Applications of Micro-Indentation Technology to Estimate Fracture Toughness of Shale

Abstract

The fracture toughness of shale is a basic parameter that can provide effective theoretical support for wellbore stability and hydraulic fracturing of a shale reservoir. Due to the composition and microstructure, there are many problems in evaluating the mechanical properties of shale in a macroscopic test. In this paper, the composition and pore distribution of shale were studied by X-ray diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the pore structure. The setting of experimental parameters and the selection of the indenter were discussed. Micro-indentation technique was proposed and applied to fracture toughness analysis of shale. The results show that Berkovich indenter is more suitable for shale indentation test than Vickers indenter. Fracture toughness of shale indentation is obviously affected by surface roughness and indentation position. Fracture toughness of shale decreases slightly with the increase of the indentation load. The energy analysis result presents that the effect of cracking on the ratio of total/unloading work is minimal when there is no significant stripping on the shale surface. Compared with the experimental method, energy methods can obtain all the analysis parameters from a single indentation test. The results of comparative analysis with macroscopic experiments display that micro-indentation test can effectively predict the macroscopic fracture toughness of shale.

Application of Nanoindentation in the Characterization of a Porous Material with a Clastic Texture

“…Shales are one of the most prominently tested porous geological materials to explore their mechanical properties through nanoindentation tests [ 6 , 7 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. A recent work based on nanoindentation by Wang et al [ 35 ], on gas-bearing shale rocks particularly highlighted the development of pop-ins.…”

“…Understanding of the mechanical performance of materials and the development of constitutive modeling necessitates the use of nano-to-micromechanical-based approaches as they offer insights into the relationship between bulk behavior and microstructural characteristics. Examples of this may refer to structural/cementitious materials [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ], shale rocks [ 5 , 6 , 7 ], or ceramics [ 8 ]. Specific material properties which are of major interest in tribology engineering are Young’s modulus and (micro-)hardness, as they strongly influence the frictional response and slip displacement of interfaces [ 9 , 10 ].…”