Theoretical study on stability evolution of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes

Soft and hard interbedded bedding rock slopes,which is prone to failure,are widely distributed in the Three Gorges Reservoir,China.Limit equilibrium method(LEM)is commonly used to analyze the stability of bedding rock slopes that have a single failure plane.However,this method cannot accurately estimate the stability of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes because the strength parameters of a soft and hard interbedded rock mass vary spatially along the bedding plane and deteriorate with time due to periodic fluctuations of reservoir level.A modified LEM is proposed to evaluate the stability evolution of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes considering the spatial variation and temporal deterioration of shear strength parameters of rock masses and bedding planes.In the modified LEM,the S-curve model is used to define the spatial variation of shear strength parameters,and general deterioration equations of shear strength parameters with the increasing number of wettingdrying cycles(WDC)are proposed to describe the temporal deterioration.Also,this method is applied to evaluate the stability evolution of a soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slope,located at the Three Gorges Reservoir.The results show that neglecting the spatial variation and temporal deterioration of shear strength parameters may overestimate slope stability.Finally,the modified LEM provides useful guidance to reasonably evaluate the long-term stability of soft and hard interbedded bedding reservoir slopes in reservoir area.

Anisotropic creep behavior of soft-hard interbedded rock masses based on 3D printing and digital imaging correlation technology

Three-dimensional(3D)printing technology is increasingly used in experimental research of geotechnical engineering.Compared to other materials,3D layer-by-layer printing specimens are extremely similar to the inherent properties of natural layered rock masses.In this paper,soft-hard interbedded rock masses with different dip angles were prepared based on 3D printing(3DP)sand core technology.Uniaxial compression creep tests were conducted to investigate its anisotropic creep behavior based on digital imaging correlation(DIC)technology.The results show that the anisotropic creep behavior of the 3DP soft-hard interbedded rock mass is mainly affected by the dip angles of the weak interlayer when the stress is at low levels.As the stress level increases,the effect of creep stress on its creep anisotropy increases significantly,and the dip angle is no longer the main factor.The minimum value of the long-term strength and creep failure strength always appears in the weak interlayer within 30°–60°,which explains why the failure of the layered rock mass is controlled by the weak interlayer and generally emerges at 45°.The tests results are verified by comparing with theoretical and other published studies.The feasibility of the 3DP soft-hard interbedded rock mass provides broad prospects and application values for 3DP technology in future experimental research.

Insights into the Tectonic Fractures in the Yanchang Formation Interbedded Sandstone-Mudstone of the Ordos Basin Based on Core Data and Geomechanical Models

The distribution and intensity of tectonic fractures within geologic units are important to hydrocarbon exploration and development. Taken the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation interbedded sandstone-mudstone in the Ordos Basin as an example, this study used the finite element method（FEM） based on geomechanical models to study the development of tectonic fractures. The results show that the sandstones tend to generate tectonic fractures more easily than mudstones with the same layer thickness, and the highest degree of tectonic fractures will be developed when the sandstone-mudstone thickness ratio is about 5.0. A possible explanation is proposed for the tectonic fracture development based on two important factors of rock brittleness and mechanical layer thickness. Generally, larger rock brittleness and thinner layer thickness will generate more tectonic fractures. In interbedded sandstone-mudstone formations, the rock brittleness increases with the increasing mechanical layer thickness, hence, these two factors will achieve a balance for the development of tectonic fractures when the sandstone-mudstone thickness ratio reaches a specific value, and the development degree of tectonic fractures is the highest at this value.

Effects of Near-Surface Absorption on Reflection Characteristics of Continental Interbedded Strata:the Dagang Oilfield as an Example

