Hydraulic Fracturing Section 6

Rock Mechanics

6.

Rock Mechanics

Rock mechanics is the study of the mechanical properties of a rock, especially those properties which are of significance to Engineers. It includes the determination and effects of physical properties such as bending strength, crushing strength, shear strength, moduli of elasticity, porosity, permeability and density, and their interrelationships.

6.1

Stress

Consider the situation illustrated in Figure 6.1a, in which a block of material is subjected to a force F:F Area = A

Figure 6.1a A block of material subjected to a force F.

The block of material has an area A, on the plane at right angles to the line of action of the force. Therefore the stress, , is given by: = F A ..................................................................................... (6.1)

Note that this is very similar to the formula for calculating pressure. Stress and pressure have the same units and are very closely related in fracturing

6.2

Strain

Strain is measure of how much the material has been deformed when a stress is applied to it. Figure 6.2a illustrates how the block of material is compressed by the force F:-

x1 x2

Figure 6.2a Strain produced by the application of force F

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As the force is applied, the height of the block of material changes from x1 to x2. The strain, , is given by: = x1 - x2 x1 .............................................................................. (6.2)

Note that the strain is defined in the same direction as the applied force F and perpendicular to the plane across which the stress acts. Strain is important as this is the way we measure stress by observing the deformation of a known piece of material. Strain is dimensionless.

6.3

Youngs Modulus

Youngs modulus, E, (also known as modulus of elasticity or elastic modulus) is defined as follows:E =

...................................................................................... (6.3)

E is the ratio of stress over strain. As strain is dimensionless, E has the same units as stress. Youngs modulus is a measure of how much a material will elastically deform when a load is applied to it. This is another term for hardness. On a more fundamental level, if stress and pressure are closely related (apply a pressure to a surface and it will induce a stress), then in fracturing, we can think of Youngs modulus as a measure of how much a material (i.e. rock) will elastically deform, when a pressure is applied to it. As pressure is stored energy, E is also a measure of how much energy it takes to make the rock deform. Materials with a high Youngs modulus, such as glass, tungsten carbide, diamond and granite, tend to be very hard and brittle (susceptible to brittle fracture). Conversely, materials with a low E, such as rubber, styrofoam and coal, tend to be soft and tough (resistant to brittle fracture).

Caution Elastic vs Plastic. Elastic deformation is reversible if the force (or pressure, or stress) is removed, the material returns back to its original size and shape. If so much force is applied to a material that it passes beyond its elastic limit then the material will start to plastically deform. This is permanent. A good illustration of this is the small spring from a ball point pen. When the spring is lightly stretched, it will return to its original shape. However, if the spring is stretched too far, it will be permanently, or plastically deformed. Youngs Modulus only applies to elastic deformation. As a group of materials, rocks tend not to plastically deform very much. Instead they will elastically deform and then fracture if the stress gets too high. Notable exceptions to this are salt beds, soft carbonates and coals. Static Youngs Modulus is the standard measure of E and is applicable to hydraulic fracturing. The material is being deformed slowly and in only one direction. Dynamic Youngs Modulus is the rock property measured by special sonic logging tools. The material is no longer static it is being continually stretched and then compressed rapidly. There is often a significant variation between static and dynamic values for E due to a process known as hysteresis. In fracturing, Youngs modulus will typically have values ranging from as low as 50,000 psi (for a shallow, very soft chalk or weak sandstone) to as high as 6,000,000 psi for deep, tight, shaley sandstone.

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6.4

Poissons Ratio

Poissons ratio, , is a measure of how much a material will deform in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the applied force, parallel to the plane on which the stress induced by the strain is acting. This is illustrated by figure 6.4a:F

x1 x2

y1 y2
Figure 6.4a Application of force F also produces a deformation in the y direction

The strain in the x direction, x, is given by equation 6.2 (above). The strain in the y direction is given by the following:-

y1 - y2 y1 .............................................................................. (6.4)

Note that this value is negative this is a result of the way the forces and the direction the forces act in are defined. Poissons ratio is defined by equation 6.5:-

y .................................................................................... (6.5) x

Poissons ratio is dimensionless. Poissons ratio is an important factor in determining the stress gradient of the formation, but is less important in defining fracture dimensions, although it does have some effect. Typical values for for rocks are between 0.2 and 0.35.

