Linear fracturing fluid (LFF) provides viscosity driven benefits of proppant suspensibility and fluid loss control, and with the use of a breaker agent, flowback recovery can be greatly enhanced. Shale tensile strength is critical in the prediction of fracture initiation and propagation, but its behavior under the interaction with LFF at reservoir temperature conditions remains poorly understood. This necessitated an in-depth investigation into the tensile strengths of Eagle Ford and Wolfcamp shales under thermally conditioned LFF and reservoir temperature controlled conditions. Brazilian Indirect Tensile Strength (BITS) testing was carried out for the quantitative evaluation of shale tensile strength, followed by extensive failure pattern classifications and surface crack length analysis. The thermally conditioned LFF saturation of shale samples led to average tensile strength (ATS) increases ranging from 26.33–51.33% for Wolfcamp. Then, for the Eagle Ford samples, ATS increases of 3.94 and 6.79% and decreases of 3.13 and 15.35% were recorded. The exposure of the samples to the temperature condition of 90 °C resulted in ATS increases of 24.46 and 33.78% for Eagle Ford and Wolfcamp shales, respectively. Then, for samples exposed to 220 °C, ATS decreases of 6.11 and 5.32% were respectively recorded for Eagle Ford and Wolfcamp shales. The experimental results of this research will facilitate models’ development towards tensile strength predictions and failure pattern analysis and quantifications in the LFF driven hydraulic fracturing of shale gas reservoirs.
Native starches are modified to enhance their characteristics in terms of thermal stability, cold water solubility, and bacterial susceptibility, which limit their industrial applications. In this work, dual modification of tapioca starch by gamma irradiation followed by carboxymethylation was carried out, and the modified starch characteristics were examined. Four dosages of gamma irradiation (25, 35, 45, and 60 kGy) were used for the first modification stage, followed by carboxymethylation using different parameters. The required modification of starch was characterized by FTIR, SEM, TGA, and XRD. Experimental findings showed that the dual modification enhanced the thermal stability of the starch. In addition, carboxymethylation impacted starch's morphology and reduced its crystallinity. Furthermore, the dual-modified starches exhibited excellent characteristics and could be used in specific applications, including oil and gas, textile, paper, packaging, 3D printing, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries.
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