Quantitative characterization of the brittleness of deep shales by integrating mineral content,elastic parameters,in situ stress conditions and logging analysis

Deep shale reservoirs(3500–4500 m)exhibit significantly different stress states than moderately deep shale reservoirs(2000–3500 m).As a result,the brittleness response mechanisms of deep shales are also different.It is urgent to investigate methods to evaluate the brittleness of deep shales to meet the increasingly urgent needs of deep shale gas development.In this paper,the quotient of Young’s modulus divided by Poisson’s ratio based on triaxial compression tests under in situ stress conditions is taken as SSBV(Static Standard Brittleness Value).A new and pragmatic technique is developed to determine the static brittleness index that considers elastic parameters,the mineral content,and the in situ stress conditions(BIEMS).The coefficient of determination between BIEMS and SSBV reaches 0.555 for experimental data and 0.805 for field data.This coefficient is higher than that of other brittleness indices when compared to SSBV.BIEMS can offer detailed insights into shale brittleness under various conditions,including different mineral compositions,depths,and stress states.This technique can provide a solid data-based foundation for the selection of‘sweet spots’for single-well engineering and the comparison of the brittleness of shale gas production layers in different areas.

A new type of shale gas reservoir—carbonate-rich shale: From laboratory mechanical characterization to field stimulation strategy

Recently, a new promising type of marine shale gas reservoir, carbonate-rich shale, has been discovered.But the mechanical properties of this type of shale were still unrevealed and the corresponding reservoir stimulation design was lack of guidance. Using the deep downhole cores of an exploratory carbonate-rich shale gas well, the physical and mechanical parameters and failure mechanism of the whole reservoir section were acquired and evaluated systematically, by performing XRD, tri-axial compression, Brazilian splitting, and fracture toughness tests. A new model was established to evaluate the reservoir brittleness based on fracture morphology and stress-strain curve. Recommended strategy for reservoir stimulation was discussed. Results showed that(1) Carbonate-rich shale possessed high compressive strength and high Young's modulus, which were improved by 10.74% and 3.37% compared to that of siliceous shale. It featured high tensile strength and fracture toughness, with insignificant anisotropy.(2) With the content of carbonate minerals increasing, the shear failure morphology transformed from sparse and wide brittle fractures to diffusely distributed and subtle plastic cracks.(3) The brittleness index order was: siliceous shale, clay-rich shale, carbonate-rich shale, and limestone.(4) The special properties of carbonate-rich shale were rooted in the inherent feature of carbonate minerals(high strength, high elastic modulus,and cleavage structure), resulting in greater challenge in reservoirs stimulation. The above findings would promote the understanding of carbonate-rich shale reservoirs and provide reference for the optimum design of reservoir stimulation.

Systematic prediction of the gas content, fractures, and brittleness in fractured shale reservoirs with TTI medium

The main objective is to optimize the development of shale gas-rich areas by predicting seismic sweet spot parameters in shale reservoirs. We systematically assessed the fracture development, fracture gas content, and rock brittleness in fractured gas-bearing shale reservoirs. To better characterize gas-bearing shale reservoirs with tilted fractures, we optimized the petrophysical modeling based on the equivalent medium theory. Based on the advantages of shale petrophysical modeling, we not only considered the brittle mineral fraction but also the combined effect of shale porosity, gas saturation, and total organic carbon(TOC) when optimizing the brittleness index. Due to fractures generally functioning as essential channels for fluid storage and movement, fracture density and fracture fluid identification factors are critical geophysical parameters for fractured reservoir prediction. We defined a new fracture gas indication factor(GFI) to detect fracture-effective gas content. A new linear PP-wave reflection coefficient equation for a tilted transversely isotropic(TTI) medium was rederived, realizing the direct prediction of anisotropic fracture parameters and the isotropic elasticity parameters from offset vector tile(OVT)-domain seismic data. Synthetic seismic data experiments demonstrated that the inversion algorithm based on the L_P quasinorm sparsity constraint and the split-component inversion strategy exhibits high stability and noise resistance. Finally, we applied our new prediction method to evaluate fractured gas-bearing shale reservoirs in the Sichuan Basin of China, demonstrating its effectiveness.