Due to the effects of seismic wave field interference, the reflection events generated from interbedded and superposed sand and shale strata no longer have an explicit corresponding relationship with the geological interface. The absorption of the near-surface layer decreases the resolution of the seismic wavelet, intensifies the interference of seismic reflections from different sand bodies, and makes seismic data interpretation of thin interbedded strata more complex and difficult. In order to concretely investigate and analyze the effects of the near-surface absorption on seismic reflection characteristics of interbedded strata, and to make clear the ability of current technologies to compensate the near-surface absorption, a geological model of continental interbedded strata with near-surface absorption was designed, and the prestack seismic wave field was numerically simulated with wave equations. Then, the simulated wave field was processed by the prestack time migration, the effects of near-surface absorption on prestack and poststack reflection characteristics were analyzed, and the near-surface absorption was compensated for by inverse Q-filtering. The model test shows that： （1） the reliability of prediction and delineation of a continental reservoir with AVO inversion is degraded due to the lateral variation of the near-surface structure; （2） the corresponding relationships between seismic reflection events and geological interfaces are further weakened as a result of near-surface absorption; and （3） the current technology of absorption compensation probably results in false geological structure and anomaly. Based on the model experiment, the real seismic data of the Dagang Oil Field were analyzed and processed. The seismic reflection characteristics of continental interbedded strata were improved, and the reliability of geological interpretation from seismic data was enhanced.

Hydraulic fracture geometry and proppant distribution in thin interbedded shale oil reservoirs

Small-scale true triaxial sand fracturing experiments are conducted on thin interbedded shale samples made from cores of Permian Lucaogou Formation shale oil reservoir in Jimsar sag, Junggar Basin, NW China. Combined with high-precision CT scanning digital core model reconstruction technology, hydraulic fracture geometry and proppant distribution in thin interbedded shale oil reservoirs are studied. The research shows that: In thin interbedded shale oil reservoir, the interlayer difference of rock mechanics and the interlayer interface near the wellbore cannot restrain the growth of fracture height effectively, but has a significant impact on the fracture width distribution in the fracture height direction. Hydraulic fractures in these reservoirs tend to penetrate into the adjacent layer in “step-like” form, but have a smaller width at the interface deflection, which hinders the transport of proppant in vertical direction, resulting in a poor effect of layer-crossing growth. In shale layers with dense laminae, hydraulic fractures tend to form “丰” or “井” shapes. If the perforated interval is large in rock strength and high in breakdown pressure, the main fracture is fully developed initially, large in width, and supported by enough sand. In contrast, if the perforated interval is low in strength and rich in laminae, the fracturing fluid filtration loss is large, the breakdown pressure is low, the main fracture will not open wide initially, and likely to have sand plugging. Proppant is mainly concentrated in the main hydraulic fractures with large width near the perforated layer, activated laminae, branch fractures and fractures in adjacent layers contain only a small amount of(or zero) proppant. The proppant is placed in a limited range on the whole. The limit width of fracture that proppant can enter is about 2.7 times the proppant particle size.

Stability of High Slope Interbedded Strata with Low Dip Angle Constituted by Soft and Hard Rock Mass

Slopes consisting of interbedded strata of soft and hard rock mass, such as purplish red mudstone and grey brown arkosic sandstone of Jurassic age, are very common in Sichuan basin of China. The mudstone is soft while the sandstone is hard and contains many opening or closing joints with a high dip angle. Some are nearly parallel and the others are nearly decussated with the trend of the slopes. Many natural slopes are in deformation or sliding because of those reasons. The stability of cutting slopes and supporting method to be taken for their stability in civil engineering are important. In this paper, the stability and deformation of the slopes are studied. The methods of analysis and support design principle are analyzed also. Finally, the method put forward is applied to study Fengdian high cutting slope in Sichuan section of the express way from Chengdu to Shanghai. The results indicate that the method is effective.

Understanding hydraulic fracture propagation behavior in tight sandstone–coal interbedded formations: an experimentalinvestigation

Whether hydraulic fractures could connect multiple gas zones in the vertical plane is the key to fracturing treatment to jointly exploit coalbed methane and tight sandstone gas through integrative hydraulic fracturing in tight sandstone–coal interbedded formations. Laboratory true triaxial hydraulic fracturing experiments were conducted on layered specimens with di erent combination types of natural sandstone and coal to simulate the propagation behavior of hydraulic fractures. The effects of the fracture initiation position, fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate were discussed. The results showed that di erent fracture morphologies could be found. When initiating from coal seams, three patterns of fracture initiation and propagation were obtained:(1) The main hydraulic fracture initiated and propagated along the natural fractures and then diverged due to the effects of in situ stress and formed secondary fractures.(2) The hydraulic fracture initiated and propagated in the direction of the maximum horizontal stress.(3) Multiple fractures initiated and propagated at the same time. With the same fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate, the hydraulic fractures initiating in sandstones had greater chances than those in coal seams to penetrate interfaces and enter neighboring layers. Excessively small or large fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate would do harm to the vertical extension height of the induced fracture and improvement of the stimulated reservoir volume. Compared with operation parameters(fracturing fluid viscosity and injection rate), the natural weak planes in coals were considered to be the key factor that a ected the fracture propagation path. The experimental results would make some contributions to the development of tight sandstone–coal interbedded reservoirs.

