxial testing. Self-organized criticality of the propagating front of compaction was also shown by R2 values > 0.95 for a double Pareto fractal scaling law. Both approaches, as well as the macroscale experiments, confirmed a phase change in permeability at ~ 5% axial strain which provided a solid basis for microstructurally enriched assessment of the dynamic permeability.
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Abbreviations
- k g :
-
Gas permeability
- k l :
-
Liquid permeability
- Q :
-
Gas flow rate
- μ :
-
Dynamic viscosity coefficient of the gas
- L :
-
Length of the specimen
- A:
-
Cross-sectional area of the specimen
- P out :
-
Outlet pressure
- P in :
-
Inlet pressure
- q :
-
Differential stress
- p :
-
Effective mean stress
- \(\varepsilon_{a}\) :
-
Axial strain
- \(\varepsilon_{r}\) :
-
Radial strain
- \(\varepsilon_{v}\) :
-
Volumetric strain
- \(\sigma_{1}\) :
-
Maximum principle stress
- \(\sigma_{2} = \sigma_{3}\) :
-
Minimum principle stress
- \(P_{c}\) :
-
Confining pressure
- \(P_{p}\) :
-
Pore pressure
- \(V_{{{\text{solid}}}}\) :
-
Volume of the solid phase in the specimen
- r :
-
Radius of the specimen
- \(\phi_{i}\) :
-
Porosity of the undeformed specimen
- \(\phi_{d}\) :
-
Porosity of the deformed specimen at certain axial strain
- \(\phi_{r}\) :
-
Porosity reduction in the specimen
- k nc :
-
Pre-compaction permeability of the specimen
- k cb :
-
Permeability of a single compaction band
- T :
-
Thickness of a single compaction band
- T cb :
-
Total thickness of the compaction bands
- N :
-
Number of compaction bands in the specimen
- c 1,2 :
-
Experimental constants in double Pareto model
- m 1,2 :
-
Experimental constants in double Pareto model
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the three reviewers of the manuscript for the suggestion to include additional material in the manuscript. The project was financially supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Grants No DP17104550, DP17104557). The first author would like to acknowledge the fellowship from the UNSW Tuition Fee Scholarship (TFS) and the China Scholarship Council (CSC). In addition to the ARC Discovery support, KRL also acknowledges strategic support from the UNSW through the SPF01 internal funding scheme.
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The project was financially supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC Discovery Grants No DP17104550, DP17104557).
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KRL and HR are project coordinators, proposed the topic, conceived the study and reviewed the final manuscript. XC conducted the experiments, analysed the data and composed the draft of the manuscript. AL helped in experiment set-up and data interpretation. MH collaborated with the first author in the construction of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Chen, X., Regenauer-Lieb, K., Lv, A. et al. The Dynamic Evolution of Permeability in Compacting Carbonates: Phase Transition and Critical Points. Transp Porous Med 135, 687–711 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-020-01493-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-020-01493-y