Excess pore pressure behavior and evolution in deep coalbed methane reservoirs

Deep coalbed methane(DCBM),an unconventional gas reservoir,has undergone significant advancements in recent years,sparking a growing interest in assessing pore pressure dynamics within these reservoirs.While some production data analysis techniques have been adapted from conventional oil and gas wells,there remains a gap in the understanding of pore pressure generation and evolution,particularly in wells subjected to large-scale hydraulic fracturing.To address this gap,a novel technique called excess pore pressure analysis(EPPA)has been introduced to the coal seam gas industry for the first time to our knowledge,which employs dual-phase flow principles based on consolidation theory.This technique focuses on the generation and dissipation for excess pore-water pressure(EPWP)and excess pore-gas pressure(EPGP)in stimulated deep coal reservoirs.Equations have been developed respectively and numerical solutions have been provided using the finite element method(FEM).Application of this model to a representative field example reveals that excess pore pressure arises from rapid loading,with overburden weight transferred under undrained condition due to intense hydraulic fracturing,which significantly redistributes the weight-bearing role from the solid coal structure to the injected fluid and liberated gas within artificial pores over a brief timespan.Furthermore,field application indicates that the dissipation of EPWP and EPGP can be actually considered as the process of well production,where methane and water are extracted from deep coalbed methane wells,leading to consolidation for the artificial reservoirs.Moreover,history matching results demonstrate that the excess-pressure model established in this study provides a better explanation for the declining trends observed in both gas and water production curves,compared to conventional practices in coalbed methane reservoir engineering and petroleum engineering.This research not only enhances the understanding of DCBM reservoir behavior but also offers insights applicable to production analysis in other unconventional resources reliant on hydraulic fracturing.

Feasibility analysis of high excess pressure cockpit using material substitution based on strain energy

The design concept of high excess pressure cockpit has been proposed as a solution to solve the ergonomics problems caused by cockpit environment.To address the contradiction among mass,economy,maneuverability and environment ergonomics,considering the composite advantages of high strength and lightweight,the feasibility analysis concept of high excess pressure cockpit based on material substitution is proposed in the paper.Based on the strain energy analysis on finite element model,the iteration design method of equal stiffness and lightening effect analysis on material substitution are presented,The weight reduction effect after material substitution can be evaluated intuitively by using equal stiffness curve.The calculation result of cockpit indicates that the lightening effect can reach 35.09%.Because of the complexity of cockpit design,bi-level optimization method is proposed and performed by means of the First-Order Radio algorithm.The research shows that the method can achieve good result.The feasibility of high excess pressure cockpit is studied from the aspect of the relationship between excess pressure and mass,and the research demonstrates that,due to the utilization of T300/4211 in place of 6061 alloy,the excess pressure of cockpit increases from 35 to 45 kPa,a 28.57%increase,while the cockpit mass is decreased by 12.56%.Thus,the contradiction among mass,economy and environment ergonomics can be coordinated,which can provide a reference for the design of high excess pressure cockpit.

On the dissipation of negative excess porewater pressure induced by excavation in soft soil

Unloading induces negative excess porewater pressure in soil mass around a foundation pit during excavation. In this work, the dissipation rule of negative excess porewater pressure after excavation was studied. Analytical formulas for calculating the negative excess porewater pressures and the effective stresses were derived based on one-dimensional consolidation theory and Terzaghi’s effective stress principle. The influence of the dissipation of negative excess porewater pressure on earth pressure inside and outside a foundation pit and the stability of the retaining structure were analyzed through a numerical example. It was indicated that the dissipation of negative excess porewater pressure is harmful to the stability of the retaining structure and that rapid construction can make full use of the negative porewater pressure.

Pore pressure built-up in hydrate-bearing sediments during phase transition: A poromechanical approach