6.5

Other Rock Mechanical Properties

Tensile Strength. The tensile strength of a material is the level of tensile stress that is required in order to make the material fail. Usually, as stress is applied the material will elastically deform (reversible), plastically deform and then fail. In most rocks this amount of plastic deformation is negligible and the material will, for all practical purposes, elastically deform and then fail. This property is important in hydraulic fracturing, as this stress level has to be overcome in order to split the rock. Usually, the frac gradient (which is the pressure a.k.a. the stress needed to make the rock fracture) has two components the stresses induced by the overburden, and the tensile strength of the rock. See section 6.6 below for a more detailed explanation of in-situ stresses.

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It should be noted that materials also have a Compressive Strength, which is the compressional load, beyond which a material will fail. Failure mechanisms are more complex, as the material is often compressed in several directions at once. Generally, rocks are much stronger in compression than in tension, a fact which we take advantage of during fracturing. Shear Modulus. The shear modulus is similar to the Youngs modulus, except that it refers to the material being in shear, rather than in compression or tension. It defines how much energy is required to elastically deform a material in shear:x

Figure 6.5a Force F applied to produce a shear stress

With reference to Figure 6.5a, the shear stress, , is given by:-

F A ..................................................................................... (6.6)

where A is the area of the block of material parallel to the line of action of the force F, (this is the plane along which the shear stress acts) and is equal to a b. The shear strain, , is defined as follows:-

x h ...................................................................................... (6.7)

Therefore, the shear modulus, G, is equal to the shear stress divided by the shear strain:G =

Fh x A .................................................................................. (6.8)

Bulk Modulus. This is another elastic constant, which defines how much energy is required to deform a material by the application of external pressure. This is a special form of compressive stress, in which the applied compressive stress is equal in all directions. Suppose we have a block of material, which originally has a pressure P1, applied to it, and has a volume V1. This pressure is increased to P2, which causes the volume to decrease to V2, as illustrated below in Figure 6.5b. The increase in bulk stress is the same as the increase in pressure, P2 P1. The bulk strain is equal to the change in volume, V2 V1 divided by the original volume, V1. Thus, the bulk modulus, K, is given by:K = P2 - P1 - (V - V )/V .................................................................... (6.9) 2 1 1

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Figure 6.5b Volume changes from V1 to V2 as pressure increases from P1 to P2.

dP - V dV ............................................................................ (6.10)

The minus sign is introduced into the equation due to the fact that the term V2 V1 will always be of the opposite sign to the term P2 P1. The bulk modulus is therefore a measure of how much energy it takes to compress a material using externally applied pressure. Relationships Between the Four Elastic Constants. The four main elastic constants Youngs modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus and Poissons ratio - are all related to each other. If two of these constants are known, the other two can be deduced:E K = = 3K (1 2 ) .................................................................... (6.11) E ............................................................................ (6.12) 3 - 6 E ........................................................................... (7.13) 2 + 2 3K - E 6K ............................................................................ (7.14)

Therefore, if the Youngs modulus and the Poissons ratio are known, the shear modulus and the bulk modulus can be deduced. Thus, fracture simulators only require the input of E and .

6.6

In-Situ Stresses

In situ stresses are the stresses within the formation which act as a load (usually compressive) on the formation. They come mainly from the overburden, and these stresses are relatively easy to predict. However, factors such as tectonics, vulcanism and plastic flow in underlying formations can significantly effect the in-situ stresses these factors are much harder to predict. In addition, the act of producing a localised anomaly such as an oil well can also significantly affect the stresses in a localised area. The stresses due to the overburden are simply the sum of all the pressures induced by all the different rock layers. Therefore, if there has been no external influences such as tectonics

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and the rocks are behaving elastically, the vertical stress, v, at any given depth, H is given by:-

gh
n 0

....................................................................... (6.15)

where n is the density of rock layer n, g is the acceleration due to gravity and hn is the vertical height of zone n, such that h1 + h2 + ..... + hn = H. This is usually modified (after Biot et al) to allow for the effects of pore (or reservoir) pressure, such that:-

ob H - Pres .................................................................. (6.16)

where ob is the overburden pressure gradient (usually between 1.0 and 1.4 psi/ft) and is Biots poroelastic constant, and is a measure of how effectively the fluid transmits the pore pressure to the rock grains. depends upon variables such as the uniformity and sphericity of the rock grains. By definition is always between 0 and 1, usually it is taken to be 1.0 Stresses under the ground do not just act on a single plane. There is a complex three dimensional stress regime. To simplify things, stresses are usually resolved into three mutually perpendicular stress components; the vertical stress, V, and two horizontal stresses, 2 and 3. Additionally, as the stresses are three dimensional, so are the strains. The elastic relationship between these stresses and strains in three mutually perpendicular directions, x, y and z, is governed by Hookes law:-

