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The effect of fluid pressure on frictional stability transition from velocity strengthening to velocity weakening and critical slip distance evolution in shale reservoirs

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Abstract

Seismic activities have been reported by the large-scale fluid injection in shale reservoirs both during hydraulic fracturing operations and wastewater disposal processes. Fluid overpressure has been regarded as the primary cause for the injection-induced seismicity since the fluid lubricates the fault and decreases the effective normal stress applied to the pre-existing faults. However, how fractures/faults slip after the activation remains unclear. The rate-and-state friction law has been widely used to describe the fracture stability during slip. Hence, we performed a series of velocity-stepping slip experiments under various combinations of fluid pressure and normal stress states with shale samples, which aims to investigate the role of fluid pressure on the rate-dependent parameter (a–b) and critical slip distance (Dc) evolution. We observed the frictional stability transits from velocity strengthening to velocity weakening with the increase of fluid pressure in shale samples. Moreover, the critical slip distance increases dramatically due to the fluid pressure increases, which is the result of the fluid oscillation phenomenon. Through the calculation of critical fracture rheologic stiffness of shale samples under fluid pressure, the results indicated that a higher possibility for fluid injection-induced seismicity with the increase of fluid pressure. Our experimental observations suggest that the fluid pressure can change the frictional stability characteristics of shale fractures and favor the potential seismic slip, which could be a possible mechanism for the fluid injection-induced seismicity, especially in unconventional shale reservoirs.

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The data for marble and limestone come from Scuderi and Collettini (2016)

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The data for marble and limestone come from Scuderi and Collettini (2016)

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The data for marble come from Scuderi and Collettini (2016)

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Abbreviations

a :

Scaling factor representing direct effect in rate-and-state friction laws, dimensionless

b :

Scaling factor representing evolutionary effect in rate-and-state friction laws, dimensionless

D c :

Critical slip distance, m

σ 1 :

Axial stress, MPa

σ 3 :

Confining stress, MPa

σ n :

Normal stress applied on the fracture, MPa

σ eff :

Effective normal stress applied to the fracture, MPa

τ :

Shear stress applied on the fracture, MPa

Ψ :

Fracture inclination angle with the core axis, °

d :

Displacement along the direction of fracture plane, m

d measured :

Axial displacement measured by LVDT, m

α :

Constant representing effective hydraulic aperture evolution, dimensionless

μ i :

Friction coefficient at a reference velocity Vi, dimensionless

θ i+1 :

State variable after a stepped velocity Vi+1, dimensionless

κ :

Boltzmann constant, J/K

T :

Temperature, K

H :

Mineral hardness, dimensionless

E 0 :

Activation energy for the plastic strain accommodation, J/mol

Ω:

Activation volume for the plastic strain accommodation, m3

B :

Parameter to describe real elastic contact area increase, dimensionless

A c :

Real contact areas, m2

k c :

Critical fracture rheologic stiffness, MPa/m

k :

Elastic stiffness of the surrounding rocks, MPa/m

P f :

Fluid pressure, MPa

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Acknowledgements

Fundings from National science and technology major special fund of the 13th five-year plan (No. 2017ZX05049-003-11), Cheung Kong Scholars and innovation team development program (No. IRT17R112), Chongqing Natural Science Foundation Project (No. cstc2018jcyjAX0542) and open Project of State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control (Project No. 2011DA105287-FW201904) are acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Yunzhong Jia, Jiren Tang & Yiyu Lu

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, Uppsala, SE-75236, Sweden

    Yunzhong Jia

  3. Key Laboratory of Shale Gas Exploration, Ministry of Natural Resources, Chongqing Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, Chongqing, 401120, China

    Zhaohui Lu

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  1. Yunzhong Jia
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Correspondence to Jiren Tang.

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Jia, Y., Tang, J., Lu, Y. et al. The effect of fluid pressure on frictional stability transition from velocity strengthening to velocity weakening and critical slip distance evolution in shale reservoirs. Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. 7, 25 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40948-021-00217-w

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