Pore Volume Compressibility of Unconsolidated Sand Reservoirs: Insights Gained Using Laboratory-Created Sand Pack Analogs

Pore volume compressibility is a fundamental driver of production for unconsolidated sand reservoirs. Prediction of compressibility is desirable when direct measurements on core are not available. Many characteristics of reservoir sands change simultaneously. For this reason, the controls on compressibility are difficult to isolate and interpret. We present the results of compaction experiments using laboratory-created, unconsolidated sands. In these analog sands, we change one textural or mineralogical parameter at a time to investigate the influence of that parameter on the measured compaction properties. Initially, simple quartz grain packs of varying grain sizes were used. Subsequently, additional parameters were investigated, including grain packing, angularity, sorting, feldspar content, ductile grain content, small volumes of dispersed clay, and initial sample preconditioning at stress. Multiple samples of each type were created and tested. This allowed the testing to be halted at several intermediate stresses and the samples to be examined using 2D and 3D imaging and image analysis techniques. For monomineralic quartz sand packs, grain size is a principal control on compressibility. As mean size increases from 150 to 450 μm, peak compressibility increases from 6 to 24 microsips. The depletion stress at which peak compressibility occurs decreases from 8,000 to 2,500 psi. Increasing grain angularity also increases compressibility but with smaller effect. For 150-μm quartz sands, increasing the angularity resulted in an increase in compressibility from 6 microsips for round quartz to 10 microsips for angular quartz and decreased the depletion stress required to achieve peak compressibility from 8,000 to 7,000 psi. As sorting varies from well to moderately poorly sorted, compressibility decreases, and the curve broadens as a function of depletion stress. Adding small volumes of feldspar (or other minerals that cleave) increases the compressibility more than the change resulting from changes in grain size, illustrating the importance of framework grain composition. Adding similar volumes of ductile grains results in a similar increase in compressibility to that observed for feldspar. However, when the size of the ductile grains is larger than that of the associated quartz (e.g., locally derived rip-up clasts), the increase in compressibility is significantly larger. To validate the experimental work, we compare the results of uniaxial pore volume compressibility tests on laboratory-created sands with measurements made on subsurface samples of similar texture and mineralogy. Both the shape of the compressibility curves as well as the magnitude of the compressibility are successfully reproduced. We conclude that laboratory-created sands can provide reasonable proxies for estimating the compressibility of subsurface reservoirs when intact subsurface samples are not available for measurement (e.g., only percussion sidewall samples are acquired) as long as mineralogy and texture are known.

Estimation of Pore Volume Compressibility in Carbonate Reservoir Rocks based on a Classification

Taking a vast range of carbonate reservoir rock from Asmari and Bangestan formations in southern Iran basins, this study examined the petrographically classification, petrological and petrophysical characteristics, and their implications on the estimation of pore volume compressibility of the carbonate reservoirs. In the current study, a method is developed to classify the carbonate reservoir rocks based on the dominant factors which is involving in elastic property of pore volumes. In order to classifying, a number of 3702 thin sections were studied. Then, the pore volume compressibility of 200 core plugs corresponding to the range of classification parameters were obtained and quantified by a pre-proven equation. The results clearly show an acceptable narrow bandwidth between the upper and lower bound of estimations based on the studied classification. Furthermore, the estimation of pore compressibility-stress relationship was in a good agreement with the experimental observations. Also, the study shows that integrating the routine petrophysical properties are useful for estimation of stress related properties of pore volumes into carbonate reservoir rocks.

The Effects of Pine Tree Sawdust on the Volume Compressibility of Expansive Soils

Expansive soils are very important natural geological materials used in the geotechnical applications in the worldwide. After compacting, they are used as hydraulic barriers in earth structures, such as core of earth fill dams, landfill liners, and etc. However, these soils have some defects from technical points of view. To remove the defects, one of the soil improvement methods is mixing of these soils with granular materials. In this study, pine tree sawdust was used as granular additive material to stabilize the expansive soils. The effects of pine saw dust on the volume compressibility of expansive soils were investigated by using experimental studies under laboratory conditions. The test results showed that the pine saw dust positively affected the geotechnical properties in term of volume compressibility manner. As a consequently, the geotechnical properties of the expansive soil when blended with pine tree sawdust indicates that the pine tree sawdust is a good modification material for this problematic soil.

Anomalous mechanical materials squeezing three-dimensional volume compressibility into one dimension

Anomalous mechanical materials, with counterintuitive stress-strain responding behaviors, have emerged as novel type of functional materials with highly enhanced performances. Here we demonstrate that the materials with coexisting negative, zero and positive linear compressibilities can squeeze three-dimensional volume compressibility into one dimension, and provide a general and effective way to precisely stabilize the transmission processes under high pressure. We propose a “corrugated-graphite-like” structural model and discover lithium metaborate (LiBO2) to be the first material with such a mechanical behavior. The capability to keep the flux density stability under pressure in LiBO2 is at least two orders higher than that in conventional materials. Our study opens a way to the design and search of ultrastable transmission materials under extreme conditions.

Effect of Nano-Silica on Consolidation and Permeability Properties of Lateritic Soil

A reddish-brown lateritic soil obtained from Zaria; Nigeria was treated with up to 2.5% nano-silica. Consolidation properties (i.e. Pre-consolidation pressure, compression index, coefficient of volume compressibility and coefficient of consolidation) of treated specimens were assessed using one dimensional consolidation test. The permeability property of treated soil was also evaluated. The results obtained showed that the pre-consolidation pressure generally increased with increasing percentage of nano-silica content and curing time. The compression index (Cc) increased steadily with higher percentage of nano-silica contents up to 2.5% treatment for 7 and 14 days of curing, but decreased after 28 days curing period. The recompression index (Cr) on the other hand generally increased with increase percentage of nano-silica content and curing period. The coefficient of volume compressibility (Mv) did not follow any definite trend, but at 2.5% nano-silica content, the Mv decreased for all curing periods considered. The coefficient of consolidation (Cv) also, did not give a definite trend with increase in nano-silica content, suggesting that increasing the amount of nano-silica content in the soil has little or no impact on the time rate of settlement. The coefficient of permeability (k) decreased as the soil was treated with nano-silica especially beyond loading pressure of 40kN/m2. This study showed that nano-silica (up to 2.5%) can be used to stabilize lateritic soil to improve its consolidation properties.

Features of the processes of deformation of single-crystal titanium nickelide under the action of a comprehensive compression pulse

Using the example of single-crystal titanium nickelide, the importance of taking into account the volume compressibility anisotropy when calculating the processes of elastoplastic deformation in materials with cubic symmetry of elastic properties is shown. It is shown that the process of uniform volumetric deformation corresponds to the process of non-uniform stress state for materials with cubic symmetry of properties for some orientations of the calculated coordinate system relative to the directions of the main crystallographic axes. The index surface of volume compressibility (or the reciprocal of it - the compression modulus) has a non-spherical shape and is a function of Euler angles. This is shown for the first time by solving a model problem - determining the stress and strain states of a spherical body made of single-crystal titanium nickelide under the action of a comprehensive compression pulse. In the general case of orienting the calculated coordinate system relative to the directions of the main crystallographic axes, an initially spherical body of single-crystal titanium nickelide is deformed into a biaxial ellipsoid under the influence of a comprehensive compression pulse.