Due to the density contrast between the hydrate and methane gas,the pore pressure is accumulated in the sediment during the decomposition process of methane hydrate.This accumulation of pore pressure decreases the magnitude of effective stress,further triggering potential geological disasters such as landslide.This paper establishes a theoretical framework to investigate the evolution of fluid pressure in the hydrate-bearing sediments during the decomposition process.This model consists of two parts:an unsaturated thermo-poromechanical constitutive law as well as a phase equilibrium equation.Compared with the existing studies,the present work incorporates the effect of pore volume change into the pressure built-up model.In addition,the capillary effect is considered,which plays a nontrivial role in fine-grained sediments.Based on this model,the evolution of fluid pressure is investigated in undrained conditions.It is shown that four mechanisms mainly contribute to the pressure built-up:the density contrast between decomposing hydrate and producing fluid,the variation of pore volume,the compaction of hydrate due to variation of capillary pressure,and the thermal deformation of pore constituents induced by temperature change.Among these mechanisms,the density contrast dominates the pore pressure accumulation.Under the combined effect of these contributions,the evolution of fluid pressure exhibits a strong nonlinearity during the decomposition process and can reach up to dozens of mega Pascal.Nevertheless,this high-level pressure built-up results in a significant tensile strain,yielding potential fracturing of the sediment.

Experiment and analysis of the formation,expansion and dissipation of gasbag in fine sediments based on pore water pressure survey

Deep-seated gas in seabed sediments migrates upwards from effect of external factors,which easily accumulates to form gasbags at interface of shallow coarse-fine sediments.Real-time monitoring of this process is important to predict disaster.However,there is still a lack of effective monitoring methods,so we attempt to apply multi-points pore water pressure monitoring technology when simulating forming and dissipation of gasbags in sediments through laboratory experiment.This study focuses on discussion of sensitivity of pore water pressure monitoring data,as well as typical changing characteristics and mechanisms of excess pore water pressure corresponding to crack generation,gasbag formation and gas release.It was found that the value of excess pore water pressure in sediments is negatively correlated with vertical distance between sensors and gas source,and the evolution of gasbag forming and dissipation has a good corresponding relationship with the change of excess pore water pressure.Gasbag formation process is divided into three stages:transverse crack development,longitudinal cavity expansion,and oblique crack development.Formation of gasbag begins with the transverse crack at the interface of coarse-fine sediments while excess pore water pressure attenuates rapidly and then drops,pressure remains almost unchanged when cavity expanses longitudinally,oblique crack appeared in final stage of gasbag evolution while excess pore water pressure accumulated and dissipated again.The variation curve of excess pore water pressure in gas release stage has saw-tooth fluctuation characteristics,and the value and time of pressure accumulation are also fluctuating,indicating the uncertainty and non-uniqueness of gas migration channels in sediments.

Electrical resistivity change of saturated sand during reliquefaction under hammering loading

The electrical resistivity method was verified as an optional technique to monitor the change of mesostructure of saturated soils.To investigate the change laws of resistivity and analyze the reliquefaction meso-mechanism during the consecutive liquefaction process,five successive impact liquefaction tests were performed in a one-dimensional cubical chamber.The resistivity variation and excess pore water pressure(EPWP)were measured.The results indicate that the excess pore water pressure experienced four stages:quick increase stage,slow dissipation stage,rapid dissipation stage,and stability stage.Meanwhile,a swift decrease of resistivity emerged before the start of the rapid dissipation stage of EPWP,and then an increasing trend of resistivity is demonstrated with the densification of soil.It is proved that the vertical pore connectivity of liquefied sand is better than its random deposit state,based on a comparative study of porosity calculated from the settlement and resistivity of sand after each test.

Dynamic response analysis of liquefiable ground due to sinusoidal waves of different frequencies of shield construction

Vibration induced by shield construction can lead to liquefaction of saturated sand.Based on FLAC3D software,a numerical model of tunnel excavation is established and sinusoidal velocity loads with different frequencies are applied to the excavation face.The pattern of the excess pore pressure ratio with frequency,as well as the dynamic response of soil mass under different frequency loads before excavation,is analyzed.When the velocity sinusoidal wave acts on the excavation surface of the shield tunnel with a single sand layer,soil liquefaction occurs.However,the ranges and locations of soil liquefaction are different at different frequencies,which proves that the vibration frequency influences the liquefaction location of the stratum.For sand-clay composite strata with liquefiable layers,the influence of frequency on the liquefaction range is different from that of a single stratum.In the frequency range of 5-30 Hz,the liquefaction area and surface subsidence decrease with an increase in vibration frequency.The research results in this study can be used as a reference in engineering practice for tunneling liquefiable strata with a shield tunneling machine.

