{"title":"The effect of temperature on injection-induced shear slip of laboratory faults in sandstone","authors":"Nao Shen, Lei Wang, Xiaochun Li","doi":"10.1007/s11440-024-02329-5","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fluid injection into subsurface reservoirs may cause existing faults/fractures to slip seismically. To study the effect of temperature on injection-induced fault slip, at a constant confining pressure of 10 MPa, we performed a series of injection-induced shear slip experiments on critically stressed sandstone samples containing saw-cut fractures (laboratory-simulated faults) under varying fluid pressurization rates (0.1 and 0.5 MPa/min, respectively) and temperatures (25, 80, and 140 °C, respectively). At 25 °C, slow fault slip events with a peak slip velocity of about 0.13 μm/s were observed on a tested sample in response to a low fluid pressurization rate of 0.1 MPa/min. In contrast, fluid injection with a high pressurization rate of 0.5 MPa/min caused fault slip events with a peak slip rate up to about 0.38 μm/s. In response to a given fluid pressurization rate, several episodes of slip events with a higher slip velocity were induced at an elevated temperature of 140 °C, indicating an appreciable weakening effect at elevated temperatures. We also experimentally constrained the rate-and-state frictional (RSF) parameters at varying effective normal stresses and temperatures by performing velocity-stepping tests. The obtained RSF parameters demonstrate that for a relatively high normal stress, increasing temperature tends to destabilize fault slip. Post-mortem microstructural observations reveal that elevated temperatures promote the generation of abundant fine-grained gouge particles associated with injection-induced shear slip. Our experiments highlight that injection-induced fault slip is affected by temperature-related wear production over the fault surface.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49308,"journal":{"name":"Acta Geotechnica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11440-024-02329-5.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Acta Geotechnica","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11440-024-02329-5","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, GEOLOGICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Fluid injection into subsurface reservoirs may cause existing faults/fractures to slip seismically. To study the effect of temperature on injection-induced fault slip, at a constant confining pressure of 10 MPa, we performed a series of injection-induced shear slip experiments on critically stressed sandstone samples containing saw-cut fractures (laboratory-simulated faults) under varying fluid pressurization rates (0.1 and 0.5 MPa/min, respectively) and temperatures (25, 80, and 140 °C, respectively). At 25 °C, slow fault slip events with a peak slip velocity of about 0.13 μm/s were observed on a tested sample in response to a low fluid pressurization rate of 0.1 MPa/min. In contrast, fluid injection with a high pressurization rate of 0.5 MPa/min caused fault slip events with a peak slip rate up to about 0.38 μm/s. In response to a given fluid pressurization rate, several episodes of slip events with a higher slip velocity were induced at an elevated temperature of 140 °C, indicating an appreciable weakening effect at elevated temperatures. We also experimentally constrained the rate-and-state frictional (RSF) parameters at varying effective normal stresses and temperatures by performing velocity-stepping tests. The obtained RSF parameters demonstrate that for a relatively high normal stress, increasing temperature tends to destabilize fault slip. Post-mortem microstructural observations reveal that elevated temperatures promote the generation of abundant fine-grained gouge particles associated with injection-induced shear slip. Our experiments highlight that injection-induced fault slip is affected by temperature-related wear production over the fault surface.
期刊介绍:
Acta Geotechnica is an international journal devoted to the publication and dissemination of basic and applied research in geoengineering – an interdisciplinary field dealing with geomaterials such as soils and rocks. Coverage emphasizes the interplay between geomechanical models and their engineering applications. The journal presents original research papers on fundamental concepts in geomechanics and their novel applications in geoengineering based on experimental, analytical and/or numerical approaches. The main purpose of the journal is to foster understanding of the fundamental mechanisms behind the phenomena and processes in geomaterials, from kilometer-scale problems as they occur in geoscience, and down to the nano-scale, with their potential impact on geoengineering. The journal strives to report and archive progress in the field in a timely manner, presenting research papers, review articles, short notes and letters to the editors.