Publications

Investigation of wellbore microannulus permeability under stress via experimental wellbore mock-up and finite element modeling

Gomez, Steven P.; Sobolik, Steven R.; Matteo, Edward N.; Reda Taha, Mahmoud; Stormont, John C.

This research aims to describe the microannulus region of the cement sheath-steel casing interface in terms of its compressibility and permeability. A wellbore system mock-up was used for lab-scale testing, and was subjected to confining and casing pressures in a pressure vessel while measuring gas flow along the specimen's axis. The flow was interpreted as the hydraulic aperture of the microannuli. Numerical joint models were used to calculate stress and displacement conditions of the microannulus region, where the mechanical stiffness and hydraulic aperture were altered in response to the imposed stress state and displacement across the joint interface.