TY - CONF
T1 - Influence of fracture roughness on shear strength, slip stability and permeability
T2 - 53rd U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium
AU - Wang, Chaoyi
AU - Elsworth, Derek
AU - Fang, Yi
AU - Zhang, Fengshou
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is a partial result of support provided by DOE Grant DE-FE0023354. This support is gratefully acknowledged. This work utilizes data from literature which are cited in the main reference list. The data from numerical modeling of this study are shown in the main text.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright 2019 ARMA, American Rock Mechanics Association.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Subsurface fluid injection can disturb the effective stress regime by elevating pore pressure and potentially reactivate faults and fractures. Laboratory studies indicate that fracture rheology and permeability in such reactivation events are linked to the roughness of the fracture surfaces. We construct discrete element method (DEM) models to explore the influence of fracture surface roughness on the shear strength, slip stability, and permeability evolution during such slip events. For each simulation, a pair of analog rock coupons (3D bonded quartz-particle analogs) representing a mated fracture are sheared under a velocity-stepping scheme. The roughness of the fracture is defined in terms of asperity height and asperity wavelength. Results show that (1) samples with larger asperity heights (rougher), when sheared, exhibit a higher peak strength which quickly devolves to a residual strength after a threshold shear displacement; (2) these rougher samples also exhibit greater slip stability due to a high degree of asperity wear and resultant production of wear products; (3) long-term suppression of permeability is observed with rougher fractures, which is plausibly due to the removal of asperities and redistribution of wear products, which locally reduces porosity in the dilating fracture. This study provides insights into the understanding of the mechanisms of frictional and rheological evolution of rough fractures anticipated during reactivation events.
AB - Subsurface fluid injection can disturb the effective stress regime by elevating pore pressure and potentially reactivate faults and fractures. Laboratory studies indicate that fracture rheology and permeability in such reactivation events are linked to the roughness of the fracture surfaces. We construct discrete element method (DEM) models to explore the influence of fracture surface roughness on the shear strength, slip stability, and permeability evolution during such slip events. For each simulation, a pair of analog rock coupons (3D bonded quartz-particle analogs) representing a mated fracture are sheared under a velocity-stepping scheme. The roughness of the fracture is defined in terms of asperity height and asperity wavelength. Results show that (1) samples with larger asperity heights (rougher), when sheared, exhibit a higher peak strength which quickly devolves to a residual strength after a threshold shear displacement; (2) these rougher samples also exhibit greater slip stability due to a high degree of asperity wear and resultant production of wear products; (3) long-term suppression of permeability is observed with rougher fractures, which is plausibly due to the removal of asperities and redistribution of wear products, which locally reduces porosity in the dilating fracture. This study provides insights into the understanding of the mechanisms of frictional and rheological evolution of rough fractures anticipated during reactivation events.
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M3 - Paper
AN - SCOPUS:85084023371
Y2 - 23 June 2019 through 26 June 2019
ER -