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Quantifying Microstrain of Quartz and Illite During Thermal Maturation of Organic Matter

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A Correction to this article was published on 24 October 2023

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Abstract

Strain is an important mechanical parameter and mechanical response to stress perturbation in geomaterials that should be studied in detail since it decides the outcome of hydraulic fracturing in shale oil reservoir, in particular. Despite the importance of the strain phenomena, its detailed analysis, particularly in organic-rich, liquid-rich specimens where thermal maturity would directly control pore structure causing various degrees of strain is still unknown. In this study, we collected an immature sample from the Qingshankou Formation and applied two separate pyrolysis methods (in the presence and absence of water) to artificially alter the sample thermal maturity from immature to over mature. Next, XRD analysis combined with the Williamson–Hall method was employed to study the microstrain of two mechanically distinct minerals (illite and quartz) that were abundant in the aliquots as thermal maturation progressed. The results showed that the microstrain value of both quartz and illite would alter during the maturation. Moreover, under the same pyrolysis temperature, the microstrain of illite was found much larger than that of the quartz which was related to its crystal form. Furthermore, surface area and pore volume decreased as the compression microstrain of illite increased, demonstrating that the microstrain of illite would contribute to the pore structure changes more notably. This study is the first in its nature to quantify the microstrain of quartz and illite during thermal progression, which can be important to explain variation in mechanical properties and microstructures of unconventional shale plays during thermal maturation.

Highlights

  • XRD combined with the Williamson-Hall method was employed to analyze the microstrain of quartz and illite.

  • The microstrain values between the quartz and illite under different pyrolysis temperatures were quantified and compared.

  • The effect of the pyrolysis conditions on the microstrain values was studied.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (4227215, 42090025) and State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development (33550000-22-ZC0613-0336). The authors also thank the reviewers for reviewing our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Energy, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Kouqi Liu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Continental Shale Hydrocarbon Accumulation and Efficient Development, Ministry of Education, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing, 163318, China

    Bo Liu

  3. Institute of Geosciences, Marine and Land Geomechanics and Geotectonics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel, Germany

    Mehdi Ostadhassan

  4. Department for Applied Geoscience and Geophysics, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, 8700, Leoben, Austria

    Majid Safaei-Farouji

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  1. Kouqi Liu
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  2. Bo Liu
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  3. Mehdi Ostadhassan
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  4. Majid Safaei-Farouji
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Correspondence to Kouqi Liu or Mehdi Ostadhassan.

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Liu, K., Liu, B., Ostadhassan, M. et al. Quantifying Microstrain of Quartz and Illite During Thermal Maturation of Organic Matter. Rock Mech Rock Eng 56, 9189–9199 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-023-03452-7

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