Analytical solution to one-dimensional consolidation in unsaturated soils

This paper presents an analytical solution of the one-dimensional consolidation in unsaturated soil with a finite thickness under vertical loading and confinements in the lateral directions. The boundary contains the top surface permeable to water and air and the bottom impermeable to water and air. The analytical solution is for Fredlund＇s one-dimensional consolidation equation in unsaturated soils. The transfer relationship between the state vectors at top surface and any depth is obtained by using the Laplace transform and Cayley-Hamilton mathematical methods to the governing equations of water and air, Darcy＇s law and Fick＇s law. Excess pore-air pressure, excess pore-water pressure and settlement in the Laplace-transformed domain are obtained by using the Laplace transform with the initial conditions and boundary conditions. By performing inverse Laplace transforms, the analytical solutions are obtained in the time domain. A typical example illustrates the consolidation characteristics of unsaturated soil from an- alytical results. Finally, comparisons between the analytical solutions and results of the finite difference method indicate that the analytical solution is correct.

The Mechanism Analysis of Seafloor Silt Liquefaction Under Wave Loading

The sediment in Chengbei area of the Huanghe (Yellow River) subaqueous delta is the object of a reseach project in this article. The accumulating and dissipating effects following the change of time are considered first in the study area and the distributing curves of excess pore water pressure along with time and depth in the soil stratum are gained; the possibility of silt liquefaction is evaluated using the computing values and the affecting depth of liquefaction is given. This paper quantitatively analyzes the dynamic response of seafloor soil under the cyclic loading of waves and makes an inquiry into the instable mechanism of soil.

Behavior of large post-liquefaction deformation in saturated Nanjing fine sand

Laboratory tests on the large post-liquefaction deformation of saturated Nanjing fine sand were performed by using a hollow cylinder apparatus. The stress-strain responses and the characteristics of excess pore water pressure after liquefaction were studied. It was found that the relationship between deviatoric stress and axial strain presented a sigmoid curve, and there was a good linearity relationship between normalized pore water pressure and deviatoric stress. On this basis, a constitutive model of stress-strain responses and a dissipation model of excess pore water pressure were established. It was found that the results predicted by the two models were in good agreement with the experimental data. The influence of relative densities and confining pressure on the characteristics of liquefied soil were studied, The results showed the relative densities and initial effective confining pressure all had an important influence on the stress-strain responses of liquefied saturated Nanjing fine sand. However, the dissipation model of excess pore water pressure after liquefaction was only affected by the confining pressure.

Environmental effects induced by excavation

Based on 3D Biot’s consolidation theory and nonlinear Duncan-Chang’s model, a 3D FEM (finite element method) program is developed considering the coupling of groundwater seepage and soil skeleton deformation during excavation. The comparison between the analysis result considering the variation of water head difference and that without considering it shows that the porewater pressure distribution of the former is distinctly different from that of the latter and that the foundation pit de- formations of the former are larger than those of the latter, so that the result without considering the variation of water head dif- ference is unreliable. The distribution rules of soil horizontal and vertical displacements around the pit and excess porewater pressure are analyzed in detail in time and space, which is very significant for guiding underground engineering construction and ensuring environment safety around the pit.

Wave-induced seepage and its possible contribution to the formation of pockmarks in the Huanghe(Yellow) River delta

Wave-induced seepage and its possible contribution to the formation of pockmarks in the Huanghe(Yellow) River delta were investigated experimentally and numerically. Laboratory experiments were carried out to explore the response of a layered silty seabed with various saturation conditions under cyclic wave loads,in which the pore pressure and seepage-related phenomena were particularly monitored. Numerical models to simulate wave-induced seepage in the seabed were presented and evaluated,then applied to the Huanghe River delta. The experimental results show that the excess pore pressure decreases more rapidly at the surface layer,while the seepage-related phenomena are more pronounced when large cyclic loads are applied and the underlying layer is less saturated. The proposed numerical models were verified by comparing with the experiments. The calculated seepage depth agreed well with the depth of the pockmarks in the Huanghe River delta. The experimental and numerical results and the existing insitu investigations indicate that the wave-induced seepage may be a direct cause of the pockmarks in the Huanghe River delta. Extreme storm waves and the dual-layered structure of hard surface layer and weak underlying layer are essential external and internal factors,respectively. Wave- or current-induced scour and transport are possible contributors to the reformation of pockmarks at a later stage.

