New Approach to Define Brittleness

Published on February 14, 2017

Santhosh Narasimhan Follow 109 6 11

Lead Geomechanics Engineer at Premier Oilfield Laboratories
In the realm of hydraulic fracturing, an accurate brittleness index (BI) is
imperative for optimum Completion Engineering. There are numerous approaches
to defining BI which include mineralogical, petrophysical and mechanical inputs.
The magnitude of various attributes from these domains are all different and may
significantly alter the outcome. Core plugs tested at in-situ conditions provide an
excellent vehicle for testing these attributes and provide optimal answers when
properly utilized. Mechanical properties and rock strength for drilling and
completions are also derived under such in-situ conditions. With that in mind, a
novel approach to defining BI from post-failure observations of different rock
types is currently being explored with our in-house testing. Presented here (above
Image) are some expected behavioral trends which enhance our understanding of
the relationship between the mineralogical and mechanical attributes for
brittleness.

The degree of rock failure, linear elastic properties, single to multiple fractures
and hysteresis all show good relationships with mineralogy. Peak failure strength
is another good indicator that decreases in strength along with increases in
mineralogical components (increase in clay and TOC, decrease in quartz and
dolomite). In summation, we are studying a possible relationship between BI and
the aforementioned rock attributes as a function of changes in mineralogy.

I agree, it is difficult to get definite observations or correlations in all tested

samples especially for the failure planes. There are many factors that can
influence degree of failure planes such as confining stress, temperature,
cementation factor, connected-disconnected porosity (dilation effects) etc. But,
soon hoping for some interesting correlations that will be worthy
sharing/publishing.

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Santhosh Narasimhan
Lead Geomechanics Engineer at Premier Oilfield Laboratories Follow
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Selim Simon Shaker 5d

Consulting Geoscientist at Geopressure Analysis Services
Hi
Santhosh, The so called NCT takes place during Millions of years in different
lithologies that represent the youngest section above the top of geopressure.
The compaction is a result of formation water expulsion and the increasing of
grain to grain coupling follows Darcys Law. Therefore, the Compaction Trend
See
(CT) represents the petrophysical properties (e.g. velocity) e more
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 4d
Santhosh Narasimhan
Lead Geomechanics Engineer at Premier Oilfield Laboratories
thanks for the link. and
unfortunately many commercial depletion models consider pore pressure as the
only change while capturing fracture asymmetry in terms of total and effective
stress for optimum well spacing. it is highly recommended to factor in rock
properties plus pore pressure change in the models similar to your explanation.
we published this last year.
Like Reply

Eric von Lunen 2mo

Senior Geophysical Advisor & Team Lead at Nexen Inc
interesting figure, i would like to
use this figure can we arrange that & what is the data behind the figure, is
it published?
Like Reply 1

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