Weight Analysis of Impact Factors of Interbedded Anti-Inclined Slopes Block-Flexure Toppling Based on Support Vector Regression

Block-flexure toppling failure is frequently encountered in interbedded anti-inclined rock(IAR)slopes,and seriously threatens the construction of hydropower infrastructure.In this study,we first investigated the Lean Reservoir area’s geological setting and the Linda landslide’s characteristics.Then,uniform design and random design were used to design 110 training datasets and 31 testing datasets,respectively.Afterwards,the toppling response was obtained by using the discrete element code.Finally,support vector regression was used to obtain the influence weights of 21 impact factors.The results show that the influence weight of the slope angle and rock formation dip angle on the toppling deformation among tertiary impact factors is 25.96%and 17.28%,respectively,which are much greater than the other 19 impact factors within the research range.For the primary impact factors,the influence weight is sorted from large to small as slope geometry parameters,joints parameters,and rock mechanics parameters.Joints parameters,especially the geometric parameters,cannot be ignored when evaluating the stability of IAR slopes.Through numerical simulation,it was qualitatively determined that failure surfaces of slopes were controlled by cross joints and that the rocks in the slope toe play a role in preventing slope deformation.

Model test of the mechanism underpinning water-and-mud inrush disasters during tunnel excavation in sandstone and slate interbedded Presinian strata

Water-and-mud inrush disasters have become a major challenge in underground engineering for the construction of tunnels in sandstone and slate interbedded Presinian strata.Disaster prediction and prevention rely in part on realistic modeling and observation of the disaster process,as well as the identification and examination of the underlying mechanisms.Based on the geological conditions and the historical records of the Xinping Tunnel on the China–Laos Railway,an engineering geological model of the water-and-mud inrush was established.A physical model test that accurately reproduced water-and-mud inrush during tunnel excavation in sandstone and slate interbedded strata was also carried out.Then,testing was conducted that examined the stress and strain,seepage pressure,and high-leakage flow of the surrounding rock.The results indicated that the water-and-mud inrush proceeded through three stages:seepage stage,high-leakage flow stage,and attenuation stage.In essence,the disaster was a catastrophic process,during which the water-resistant stratum was reduced to a critical safety thickness,a water-inrush channel formed,and the water-resistant stratum gradually failed under the influence of excavation unloading and in situ stress–seepage coupling.Parameters such as the stress and strain,seepage pressure,and flow of the surrounding rock had evident stage-related features during water-and-mud inrush,and their variation indicated the formation,development,and evolution of the disaster.As the tunnel face advanced,the trend of the stress–strain curve of the surrounding rock shifted from sluggish to rapid in its speed of increase.The characteristics of strain energy density revealed the erosion and weakening effect of groundwater on the surrounding rock.The seepage pressure and the thickness of the water-resistant stratum had a positive linear relationship,and the flow and thickness a negative linear relationship.There was a pivotal point at which the seepage pressure changed from high to low and the flow shifted from low to high.The thickness of the water-resistant stratum corresponding to the pivotal point was deemed the critical safety thickness.