Effect of Loading Rate on Lateral Pile-Soil Interaction in Sand Considering Partially Drained Condition

Reliable assessment of the lateral pile–soil interaction is of pronounced importance for the design of mono-pile foundations of offshore wind turbines. As the offshore engineering moves to deeper waters, the diameter of monopiles is getting larger, usually about 5 m and could be up to 8 m, which may lead to partially drained behaviors of sand in the vicinity of the pile and thus imply limitations of conventional design methods in which fully drained conditions were assumed. To shed light on this issue, a fully-coupled finite element model was established using an in-house developed finite element code DBLEAVES, incorporating a cyclic mobility constitutive model that is capable of describing the instantaneous contractive and dilative response of sands simultaneously. Triaxial and centrifuge model tests were conducted to calibrate the constitutive model and validate the pile–soil interaction model respectively. This is followed by a parametric study primarily focusing on the effects of loading rates. The initial stiffness of the p–y curve was found to increase with the loading rate whilst the bearing capacity showed the inverse,and the mechanism behind this phenomenon is examined in detail. Then an explicit model was developed to evaluate the development of excess pore pressure in the pile front upon lateral loading, and an upper boundary of normalized loading rate was identified to distinguish fully and partially drained conditions.

Semi-analytical solution to one-dimensional consolidation in unsaturated soils

In this paper, a series of semi-analytical solutions to one-dimensional consolidation in unsaturated soils are obtained. The air governing equation by Fredlund for unsaturated soils consolidation is simplified. By applying the Laplace transform and the Cayley-Hamilton theorem to the simplified governing equations of water and air, Darcy＇s law, and Fick＇s law, the transfer function between the state vectors at top and at any depth is then constructed. Finally, by the boundary conditions, the excess pore-water pressure, the excess pore-air pressure, and the soil settlement are obtained under several kinds of boundary conditions with the large-area uniform instantaneous loading. By the Crump method, the inverse Laplace transform is performed, and the semi-analytical solutions to the excess pore-water pressure, the excess pore-air pressure, and the soils settlement are obtained in the time domain. In the case of one surface which is permeable to air and water, comparisons between the semi-analytical solutions and the analytical solutions indicate that the semi-analytical solutions are correct. In the case of one surface which is permeable to air but impermeable to water, comparisons between the semi-analytical solutions and the results of the finite difference method are made, indicating that the semi-analytical solution is also correct.

Characteristics of seismic responses at liquefied and non-liquefied sites with same site conditions

To understand the characteristics of seismic response at liquefied sites, a liquefiable site and a non-liquefiable site were selected, separated by about 500 m and having the same site conditions as Class D in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program （NEHRP）. A suite of earthquake records on rock sites are selected and scaled to the spectrum of the Joyner, Boore, and Fumal （JBF） attenuation model for a magnitude 7.5 earthquake at a distance of 50 km. The scaled records were then used to excite the two sites. The effect of pore-water pressure was investigated using the effective stress analysis method, and nonlinear soil behavior was modeled by a soil bounding surface model. Comparisons for spectra, peak ground acceleration （PGA）, peak ground displacement （PGD） and permanent displacement were performed. Results show that the mean ground response spectrum at the non-liquefied site is close to the estimated ground response spectrum from the JBF model, but the mean ground response spectrum at the liquefied site is much lower than the estimated ground response spectrum from the JBF model for periods of up to 1.3 s. The mean PGA at the non-liquefied site is about 1.6-1.7 times as large as that at the liquefied site, but the mean peak ground displacement （PGD） at the non-liquefied site has a slight difference with that at the liquefied site. The mean permanent displacements at the liquefied site are larger than those at the non-liquefied site, particularly at the liquefied layer.

Analytical solution to one-dimensional consolidation in unsaturated soils under sinusoidal cyclic loading

An analytical solution was presented to the unsaturated soil with a finite thickness under confinement in the lateral direction and sinusoidal cyclic loading in the vertical direction based on Fredlund's one-dimensional consolidation equation for unsaturated soil. The transfer relationship between the state vectors at the top surface and any depth was gained by applying the Laplace transform and Cayley-Hamilton mathematical methods to the governing equations of water and air, Darcy's law and Fick's law. The excess pore-air and pore-water pressures and settlement in the Laplace-transformed domain were obtained by using the Laplace transform with the initial and boundary conditions. The analytical solutions of the excess pore-air and pore-water pressures at any depth and settlement were obtained in the time domain by performing the inverse Laplace transforms. A typical example illustrates the consolidation characteristics of unsaturated soil under sinusoidal loading from analytical results. Finally, comparisons between the analytical solutions and results of the numerical method indicate that the analytical solution is correct.

