Numerical simulation on borehole breakout and borehole size effect using discrete element method

Estimation of horizontal stress magnitudes from borehole breakouts has been an attractive topic in the petroleum and mining industries,although there are critical research gaps that remain unfilled.In this paper,numerical simulation is conducted on Gosford sandstone to investigate the borehole breakout and its associated borehole size effect,including temperature influence.The discrete element method(DEM)model shows that the borehole breakout angular span is constant after the initial formation,whereas its depth propagates along the minimum horizontal stress direction.This indicates that the breakout angular span is a reliable parameter for horizontal stress estimation.The borehole size effect simulations illustrated the importance of borehole size on breakout geometries in which smaller borehole size leads to higher breakout initiation stress as well as the stress re-distribution from borehole wall outwards through micro-cracking.This implies that the stress may be averaged over a distance around the borehole and breakout initiation occurs at the borehole wall rather than some distance into the rock.In addition,the numerical simulation incorporated the thermal effect which is widely encountered in deep geothermal wells.Based on the results,the higher temperature led to lower breakout initiation stress with same borehole size,and more proportion of shear cracks was generated under higher temperature.This indicates that the temperature might contribute to the micro-fracturing mode and hence influences the horizontal stress estimation results from borehole breakout geometries.Numerical simulation showed that breakout shape and dimensions changed considerably under high stress and high temperature conditions,suggesting that the temperature may need to be considered for breakout stress analysis in deep locations.

An investigation of machine learning techniques to estimate minimum horizontal stress magnitude from borehole breakout

Borehole breakout is a widely utilised phenomenon in horizontal stress orientation determination,and breakout geometrical parameters,such as width and depth,have been used to estimate both horizontal stress magnitudes.However,the accuracy of minimum horizontal stress estimation from borehole breakout remains relatively low in comparison to maximum horizontal stress estimation.This paper aims to compare and improve the minimum horizontal stress estimation via a number of machine learning(ML)regression techniques,including parametric and non-parametric models,which have rarely been explored.ML models were trained based on 79 laboratory data from published literature and validated against 23 field data.A systematic bias was observed in the prediction for the validation dataset whenever the horizontal stress value exceeded the maximum value in the training data.Nevertheless,the pattern was captured,and the removal of systematic bias showed that the artificial neural network is capable of predicting the minimum horizontal stress with an average error rate of 10.16%and a root mean square error of 3.87 MPa when compared to actual values obtained through conventional in-situ measurement techniques.This is a meaningful improvement considering the importance of in-situ stress knowledge for underground operations and the availability of borehole breakout data.

Relationship between rock macro-and micro-properties and wellbore breakout type

This study numerically investigates the effect of material micro-and macro-parameters on the failure mechanisms and geometry of a wellbore breakout.The analysis of the borehole breakout is essential in addressing wellbore stability,well completion,and sand production problems.The three-dimensional discrete element method(DEM)was used in the simulations.The numerical tool was used in numerical model simulations of drilling through sandstone in cubic samples at the laboratory scale subjected to pre-existing far-field stresses.Besides,a series of triaxial testing simulations were performed to relate the micromechanical parameters to the macromechanical material properties.The results showed that the geometry of the breakout is affected,among the material micro-parameters,by the particle contact modulus,bond normal and shear strengths,particle crushing strength,and particle size distribution.Further,it was found that the macro-parameters including Young’s modulus,friction and dilation angles,and uniaxial compression strength(UCS)also affect the type of breakout.