Acoustic emission signal identification of different rocks based on SE-1DCNN-BLSTM network model

In order to study fracture mechanism of rocks in different brittle mineral contents,this study pro-poses a method to identify the acoustic emission signal released by rock fracture under different brittle miner-al content(BMC),and then determine the content of brittle matter in rock.To understand related interference such as the noises in the acoustic emission signals released by the rock mass rupture,a 1DCNN-BLSTM network model with SE module is constructed in this study.The signal data is processed through the 1DCNN and BLSTM networks to fully extract the time-series correlation features of the signals,the non-correlated features of the local space and the weak periodicity law.Furthermore,the processed signals data is input into the fully connected layers.Finally,softmax function is used to accurately identify the acoustic emission signals released by different rocks,and then determine the content of brittle minerals contained in rocks.Through experimental comparison and analysis,1DCNN-BLSTM model embedded with SE module has good anti-noise performance,and the recognition accuracy can reach more than 90 percent,which is better than the traditional deep network models and provides a new way of thinking for rock acoustic emission re-search.

An improved method to calculate the rock brittleness index PEECR based on linear energy storage law

The peak elastic strain energy consumption ratio(PEECR)is a rock brittleness index proposed by Gong and Wang.In the present study,based on the linear energy storage law of rock under triaxial compression,a new method was proposed to calculate the PEECR.The PEECR uses a simplified method to calculate the peak elastic strain energy.To solve this problem accurately,triaxial cyclic loading-unloading compression tests were carried out on shale.Strain energy parameters were calculated from the test curves.The results show that there is a linear relationship between the elastic strain energy and input strain energy,indicating that the linear energy storage law in rock is applicable to triaxial compression state.The universality of the linear energy storage law of rock under triaxial compression is also verified by the data in the published literature.Then,the peak elastic strain energy can be accurately determined using the linear energy storage law,and the PEECR is improved based on this.Finally,the PEECR and the improved PEECR were compared using the triaxial cyclic loading-unloading compression tests on three rocks(shale,red sandstone and granite),and the improved PEECR was compared with 11 existing energy-based brittleness indexes.The results show that the improved PEECR can further reflect the rock brittleness more accurately.

Anomalous yield and intermediate temperature brittleness behaviors of directionally solidified nickel-based superalloy

A nickel-based superalloy with good corrosion resistance was fabricated by directional solidification, and its microstructure and tensile properties at elevated temperatures were investigated. Microstructure observations reveal that the γ＇ precipitates are arrayed in the y matrix regularly with some MC, Ni5Hf and M3B2 particles distributed along the grain boundary. The tensile tests exhibit that the tensile properties depend on temperature significantly and demonstrate obvious anomalous yield and intermediate-temperature brittleness （ITB） behavior. Below 650℃, the yield strength decreases slightly but the ultimate tensile strength almost has no change. When the temperature is between 650 ℃ and 750 ℃, the yield and ultimate tensile strengths rise rapidly, and after then they both decrease gradually with temperature increasing further. The elongation has its minimum value at about 700 ℃. The TEM examination exhibits that sharing of the γ＇ by dislocation is almost the main deformation mechanism at low temperatures, but the γ＇ by-pass dominates the deformation at high temperatures. The transition temperature from shearing to by-pass should be around 800 ℃. The anomalous yield and intermediate-temperature brittleness behaviors should be attributed to the high content of γ＇. In addition, the carbides and eutectic structure also contribute some to the ITB behaviors of the alloy.

Theoretical Study on the High-Temperature P6 and P6＇ Phases of Si3N4： A Tool to Aid in Ceramics Development

Atomistic modeling based on the density functional theory combined with the quasi-harmonic approximation is used to investigate the lattice parameters and elastic moduli of the P6 and P6＇ phases of Si3N4. β-Si3N4 is set as a benchmark system since accurate experiments are available. The calculated lattice constants and elastic constants of β-Si3N4 are in good agreement with the experimental data. The crystal anisotropy, mechanical stability, and brittle behavior of P6- and P6＇-Si3N4 are also discussed in the pressure range of 30-55 GPa. The results show that these two polymorphs are metallic compounds. The brittleness and elastic anisotropy increase with applied pressure increasing. Besides, the phase boundaries of the β→P6＇→δ transitions are also analysed. The β phase is predicted to undergo a phase transition to the P6＇ phase at 40.0 GPa and 300 K. Upon further compression, the P6＇→δ transition can be observed at 53.2 GPa. The thermal and pressure effects on the heat capacity, cell volume and bulk modulus are also determined. Some interesting features are found at high temperatures.

