Effects of interfacial energy on compaction creep by intergranular pressure solution: Theory versus experiments on a rock analog (NaNO<sub>3</sub>)

Visser, H.J.M.; Spiers, Christopher J.; Hangx, Suzanne

doi:10.1029/2012jb009590

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Time-independent volumetric compaction of sands (i.e., instantaneous compaction for which creep effects are negligible), by mechanisms such as grain rearrangement, grain rotation, intergranular sliding, elastic deformation, and grain breakage, plays an important role in determining porosity and permeability reduction during burial of clastic sediments [Antonellini et al, 1994;Burley, 1986;Chester et al, 2004;Chuhan et al, 2002Chuhan et al, , 2003Donaldson et al, 1995;Wilson and McBride, 1988]. In general, these mechanisms operate alongside time-dependent processes like pressure solution [Groshong, 1988;Milliken, 1994;Niemeijer et al, 2002;Onasch, 1994;Schutjens, 1991;Visser et al, 2012].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-independent compaction behavior of quartz sands

Brzesowsky

Spiers

Peach

et al. 2014

J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth

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Mechanisms such as grain rearrangement, coupled with elastic deformation and grain breakage, are believed to play an important role in the time-independent compaction of sands, controlling porosity and permeability reduction during burial of clastic sediments and during depletion of highly porous reservoir sandstones. We performed uniaxial compaction experiments on sands at room temperature to systematically investigate the effect of loading history, loading rate, grain size, initial porosity, and chemical environment on compaction. Acoustic emission counting and microstructural methods were used to verify the microphysical compaction mechanisms operating. All tests showed quasi-elastic loading behavior accompanied by permanent deformation, involving elastic grain contact distortion, particle rearrangement, and grain failure. Loading history, grain size, and initial porosity significantly affected stress-strain behavior, with increasing grain size and initial porosity promoting compaction. In contrast, chemical environment and loading rate had little effect. The results formed the basis for a microphysical model aimed at explaining the observed compaction behavior. Two extreme cases were modeled: (I) a pack of spherical grains with a distributed flaw size at failure and (II) a pack of nonspherical grains with a constant mean crack size at failure but a distributed effective surface radius of curvature characterizing distributed contact asperity amplitudes. The best agreement with the grain-size-and porosity-dependent trends observed in our experiments was obtained using case (II) of the model. Combining our experimental and modeling results, it was inferred that a grain-size-dependent departure from sphericity of the grains exerts a key control on the compaction behavior of sands.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-independent compaction behavior of quartz sands

Brzesowsky

Spiers

Peach

et al. 2014

J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth

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“…This will further reduce the porosity and permeability of the Ca(OH) 2 produce and whole sample until healing of the grain contacts occurs by internal or contact margin precipitation, i.e. via contact asperity or neck growth phenomena [122,123]. As indicated above, grain growth involving grain boundary migration, driven by surface energy reduction in the fine product phase, could also disconnect pores and reduce permeability simply by overgrowing and isolating pores [69].…”

Section: Transport Path Shutdown Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

2017

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It is generally challenging to predict the postabandonment behaviour and integrity of wellbores. Leakage is, moreover, difficult to mitigate, particularly between the steel casing and outer cement sheath. Radially expanding the casing with some form of internal plug, thereby closing annular voids and fractures around it, offers a possible solution to both issues. However, such expansion requires development of substantial internal stresses. Chemical reactions that involve a solid volume increase and produce a force of crystallisation (FoC), such as CaO hydration, offer obvious potential. However, while thermodynamically capable of producing stresses in the GPa range, the maximum stress obtainable by CaO hydration has not been validated or determined experimentally. Here, we report uniaxial compaction/expansion experiments performed in an oedometer-type apparatus on precompacted CaO powder, at 65°C and at atmospheric pore fluid pressure. Using this set-up, the FoC generated during CaO hydration could be measured directly. Our results show FoC-induced stresses reaching up to 153 MPa, with reaction stopping or slowing down before completion. Failure to achieve the GPa stresses predicted by theory is attributed to competition between FoC development and its inhibiting effect on reaction progress. Microstructural observations indicate that reaction-induced stresses shut down pathways for water into the sample, hampering ongoing reaction and limiting the magnitude of stress build-up to the values observed. The results nonetheless point the way to understanding the behaviour of such systems and to finding engineering solutions that may allow large controlled stresses and strains to be achieved in wellbore sealing operations in future.