Experimental study on the geomechanical properties and failure behaviour of interbedded shale during SAGD operation

Interbedded shale(IBS)impedes the development of a steam chamber and poses a serious threat to the success of any steam-assisted gravity drainage(SAGD)operation in a heavy-oil reservoir.Breaking up IBS has been a continual challenge for the industry.This study summarizes experimental studies on the geomechanical properties and failure behaviour of IBS during thermal stimulation.IBS cores were collected by means of fully sealed coring in northwestern China.Mineral composition analysis,porosity,and permeability measurement,as well as imbibition tests,were initiated to evaluate the potential of imbibition.First,shear failure behaviour was studied through triaxial compression tests.Second,pore structure and failure processes of IBS were investigated through thermal stimulation experiments.Mudstone IBS was considered as the focus.Its porosity was approximately 7%and permeability was approximately 100 nD while in-situ stress was applied.Although IBS contained conside rable smectite components,it didn't disintegrate under high.effective stress.Last,shear failure behaviour of IBS was observed by computer tomography(CT)scanning when IBS was heated up to 180°C under constant radial confining pressure and axial constraint of strain.While imbibition causes disintegration of IBS,it is unlikely when under in-situ stress conditions.Fortunately,shear failure can be achieved under uniaxial boundary conditions with rapid heating.

Mechanism of subsidence-buckling and instability of slopes in thick-layered rigid rock under mining

The deformation and failure of mining slopes in layered rocks predominantly result from shear landslides.However,the instability process of the Pusa rock avalanche in Guizhou,China,revealed a unique damage phenomenon:prominent breaking and toppling of rock blocks occurred in the central section of the mountain,with a lack of commonly observed shear landslide features.This paper aims to investigate the underlying reasons behind this distinctive damage pattern.The study employs various methods including geological survey,UAV aerial survey,physical simulation,and discrete element numerical simulation.The findings indicate that the geological conditions,characterized by a hard upper layer and a soft lower layer along with underground mining activities,play a significant role in triggering the landslide.Furthermore,the presence of a columnar structured rock mass emerges as the primary factor influencing the instability of the Pusa rock avalanche.To elucidate the mining failure mechanism of the rock mass with vertical joints,we propose a"subsidence-buckling"failure model.Following the subsidence and collapse of the roof rock mass in the goaf,the columnar rock mass in the upper and middle portions of the slope undergoes deflection and deformation,forming a three-hinged arch structure.This structural configuration converts the pressure exerted by the overlying rock mass into both vertical pressure and lateral thrust.Under the influence of external loads,the slope experiences buckling failure,ultimately leading to instability upon fragmentation.By shedding light on these findings,this study contributes to a better understanding of the spatiotemporal evolution of mining slope fractures and their impact on slope stability.

Integrated simulation and monitoring to analyze failure mechanism of the anti-dip layered slope with soft and hard rock interbedding

The significant difference between the mechanical properties of soft rock and hard rock results in the complexity of the failure mode of the anti-dip layered slope with soft and hard rock interbedding.In order to reveal the landslide mechanism,taking the north slope of Fushun West Open-pit Mine as an example,this paper analyzed the failure mechanism of different landslides with monitoring and field surveys,and simulated the evolution of landslides.The study indicated that when the green mudstone(hard rock)of the anti-dip slope contains siltized intercalations(soft rock),the existence of weak layers not only aggravates the toppling deformation of anti-dip layered slope with high dip,but also causes the shear failure of anti-dip layered slope with stable low dip.The shear failure including subsidence induced sliding and wedge failure mainly exists in the unloading zone of the slope.Its failure depth and failure time were far less than that of toppling failure.In terms of the development characteristics of deformation,toppling deformation has the long-term and progressive characteristics,but shear failure deformation has the abrupt and transient characteristics.This study has deepened the understanding of such slope landslide mechanism,and can provide reference for similar engineering.

Study on the Law of Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in Low Permeability Thin Interbed Reservoir

The third member of Weixinnanliu in the west of the South China Sea develops thin interbeds, and the vertical extension of fracturing fractures is excessive. Once the fractures extend vertically to the upper and lower aquifers, it is easy to cause water flooding of oil wells, and the effect after fracturing is not obvious. The present work aims to explore the longitudinal extension law of fractures in Low Permeability Thin Interbed Reservoir based on the finite element calculation platform. A three-dimensional expansion model of hydraulic fractures in the target reservoir was established, and the displacement, fracturing fluid viscosity, minimum horizontal principal stress difference, vertical stress, interlayer thickness, perforation point separation were studied. The interlayer distance and other factors affect the crack propagation law. The research results show that the thin interbed fractures have three forms: T-shaped fractures, through-layer fractures, and I-shaped fractures;for the target layer, the overlying stress is relatively large, and the minimum principal stress is along the horizontal direction. Vertical cracks;the farther the perforation point is or the greater the stress difference, the smaller the thickness of the interlayer required to control the fracture height;the stress difference is 3 MPa, and the distance between the perforation points exceeds 10 m, the thickness of the interlayer is required to be ≥4 m;In order to ensure that the width of the fracture in the middle spacer does not affect the placement of the proppant, it is recommended that the displacement be controlled within 3 m3/min and the viscosity of the fracturing fluid is 150 mPa·s;in addition, the thickness of the spacer required to control the fracture height is different due to different geological parameters. Different, different wells need targeted analysis.