Evaluation of Urban Village Renovation System in Xi’an City of China Based on Brittleness Analysis

Renovation system of urban villages in Xi'an City was evaluated. Influence factors of urban village renovation were analyzed on the basis of brittleness theory, and an evaluation index system established through multi-level inconsistency decomposing. By incorporating the catastrophe theory with fuzzy mathematical theory, the mathematic model was created, and catastrophe membership function was obtained as well as evaluation results. Policies for the renovation of urban villages and new direction of the renovation were interpreted. The application case proved that catastrophe progression method was objective and effective and it could provide new concepts for the evaluation and adjustment of urban village renovation. Moreover, application of brittleness theory in the research on urban village renovation is of great instruction and reference value for the present urban construction.

Brittleness index and seismic rock physics model for anisotropic tight-oil sandstone reservoirs

Brittleness analysis becomes important when looking for sweet spots in tightoil sandstone reservoirs. Hence, appropriate indices are required as accurate brittleness evaluation criteria. We construct a seismic rock physics model for tight-oil sandstone reservoirs with vertical fractures. Because of the complexities in lithology and pore structure and the anisotropic characteristics of tight-oil sandstone reservoirs, the proposed model is based on the solid components, pore connectivity, pore type, and fractures to better describe the sandstone reservoir microstructure. Using the model, we analyze the brittleness sensitivity of the elastic parameters in an anisotropic medium and establish a new brittleness index. We show the applicability of the proposed brittleness index for tight-oil sandstone reservoirs by considering the brittleness sensitivity, the rock physics response characteristics, and cross-plots. Compared with conventional brittleness indexes, the new brittleness index has high brittleness sensitivity and it is the highest in oil-bearing brittle zones with relatively high porosity. The results also suggest that the new brittleness index is much more sensitive to elastic properties variations, and thus can presumably better predict the brittleness characteristics of sweet spots in tight-oil sandstone reservoirs.

Rock brittleness indices and their applications to different fields of rock engineering:A review

Brittleness is an important parameter controlling the mechanical behavior and failure characteristics of rocks under loading and unloading conditions,such as fracability,cutability,drillability and rockburst proneness.As such,it is of high practical value to correctly evaluate rock brittleness.However,the definition and measurement method of rock brittleness have been very diverse and not yet been standardized.In this paper,the definitions of rock brittleness are firstly reviewed,and several representative definitions of rock brittleness are identified and briefly discussed.The development and role of rock brittleness in different fields of rock engineering are also studied.Eighty brittleness indices publicly available in rock mechanics literature are compiled,and the measurement method,applicability and limitations of some indices are discussed.The results show that(1)the large number of brittleness indices and brittleness definitions is attributed to the different foci on the rock behavior when it breaks;(2)indices developed in one field usually are not directly applicable to other fields;and(3)the term“brittleness”is sometimes misused,and many empirically-obtained brittleness indices,which lack theoretical basis,fail to truly reflect rock brittleness.On the basis of this review,three measurement methods are identified,i.e.(1)elastic deformation before fracture,(2)shape of post-peak stressestrain curves,and(3)methods based on fracture mechanics theory,which have the potential to be further refined and unified to become the standard measurement methods of rock brittleness.It is highly beneficial for the rock mechanics community to develop a robust definition of rock brittleness.This study will undoubtedly provide a comprehensive timely reference for selecting an appropriate brittleness index for their applications,and will also pave the way for the development of a standard definition and measurement method of rock brittleness in the long term.

Burial depth interval of the shale brittle–ductile transition zone and its implications in shale gas exploration and production

Brittleness and ductility of shale are closely related to shale gas exploration and production. How to predict brittleness and ductility of shale is one of the key issues in the study of shale gas preservation and hydraulic fracturing treatments. The magnitude of shale brittleness was often determined by brittle mineral content(for example, quartz and feldspars) in shale gas exploration.However, the shale brittleness is also controlled by burial depth. Shale brittle/ductile properties such as brittle, semibrittle and ductile can mutually transform with burial depth variation. We established a work flow of determining the burial depth interval of brittle–ductile transition zone for a given shale. Two boundaries were employed to divide the burial depth interval of shale brittle/ductile properties. One is the bottom boundary of the brittle zone(BZ), and the other is the top boundary of the ductile zone(DZ). The brittle–ductile transition zone(BDTZ) is between them.The bottom boundary of BZ was determined by the overconsolidation ratio(OCR) threshold value combined with pre-consolidation stress which the shale experienced over geological time. The top boundary of DZ was determined based on the critical confining pressure of brittle–ductile transition. The OCR threshold value and the critical confining pressure were obtained from uniaxial strain andtriaxial compression tests. The BZ, DZ and BDTZ of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale in some representative shale gas exploration wells in eastern Sichuan and western Hubei areas were determined according to the above work flow. The results show that the BZ varies with the maximum burial depth and the DZ varies with the density of the overlying rocks except for the critical confining pressure.Moreover, the BDTZ determined by the above work flow is probably the best burial depth interval for marine shale gas exploration and production in Southern China. Shale located in the BDTZ is semi-brittle and is not prone to be severely naturally fractured but likely to respond well to hydraulic fracturing. The depth interval of BDTZ determined by our work flow could be a valuable parameter of shale gas estimation in geology and engineering.

