Permeability of Wellbore-Cement Fractures Following Degradation by Carbonated Brine

Walsh, Stuart; Frane, Wyatt L. Du; Mason, Harris E.; Carroll, Susan A.

doi:10.1007/s00603-012-0336-9

Cited by 81 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This is in line with observations in other studies that fracture opening occurred under short residence time conditions with higher flow rates and shorter fracture length [Yalcinkaya et al, 2011], while longer samples or lower CO 2 -brine flow flux led to calcite precipitation [Yalcinkaya et al, 2011] and self-healing behavior [Carey et al, 2007;Huerta et al, 2011Huerta et al, , 2013aLuquot et al, 2013;Walsh et al, 2012]. Our results show that fractures are completely clogged for residence time as short as 35 min.…”

Section: 1002/2014wr016162supporting

confidence: 82%

“…Zones 3 and 4 are statistically very close if we consider the measurement error, resolution, and cement heterogeneity; so the choice of these zones is somewhat arbitrary and is based on prior knowledge from other studies with similar observations under either static conditions or dynamic flow conditions [Brunet et al, 2013;Luquot et al, 2013;Mason et al, 2013;Walsh et al, 2012]. The observed zonation was for after 8 days of core-flooding experiment.…”

Section: 1002/2014wr016162mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cement samples used in most reported studies are typically of short lengths (25-75 mm) with rare exceptions [Yalcinkaya et al, 2011]. Self-healing of fractures, the clogging of fractures, and permeability reduction have been reported when exposing cement samples to reactive flow typically <0.017 cm 3 /s [Huerta et al, 2013a;Luquot et al, 2013;Walsh et al, 2012] or diffusion controlled conditions [Liteanu and Spiers, 2011]. In contrast, opening of cement fractures was observed when large voids and cracks are present [Bachu and Bennion, 2009] or when the continuous renewal flow rate of CO 2 -brine is larger than 0.017 cm 3 /s [Cao et al, 2013;Yalcinkaya et al, 2011].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous studies in recent years have addressed the interactions between cement and supercritical CO 2 or CO 2 -saturated formation water under conditions relevant to carbon sequestration [Bachu and Bennion, 2009;Barlet-Gouedard et al, 2006;Barlet-Gou edard et al, 2009;Brandvoll et al, 2009;Duguid and Scherer, 2010;Duguid et al, 2006;Kutchko et al, 2007Kutchko et al, , 2009Liteanu et al, 2009;Mason et al, Water Resources Research PUBLICATIONS 2013; Scherer et al, 2005;Condor and Asghari, 2009]. Many studies have focused on the reactive transport of CO 2 -rich fluid through cement-cement interface and the associated property evolution of cement fractures [Cao et al, 2013;Huerta et al, 2011;Huerta et al, 2013aHuerta et al, , 2013bLiteanu and Spiers, 2011;Luquot et al, 2013;Ozyurtkan and Radonjic, 2014;Walsh et al, 2012;Wenning et al, 2013;Yalcinkaya et al, 2011]. A recent review by Carey [2013] summarized many of the findings on geochemical reactions of Portland cement with CO 2 -bearing fluids and the wellbore integrity along the cement-steel interface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent review by Carey [2013] summarized many of the findings on geochemical reactions of Portland cement with CO 2 -bearing fluids and the wellbore integrity along the cement-steel interface. Various cement properties, including porosity and pore connectivity [Ozyurtkan and Radonjic, 2014;Yalcinkaya et al, 2011], and effective permeability [Bachu and Bennion, 2009;Cao et al, 2013;Huerta et al, 2013a;Liteanu and Spiers, 2011;Luquot et al, 2013;Walsh et al, 2012] have been examined to understand their impacts on the evolution of cement fractures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐healing of cement fractures under dynamic flow of CO₂‐rich brine

Cao

Karpyn

2015

Water Resources Research

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Fractures and defects in wellbore cement can lead to increased possibilities of CO 2 leakage from abandoned wells during geological carbon sequestration. To investigate the physicochemical response of defective wellbore cement to CO 2 -rich brine, we carried out a reactive flow-through experiment using an artificially fractured cement sample at a length of 224.8 mm. A brine solution with dissolved CO 2 at a pH of approximately 3.9 was injected through the sample at a constant rate of 0.0083 cm 3 /s. Surface optical profilometry analysis and 3-D X-ray microtomography imaging confirmed fracture closure and selfhealing behavior consistent with the measured permeability decrease. Visual inspection of the reacted fracture surface showed the development of reactive patterns mapping the flow velocity field inside the fracture, as well as restricted flow toward the sample outlet. The postexperiment permeability of the core sample was measured at half of its initial permeability. A reactive transport model was developed with parameters derived from the experiment to further examine property evolution of fractured cement under dynamic flow of CO 2 -rich brine. Sensitivity analysis showed that residence time and the size of initial fracture aperture are the key factors controlling the tendency to self-healing or fracture opening behavior and therefore determine the long-term integrity of the wellbore cement. Longer residence time and small apertures promote mineral precipitation, fracture closure, and therefore flow restriction. This work also suggests a narrow threshold separating the fracture opening and self-sealing behavior.

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Section: 1002/2014wr016162supporting

confidence: 82%

Section: 1002/2014wr016162mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐healing of cement fractures under dynamic flow of CO₂‐rich brine

Cao

Karpyn

2015

Water Resources Research

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Experiments and Simulations of Fully Hydro‐Mechanically Coupled Response of Rough Fractures Exposed to High‐Pressure Fluid Injection

et al. 2018

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In this work, we present the application of a fully coupled hydro‐mechanical method to investigate the effect of fracture heterogeneity on fluid flow through fractures at the laboratory scale. Experimental and numerical studies of fracture closure behavior in the presence of heterogeneous mechanical and hydraulic properties are presented. We compare the results of two sets of laboratory experiments on granodiorite specimens against numerical simulations in order to investigate the mechanical fracture closure and the hydro‐mechanical effects, respectively. The model captures fracture closure behavior and predicts a nonlinear increase in fluid injection pressure with loading. Results from this study indicate that the heterogeneous aperture distributions measured for experiment specimens can be used as model input for a local cubic law model in a heterogeneous fracture to capture fracture closure behavior and corresponding fluid pressure response.

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