Seismic Wavelet Analysis Based on Finite Element Numerical Simulation

The practice of exploration and production has proved that explosives are excited in different surrounding rocks and the seismic wavelets collected have different characteristics. In this paper, by establishing a numerical model of the explosion in the well, using finite element analysis technology for numerical simulation, the simulation calculated the stress structure in the near-source area of the earthquake excitation, and extracted the seismic wavelet. The results show that the simulation seismic wavelet characteristics of different thin interbedded sand and mudstone structures have changed significantly. Through excitation simulation, the amplitude and spectrum information of seismic wavelets can be compared and analyzed, and the excitation parameters can be optimized. .

Theoretical Study on Quantitative Characterization of Interlayer Interference in Multi-Layer Commingled Production

X oilfield is a typical layered reservoir with a large vertical span and many oil-bearing formations. There are significant differences in reservoir types and fluid properties among various formations. The interlayer interference is severe in the development process. At present, the interlayer interference research based on dynamic monitoring data cannot meet development adjustment needs. Combined with the field test results, through the indoor physical simulation experiment method, dynamic inversion method, and reservoir engineering method, this paper analyzes the main control factors and interference mechanism of interlayer interference, studies the variation law of interference coefficient, improves and forms the quantitative characteristic Theory of interlayer interference in multi-layer commingled production, and provides theoretical guidance for the total adjustment of the middle strata division in the oilfield.

Groundwater monitoring of an open-pit limestone quarry:Water-rock interaction and mixing estimation within the rock layers by geochemical and statistical analyses

Water-rock interaction and groundwater mixing are important phenomena in understanding hydrogeological systems and the stability of rock slopes especially those consisting largely of moderately watersoluble minerals like calcite. In this study, the hydrogeological and geochemical evolutions of groundwater in a limestone quarry composed of three strata: limestone layer(covering), interbedded layer under the covering layer, and slaty greenstone layer(basement) were investigated. Water-rock interaction in the open-pit limestone quarry was evaluated using PHREEQC, while hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA)and principal component analysis(PCA) were used to classify and identify water sources responsible for possible groundwater mixing within rock layers. In addition, Geochemist's Workbench was applied to estimate the mixing fractions to clarify sensitive zones that may affect rock slope stability. The results showed that the changes in Ca2+and HCO3àconcentrations of several groundwater samples along the interbedded layer could be attributed to mixing groundwater from the limestone layer and that from slaty greenstone layer. Based on the HCA and PCA results, groundwaters were classified into several types depending on their origin:(1) groundwater from the limestone layer(LO),(2) mixed groundwater flowing along the interbedded layer(e.g., groundwater samples L-7, L-11, S-3 and S-4), and(3) groundwater originating from the slaty greenstone layer(SO). The mixing fractions of 41% LO: 59% SO, 64% LO: 36% SO, 43%LO: 57% SOand 25% LO: 75% SOon the normal days corresponded to groundwaters L-7, L-11, S-3 and S-4,respectively, while the mixing fractions of groundwaters L-7 and L-11(61% LO: 39% SOand 93% LO: 7% SO,respectively) on rainy days became the majority of groundwater originating from the limestone layer.These indicate that groundwater along the interbedded layer significantly affected the stability of rock slopes by enlarging multi-breaking zones in the layer through calcite dissolution and inducing high water pressure, tension cracks and potential sliding plane along this layer particularly during intense rainfall episodes.

