Borehole Breakouts as Stress Indicators

Extensive feld evidence and laboratory experiments suggest that

borehole breakouts, defned as borehole
cross-section elongations resulting from
preferential rock failure, is a direct
consequence of the in situ stress in the rock.
One of the early observations of breakouts
was in the quartite and conglomerates of
the !itwatersrand gold mine in "outh #frica
$%eeman, &'()*. +he spalling was observed
to occur at diametrically opposed points on
the borehole wall perpendicular to the
direction of the maximum principal stress.
+he most publicied observation of breakouts was in the , m diameter
drift at )-. m level in the /nderground 0esearch %aboratory $/0%*,
1anada. +wo diametrically opposed breakouts were approximately
aligned with the vertical stress, which is the overall least principal
stress at /0%.
+he breakout phenomena was also observed in the non-welded 2aint
3rush tu4 along the spring line of the Exploratory "tudies 5acility
approximately -6. m below the 7ucca 1rest, 8evada. +he measured
stress regime reveals that both horiontal stresses are smaller than the
vertical stress, suggesting the overall maximum principal stress is the
vertical stress.
+hree di4erent modes of failure have been suggested as the
mechanism leading to the breakout.
Adapted from http://www.hydrofrac.com
Extensile failure model
$9. :aury, &';<= >aimson and >errick, &';(=
%ee and >aimson, &'',= "ong and >aimson,
&''<*
# family of subparallel microcracks was induced without any obvious
shear displacement behind the borehole wall in the two ones aligned
with the minimum horiontal stress direction. +he cracks are densely
spaced and subparallel both to the borehole wall and the maximum
horiontal stress direction. 2rogressive spalling of detached ?akes
bounded by these extensile cracks leads to deep and pointed
breakouts.
Shear failure model
$@oback et. al, &';6*
1racks initiates at the borehole wall, were intergranular and
propagated along a pth of high shear stress. :oreover breakouts were
formed by the intersection of two distinct conAugate fractures, rather
than by clusters of ?akes between micorcracks.
Compaction band model
$3.1. >aimson, in 2hys. 1hem. Earth$#*, 9ol. -(, no.&--, pp. &6--.,
-..&*
Bn high porosity granular rock, breakouts initiate at the borehole wall in
the two ones aligned with the minimum horiontal stress direction. Bn
previous models, propagation of breakouts was limited by the
diminishing length of the ?akes $extensile failure model* or by the
domain defned by crossing conAugate fractures. >owever, in highly
porous $approximately -. to -6C or more* rock, initiation of breakouts
provides seed for the propagation of anti-mode B fracture in the form of
compaction band. +he tip of the breakout or anti-mode B fracture
advances orthogonally to the maximum horiontal stress. +he typical
shape of the breakouts created under this condition is in the form of
long fracture with compaction band ahead of the fracture tip.
Adapted from http://www.hydrofrac.com