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Investigation on the experimental determination of the apparent preconsolidation stress and effective-sealing condition for clay cap rock

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Abstract

Seal ability of clay cap rock is impacted by not only the current physical and mechanical characteristics but also the diagenetic experiences and stress state. Thereby, both the diagenetic actions and stress state when conversing from brittleness to ductility should be further investigated. Only by this way can the oil/gas generation and the transportation relationship be thoroughly revealed and then the seal ability of cap rocks be accurately evaluated. Aimed at the clay rocks subjected to different diagenetic states from E’xi-Yudong regions, a thick-wall steel sleeve was manufactured and utilized as the lateral restrictor to implement the uniaxial strain compression experiments. Based on the thick-wall cylinder theory, the procedure of calculating the apparent preconsolidation stress (APS) was established. To reveal the factors that influence the APS, the relationships between APS and uniaxial compression strength, ultrasonic velocity, and porosity as well as clay mineral content were investigated, respectively. The mechanisms of the lateral pressure coefficients’ variations were also discussed. The transition condition of “brittleness to ductility” is preliminary discussed, so is the calculation method for the effective-sealing burial depth. This study could provide a significant indication of evaluating the seal ability of diagenetic clay cap rocks.

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Funding

This research was partially supported by the visiting scholar funded project of the State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control (Chongqing University) (No. 2011DA105287-FW201404); the National Key R&D Program of China during the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (No. 2017YFC0804600); the Science and Technology Support and International Cooperation Project (No. 2016GZ0157) of Sichuan, China; and the National Science foundation of China (No. 51604044, 41472285, 51834003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Jun-xin Liu & Wei Liu

  2. School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, China

    Jun-xin Liu & Feng Xiao

  3. State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China

    Jun-xin Liu, Liang Huo & Hai-jun Mao

  4. School of Water Conservancy and Ecological Engineering, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, 330099, Jiangxi, China

    Jian-jun Gan

Authors
  1. Jun-xin Liu
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  2. Feng Xiao
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  3. Wei Liu
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  4. Jian-jun Gan
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  5. Liang Huo
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Correspondence to Wei Liu.

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Liu, Jx., Xiao, F., Liu, W. et al. Investigation on the experimental determination of the apparent preconsolidation stress and effective-sealing condition for clay cap rock. Arab J Geosci 11, 491 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-3844-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-018-3844-4

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