Research on basic characteristics of complex system brittleness

The goal of this paper is to research one new characteristic of complex system. Brittleness, which is one new characteritic of complex system, is presented in this paper. The linguistic and qualitative descriptions of complex system are also given in this paper. Otherwise, the qualitative description of complex system is presented at first. On the basis of analyzing the existing brittleness problems, linguistic description and mathematic description of brittleness are given as well. Three kinds of phenomena to judge brittleness of complex system are also given, based on catastrophe theory. Basic characteristics of brittleness are given on the basis of its mathematic description. Two critical point sets are defined by using catastrophe theory. The definition of brittleness and its related theory can serve the control of complex system, and provide theoretical basis for the design and control of complex system.

Construction of a novel brittleness index equation and analysis of anisotropic brittleness characteristics for unconventional shale formations

The brittleness prediction of shale formations is of interest to researchers nowadays.Conventional methods of brittleness prediction are usually based on isotropic models while shale is anisotropic.In order to obtain a better prediction of shale brittleness,our study firstly proposed a novel brittleness index equation based on the Voigt–Reuss–Hill average,which combines two classical isotropic methods.The proposed method introduces upper and lower brittleness bounds,which take the uncertainty of brittleness prediction into consideration.In addition,this method can give us acceptable predictions by using limited input values.Secondly,an anisotropic rock physics model was constructed.Two parameters were introduced into our model,which can be used to simulate the lamination of clay minerals and the dip angle of formation.In addition,rock physics templates have been built to analyze the sensitivity of brittleness parameters.Finally,the effects of kerogen,pore structure,clay lamination and shale formation dip have been investigated in terms of anisotropy.The prediction shows that the vertical/horizontal Young’s modulus is always below one while the vertical/horizontal Poisson’s ratio(PR)can be either greater or less than 1.Our study finds different degrees of shale lamination may be the explanation for the random distribution of Vani(the ratio of vertical PR to horizontal PR).

Pre-stack basis pursuit seismic inversion for brittleness of shale

Brittleness of rock plays a significant role in exploration and development of shale gas reservoirs. Young＇s modulus and Poisson＇s ratio are the key param- eters for evaluating the rock brittleness in shale gas exploration because their combination relationship can quantitatively characterize the rock brittleness. The high- value anomaly of Young＇s modulus and the low-value anomaly of Poisson＇s ratio represent high brittleness of shale. The technique of pre-stack amplitude variation with angle inversion allows geoscientists to estimate Young＇s modulus and Poisson＇s ratio from seismic data. A model constrained basis pursuit inversion method is proposed for stably estimating Young＇s modulus and Poisson＇s ratio. Test results of synthetic gather data show that Young＇s modulus and Poisson＇s ratio can be estimated reasonably. With the novel method, the inverted Young＇s modulus and Poisson＇s ratio of real field data focus the layer boundaries better, which is helpful for us to evaluate the brittleness of shale gas reservoirs. The results of brittleness evaluation show a good agreement with the results of well interpretation.