1 E (x - (y + z)) .......................................................... (6.17)

Now, for the case of elastic deformation with no outside influences (such as tectonics) in a subterranean rock strata, there are two important things to note. First, 2 = 3, as the stresses will be symmetrical on the horizontal plane. Secondly, as each individual unit of rock is pushing against another identical unit of rock with the same force, 2 = 3 = 0 (i.e. no deformation on the horizontal plane). Therefore:-

2,3 =

v ............................................................................... (6.18) 1-

As a result of the work of Terzaghi, Biot and Handin et al., this equation is generally modified to allow for the effects of the pore pressure:-

2,3 =

P + (v - 2P) ........................................................... (6.19) 1-

From equation 7.19 we can see that the Poissons ratio can have a considerable influence on the horizontal in-situ stresses.

6.7

Stresses Around a Wellbore

A wellbore is essentially a pressure vessel with a very thick wall. Consequently, the same theories that are applied to thick walled pressure vessels can also be applied to wellbores, providing that the in-situ stresses and reservoir pressure are accounted for. Figure 6.7a

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illustrates how the stresses at any given point near the wellbore can be resolved into three principle stresses. Once again, these are perpendicular to each other.

t r r

t v

Figure 6.7a Three Dimensional Stresses Around a Wellbore

From Deily and Owens (1961) we can get expressions for the radial and tangential stresses induced by a pressure in the wellbore, Pwb, at a radius r, from the centre of the well. The vertical stress is as given in equation 6.16;

t r

= =

rw2 rw2 -(Pwb - (Pres + Pwb - Pr)) r2 + 1 + r2 v ................ (6.20) 2 2 r r w w (Pwb Pres) r2 + 1 - 1 - r2 (Pob Pres) ............ (6.21)

where Pob is the pressure due to the overburden (see reference for more details). At the wellbore face, the stresses due to wellbore pressure will be at a maximum. Also, this is by definition the point at which the fracture initiates. Therefore, these are the stresses which interest us most. At the wellbore r rw and Pr Pwb so that:-

t r

= =

2 (ob H - Pres) (Pwb Pres) ............................. (6.22) 1 -

Pwb - Pres......................................................................... (6.23)

Furthermore, Barree et al (1996) went on to show that provided the rock does not have any significant tensile strength and no significant plastic deformation, failure of the rock (i.e. breakdown) occurred when the tangential stresses were reduced to zero; Pb =

2 (ob H - Pres) + Pres ......................................... (6.24) 1 -

6.8

Fracture Orientation

Fractures will always propagate along the line of least resistance. In a three dimensional stress regime, a fracture will propagate so as to avoid the greatest stress. This means that a fracture will propagate parallel to the greatest principal stress, and perpendicular to the plane of the greatest principle stress. This is a fundamental principle therefore the key to understanding fracture orientation is to understand the stress regime itself.

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Propagation parallel to the greatest principle stress usually means that the fracture will propagate on a vertical plane. We can see from equations 6.15 to 6.19, that the horizontal stresses in an undisturbed elastic formation will always be less than the vertical stress. However, there are some exceptions to this. Equations 6.16 and 6.19 define the magnitude of horizontal and vertical stresses in undisturbed formations. The horizontal stresses are induced by the vertical stresses. There is evidence to suggest that these horizontal stresses somehow get locked into place (Economides, et al), and remain relatively constant, regardless of what later happens to the vertical stress. Figure 6.8a illustrates what happens when the vertical stress is reduced:-

Magnitude of In-Situ Stress

Magnitude of In-Situ Stress

Formation lost due to erosion

Depth

V H

Depth

V H

Original Stress Regime

Stress Regime After Loss of Height by Erosion

Figure 6.8a Changes in Stress Regime due to Erosion

If formation is lost due to erosion, then the overburden stresses are reduced. However, because the horizontal stresses are locked-in, they have not been reduced. Therefore, there is a region, close to the new surface, where the horizontal stresses are greater than the vertical stresses. This means that the fracture will propagate horizontally a pancake frac. Thus, in shallow formations in areas with a history of surface erosion, horizontal fracs are not only possible, they are in fact likely. This does not apply to formations which are very weak or unconsolidated, as stresses cannot be locked in if the rock strata has no strength. Another consequence of this phenomenon is that in formations where the V and the H are approximately equal, it can be very hard to predict fracture orientation. The action of outside forces, such as tectonics and vulcanism, can also significantly affect fracture orientation. The extra stresses imposed by the movement of the Earths crust , which does not usually alter the overburden stress, can significantly alter the horizontal stress. In addition, formations can sometimes be bent and buckled. In Barbados, there is a formation that has experienced so much tectonic stress that it now runs vertically. Its stresses have been locked into place, so now the original vertical stress is horizontal, and visa versa. So the fractures propagate horizontally.