Simulation of Excess Pore Water Pressure During Deep Soil Mixing Columns Installing

Most of current studies of deep soil mixing (DSM) methods are focused on the soil strength improvement and soil treatment effectiveness. But the DSM installation leads to excess pore water pressure and soil disturbance, which will bring great harm to adjacent structures, such as shell tunnels and historic buildings. The procedure of excess pore water pressure buildup while large number DSM columns are installed is complicated. In order to find methods to predict and simulate the excess pore water pressure during DSM column installation, the complicated dissipation and buildup of excess pore water pressure through in-situ test are studied in this paper. In-situ test was conducted in soft clay near the Huangpu River in Shanghai. The pore water pressure was investigated by an automatic monitoring system. Test results indicate that the excess pore water pressure induced by one DSM column installation is composed of the compaction pressure and the reversing pressure. The empirical equations of excess pore water pressure dissipation and buildup were built by mathematical fitting methods. A compound method is proposed to simulate the excess pore water pressure due to DSM installation. Using this method to predict the excess pore water pressure in the situ test, results show a well agreement between the prediction and the measurements.

Coefficient of consolidation by end of arc method

One of the most important issues in geotechnical engineering is excess pore pressure caused by clay soil loading and consolidation. Regarding uncertainties and complexities, this issue has long been the subject of attention of many researchers. In this work, a one-dimensional consolidation apparatus was equipped in a way that pore water pressure and settlement could be continuously read and recorded during consolidation process under static loading. The end of primary consolidation was obtained using water pressure changes helping to present a new method for determining the end of primary consolidation and consolidation coefficient. This method was then compared with two classical theory methods of lg t and t. Using Terzaghi's theory, the way of pore pressure dissipation for lg t, t and the new method was found and compared with experimental results. It is concluded that the new method has better results.

Difficulties and measures of driving super long piles in Bohai Gulf

Long piles of the ocean oil platform are usually manufactured as the integration of several segments, which have to be assembled one by one during installation. During pile driving, excessive pore pressure will build up in such a high level that hydraulic fracturing in the soil round the pile may take place, which will cause the soil to consolidate much faster during pile extension period. Consequently, after pile extension, the soil strength will recover to some extent and the driving resistance will increase considerably, which makes restarting driving the pile very difficult and even causes refusal. A finite element （FE） analysis procedure is presented for judging the risk of refusal by estimating the blow counts after pile extension, in which the regain of soil strength is considered. A case analysis in Bohai Gulf is performed using the proposed orocedure to exolain the nile refusal phenomenon.

Evaluation of train-induced settlement for metro tunnel in saturated clay based on an elastoplastic constitutive model

In this study,a two-dimensional(2D)soil–water coupling dynamicfinite element(FE)analysis is conducted to investigate the effect of repeated train vibrations on the long-term settlement of a metro tunnel in saturated clay.Particular attention is paid to the leakage prob-lem of the metro tunnel by assuming different permeability conditions,namely fully permeable,fully impermeable,and partially perme-able,on the periphery of the tunnel for simplicity.The train vibration load isfirst evaluated using a rail–fastener–tunnel–subgrade model and averaged over a characteristic length for 2D numerical analysis.Cyclic Mobility model is used to simulate the mechanical behaviors of saturated soft clay in the FE analysis.Excess pore water pressure(EPWP)and associated tunnel settlement in trial operation and normal operation are calculated using the FE code DBLEAVES for different permeability conditions.It is found that a very low EPWP is generated in the trial operation,which then increases rapidly to peak values at the early days of normal operation.Afterward,the EPWP diminishes gradually as the train vibration continues.The permeability of the tunnel lining plays a significant role in the distri-bution of EPWP around the tunnel but produces a minor influence on the development of tunnel settlement.The train-induced tunnel settlement is mainly caused by the static settlement resulting from the EPWP dissipation during train interval,while the dynamic settle-ment arising from dynamic consolidation in each train vibration only accounts for a small portion.According to the 2D dynamic FE analysis,thefinal train-induced settlement of the metro tunnel in saturated clay is estimated to reach 160 mm while the peak EPWP value can reach 26.55 kPa.The settlement discrepancies between the numerical method and empirical method are discussed in detail.