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“…These generally low stress exponents differ from the classic aggregate models, which predict n = 1 [e.g., Rutter , ; Paterson , ], and from those found in many experimental studies, which often are much larger than unity. For example, Niemeijer et al [] found stress exponents of 3 to 3.6 during compaction of quartz sand packs at temperatures of 400–600°C and lithostatic effective pressures of 50–150 MPa (a slightly lower value of 2.5 was obtained by Fitzenz et al [], who used a more accurate Bayesian inference method to reinterpret Niemeijer et al's data).In contrast, low apparent stress exponents were observed in experiments by Visser et al [], who compacted sodium nitrate sphere packs at low loads. The conditions in these tests were almost identical to that assumed in the simulations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following Visser et al . 's [, Figures 6–7] graphic approach, we plotted the simulated strain rates (measured at constant strain levels) versus p c , 1/ T , or r and interpreted them in terms of apparent values of n , H , and m (Figures and ). The results can be summarized as follows: Stress exponentIn all simulations, the effective stress exponents increased with increasing strain (or time) assuming values about 0.3 at strains less than 1%, to about 1 for strains approaching 15% (Figure a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individual contact experiments often provide the opportunity for direct observation of the deformation mechanisms, but their results are not easy to generalize to natural crustal rocks containing a large number of grains of variable sizes and shapes. Thus, many workers have chosen to measure compaction creep of monomineralic or polymineralic granular aggregates [e.g., Cox and Paterson , ; Spiers et al , ; Schutjens , ; Rutter and Wanten , ; Renard et al , ; Niemeijer et al , , ; Chester et al , , ; Zubtsov et al , ; van Noort et al , ; Visser et al , ]. However, the aggregate compaction experiments also have drawbacks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pressure solution creep of random packs of spheres

Bernabé

Evans

2014

JGR Solid Earth

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We performed numerical calculations of compaction in aggregates of spherical grains, using Lehner and Leroy's (2004, hereinafter LL) constitutive model of pressure solution at grain contacts. That model is founded on a local definition of the thermodynamic driving force and leads to a fully coupled formulation of elastic deformation, dissolution, and diffusive transport along the grain boundaries. The initial geometry of the aggregate was generated by random packing of spheres with a small standard deviation of the diameters. During the simulations, isostatic loading was applied. The elastic displacements at the contacts were calculated according to Digby's (1981) nonlinear contact force model, and deformation by dissolution was evaluated using the LL formulation. The aggregate strain and porosity were tracked as a function of time for fixed temperature, applied effective pressure, and grain size. We also monitored values of the average and standard deviation of total load at each contact, the coordination number for packing, and the statistics of the contact dimensions. Because the simulations explicitly exclude processes such as fracturing, plastic flow, and transport owing to surface curvature, they can be used to test the influence of relative changes in the kinetics of dissolution and diffusion processes caused by contact growth and packing rearrangements. We found that the simulated strain data could be empirically fitted by two successive power laws of the form, ε x ∝ t ξ , where ξ was equal to 1 at very early times, but dropped to as low as 0.3 at longer times. The apparent sensitivity of strain rate to stress found in the simulations was much lower than predicted from constitutive laws that assume a single dominant process driven by average macroscopic loads. Likewise, the apparent activation enthalpy obtained from the simulated data was intermediate between that assumed for dissolution and diffusion, and, further, tended to decrease with time. These results are similar to the experimental observations of Visser et al. 's (2012), who used an aggregate geometry and physical conditions closely resembling the present numerical simulations.

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Effects of interfacial energy on compaction creep by intergranular pressure solution: Theory versus experiments on a rock analog (NaNO₃)

Cited by 14 publications

References 79 publications

Time-independent compaction behavior of quartz sands

Time-independent compaction behavior of quartz sands

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

Pressure solution creep of random packs of spheres

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Effects of interfacial energy on compaction creep by intergranular pressure solution: Theory versus experiments on a rock analog (NaNO3)

Cited by 14 publications

References 79 publications

Time-independent compaction behavior of quartz sands

Time-independent compaction behavior of quartz sands

Reaction-driven casing expansion: potential for wellbore leakage mitigation

Pressure solution creep of random packs of spheres

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Product

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Effects of interfacial energy on compaction creep by intergranular pressure solution: Theory versus experiments on a rock analog (NaNO₃)