Brittleness characteristics of tight oil siltstones

Rock brittleness directly affects reservoir fracturing and its evaluation is essential for establishing fracturing conditions prior to reservoir reforming. Dynamic and static brittleness data were collected from siltstones of the Qingshankou Formation in Songliao Basin. The brittle-plastic transition was investigated based on the stress-strain relation. The results suggest that the brittleness indices calculated by static elastic parameters are negatively correlated with the stress drop coefficient and the brittleness index B2, defined as the average of the normalized Young＇s modulus and Poisson＇s ratio, is strongly correlated with the stress drop. The brittleness index B2, Young＇s modulus, and Poisson＇s ratio correlate with the brittle minerals content; that is, quartz, carbonates, and pyrite. We also investigated the correlation between pore fluid and porosity and dynamic brittle characteristic based on index B2. Pore fluid increases the plasticity of rock and reduces brittleness; moreover, with increasing porosity, rock brittleness decreases. The gas-saturated siltstone brittleness index is higher than that in oil- or water-saturated siltstone; the difference in the brittleness indices of oil- and water-saturated siltstone is very small. By comparing the rock mechanics and ultrasonic experiments, we find that the brittleness index obtained from the rock mechanics experiments is smaller than that obtained from the ultrasonic experiments; nevertheless, both decrease with increasing porosity as well as their differences. Ultrasonic waves propagate through the rock specimens without affecting them, whereas rock mechanics experiments are destructive and induce microcracking and porosity increases; consequently, the brittleness of low-porosity rocks is affected by the formation of internal microcrack systems.

Brittleness research on complex system based on brittle link entropy

As the scale of complex system is growing larger and larger, interferences from internal and outer system can result in the collapse of one subsystem in a complex system. They will not only make one subsystem collapse but also influence the other subsystems. Moreover, the whole complex system can collapse consequently. The mechanism of collapse of complex system is clue to the brittleness of complex system that is presented and argued as the basic characteristic in this paper. It is the brittleness link entropy between subsystems that leads to the collapse of whole system. Effective ways that can be adopted to reduce the brittleness entropy can see the successful control of brittleness.

Influence of brittleness and confining stress on rock cuttability based on rock indentation tests

In order to understand the influence of brittleness and confining stress on rock cuttability,the indentation tests were carried out by a conical pick on the four types of rocks.Then,the experimental results were utilized to take regression analysis.The eight sets of normalized regression models were established for reflecting the relationships of peak indentation force(PIF)and specific energy(SE)with brittleness index and uniaxial confining stress.The regression analyses present that these regression models have good prediction performance.The regressive results indicate that brittleness indices and uniaxial confining stress conditions have non-linear effects on the rock cuttability that is determined by PIF and SE.Finally,the multilayer perceptual neural network was used to measure the importance weights of brittleness index and uniaxial confining stress upon the influence for rock cuttability.The results indicate that the uniaxial confining stress is more significant than brittleness index for influencing the rock cuttability.

Effect of tin addition on the microstructure and properties of ferritic stainless steel

This article reports the effects of Sn on the inclusions as well as the mechanical properties and hot workability of ferritic stainless steel. Precipitation phases and inclusions in Sn-bearing ferritic stainless steel were observed, and the relationship between the workability and the microstructure of the steel was established. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analysis of the steel reveals that an almost pure Sn phase forms and MnS-Sn compound inclusions appear in the steel with a higher Sn content. Little Sn segregation was observed in grain boundaries and in the areas around sulfide inclusions;however, the presence of Sn does not adversely affect the workability of the steel con-taining 0.4wt%Sn. When the Sn content is 0.1wt%-0.4wt%, Sn improves the tensile strength and the plastic strain ratio and also improves the plasticity with increasing temperature. A mechanism of improving the workability of ferritic stainless steel induced by Sn addition was discussed：the presence of Sn lowers the defect concentration in the ultra-pure ferritic lattice and the good distribution of tin in the lattice overcomes the problem of hot brittleness that occurs in low-carbon steel as a result of Sn segregation.

Prediction of brittleness based on anisotropic rock physics model for kerogen-rich shale

The construction of a shale rock physics model and the selection of an appropriate brittleness index （B/） are two significant steps that can influence the accuracy of brittleness prediction. On one hand, the existing models of kerogen-rich shale are controversial, so a reasonable rock physics model needs to be built. On the other hand, several types of equations already exist for predicting the BI whose feasibility needs to be carefully considered. This study constructed a kerogen-rich rock physics model by performing the self- consistent approximation and the differential effective medium theory to model intercoupled clay and kerogen mixtures. The feasibility of our model was confirmed by comparison with classical models, showing better accuracy. Templates were constructed based on our model to link physical properties and the BL Different equations for the BI had different sensitivities, making them suitable for different types of formations. Equations based on Young＇s Modulus were sensitive to variations in lithology, while those using Lame＇s Coefficients were sensitive to porosity and pore fluids. Physical information must be considered to improve brittleness prediction.

Rare Earth-Boronizing and Its Applications

The thickness, brittleness, boron content and morphology of RE boronized layer were investigated. The results show that the service life of the boronized layer in molten zinc can be increased by adding RE element. The thermocouple and sink roll sleeve made of this material can be used for more than half a year.