Model-data-driven seismic inversion method based on small sample data

As sandstone layers in thin interbedded section are difficult to identify,conventional model-driven seismic inversion and data-driven seismic prediction methods have low precision in predicting them.To solve this problem,a model-data-driven seismic AVO(amplitude variation with offset)inversion method based on a space-variant objective function has been worked out.In this method,zero delay cross-correlation function and F norm are used to establish objective function.Based on inverse distance weighting theory,change of the objective function is controlled according to the location of the target CDP(common depth point),to change the constraint weights of training samples,initial low-frequency models,and seismic data on the inversion.Hence,the proposed method can get high resolution and high-accuracy velocity and density from inversion of small sample data,and is suitable for identifying thin interbedded sand bodies.Tests with thin interbedded geological models show that the proposed method has high inversion accuracy and resolution for small sample data,and can identify sandstone and mudstone layers of about one-30th of the dominant wavelength thick.Tests on the field data of Lishui sag show that the inversion results of the proposed method have small relative error with well-log data,and can identify thin interbedded sandstone layers of about one-15th of the dominant wavelength thick with small sample data.

Prediction of Interbeds Intercalated into Complex Heterogeneous Reservoirs at a High Water Cut Stage

The occurrence of interbeds in thick oil formations is one of the main reasons that cause the difference of remaining oil distribution. A quantitative method for predicting interbeds was proposed and the sedimentary origin and division criterion were demonstrated. The distribution of interbeds in different types of sedimentary sand bodies were predicted and analyzed by combining the theory of sedimentology and reservoir bed architectural-element analysis. The interbeds in a single well were recognized from high resolution well logs, and inter-well interbeds were predicted by using the methods of cyclothem correlation, physical properties trtmcation, and conditional simulation. Finally a 3-D model of interbed was built. Application to the Gudao Oilfield was successful.

Combination Patterns and Depositional Characteristics of Ordovician Carbonate Banks in the Western Tarim Basin,China

The combination patterns and depositional characteristics of the carbonate banks are investigated based on outcrop sections, thin sections, and carbon isotopes of Ordovician in the western Tarim Basin, China. Four carbonate bank combination patterns are deposited in the Ordovician, western Tarim Basin, including： Reef-Bank Complex （RBC）, Algae-Reef-Bank Interbed （ARBI）, Thick-Layer Cake Aggradation Bank （TLCAB）, and Thin-Layer Cake Retrogradation Bank （TLCRB）. All combination patterns show clear periods vertically. The RBC is mainly composed of reefs and bioclastic banks, and the dimension of the RBC depends on the scale of the reefs. Bioclastic banks deposits surround the reefs. The range of the ARBI is determined by the scale of algae-reefs, algae peloid dolomite microfacies and algal dolomite microfacies deposit alternating vertically. TLCAB and TLCRB are deposited as layer-cakes stacking in cycles and extending widely with cross bedding developed. The grains of TLCAB and TLCRB are diverse and multi-source. With the impacting of relative sea level change, biological development and geomorphology, the ARBI, TLCAB or TLCRB, RBC are successively developed from the Lower Ordovician Penglaiba Formation to the Middle Ordovician Yijianfang Formation. The depositional environment analysis of Ordovician indicates that the RBC and ARBI can form effective oil and gas reservoirs, and the TLCAB and TLCRB have the potential to form the huge scale oil and gas reservoirs and to be the crucial targets of exploration for the Ordovician carbonate banks in the future.

The effect of interbeds on distribution of i ncremental oil displaced by a polymer flood

This paper discusses the effect of influencing factors on the distribution of incremental oil displaced by a polymer flood （extra-displaced oil） using numerical reservoir simulation. These factors include the location, area and permeability of a thin low-permeability interbed, and the perforation location relative to the interbed. Simulation results show the locations from where the incremental oil was displaced by the polymer solution. The interbed position from the oil formation top affects the location of extra-displaced oil. The interbed area has a slight influence on the whole shape of extra-displaced oil. Larger interbed area leads to higher partition extent of extra-displaced oil. Higher vertical permeability of interbeds contributes to worse partition extent of extra-displaced oil and the partition effect disappears if the ratio of vertical to horizontal permeability is more than 0.05. The perforation location relative to the interbed affects polymer displacement efficiency, and also has a significant effect on the distribution of extra-displaced oil in polymer flooding.