Influence of Wellbore Orientation. Drilling a well can significantly alter the stress regime in an area around the well. The distance away from the wellbore that is affected by this change is dependent upon the Youngs modulus of the formation. Hard formations (high E) tend to transmit stress more easily than soft formations (which will deform to reduce the stress). Therefore hard formations are affected more than soft formations.

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In the area around the wellbore the area affected by the new stress regime fractures will often tend to propagate parallel to the wellbore, even if the wellbore is highly deviated or even horizontal. As the fracture propagates away from the wellbore, it will eventually reach a point at which the normal stress regime of the formation becomes more significant than the near wellbore stress regime. At this point, the fracture will change orientation. Sometimes this reorientation can be quite sudden, resulting in sharp corners in the fracture, which can cause premature screen outs.

6.8

Frac Gradient

The fracture - or frac - gradient is a measure of how much pressure it takes to make a formation fracture. It is usually expressed as a pressure gradient (i.e. in psi/ft or bar/m) so that similar formations in different wells at different depths can be more easily compared. The frac gradient is a very important quantity in fracturing, as it is the most significant contributor to the bottom hole treating pressure, which in turn helps to define the surface treating pressure, the loading on the completion and the proppant selection. In order to produce a fracture in the formation, two forces have to be overcome. The first force is the in-situ stress, which is defined in equations 6.18 and 6.19 when there are no external influences such as tectonics etc. The second force that has to be overcome is the tensile strength of the rock, which is usually in the region of 100 to 500 psi. Economides and Nolte defined the frac gradient in the following equation:Pb = 3 H,min - H,max P + T .................................................. (6.25)

where Pb is the breakdown pressure, H,min is the minimum horizontal stress, H,max is the maximum horizontal stress, P is the reservoir pressure and T is the tensile strength of the rock. From this we can see that the higher the reservoir pressure, the easier it is to fracture the rock, so that depleted reservoirs tend to have higher breakdown pressures than undepleted reservoirs. In the case where there is very little external influences on the stress regime, the two horizontal stresses are equal and the equation can be simplified to:Pb = 2 H P + T ................................................................... (6.26)

The frac gradient is simply the breakdown pressure, Pb, divided by the TVD. Important Note. The best way to get the frac gradient for a formation is to pump some fluids into it and measure the response. There are many influences on the formation that equations 6.25 and 6.26 do not account for, such as tectonics (there are very few areas of the world that are completely free of tectonics), and the only way to account for these is to actually measure them. The second best way to get the frac gradient is to look at data for offset wells. Make sure that you are looking at data from the same formation. Compare values for Poissons ratio and reservoir pressure. If these values are similar (provided they come from the same formation), then the frac gradient will probably be similar as well. Once these two methods have been rejected, the remaining way to get the frac gradient is to use the equations above. This method should only be used if attempts at carrying out the other two methods have failed.

References
Economides, M.J., and Nolte, K.G.: Reservoir Stimulation, Schlumberger Educational Services, 1987. Economides, M.J.: A Practical Companion to Reservoir Stimulation, Elsevier, 1992

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Biot, M.A.: General Theory of Three-Dimensional Consolidation, Journal of Applied Physics , 1941, 12, p155-164. Biot, M.A.: General Solutions of the Equations of Elasticity and Consolidation for a Porous Material, Journal of Applied Mechanics, 1956, 23, p91-96. Deily, F.H., and Owens, T.C.: Stress Around a Wellbore, paper SPE 2557, presented at the Annual Fall Meeting of the SPE, October 1969. Barree, R.D., Rogers, B.A., and Chu, W.C.: Use of Frac-Pack Pressure Data to Determine Breakdown Conditions and Reservoir Properties, paper SPE 36423, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Denver, October 1996. Handin J., Hager, R. V. Jr, Friedman, M., and Feather, J. N.: Experimental Deformation of Sedimentary Rocks Under Confining Pressure: Pore Pressure Tests, Bulletin AAPG, 1963, 47, p717-755. Terzaghi, K. van: Die Berechnung der Durchlassigkeitsziffer des Tones aus dem Verlauf der Hydrodynamischen Spannungserscheinungrn, Sber. Akad. Wiss, Vienna, 1923, 123, p105 (in German)

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