The objective of the autonomous micro-explosive subsurface tracing system is to image the location and geometry of hydraulically induced fractures in subsurface petroleum reservoirs. This system is based on the insertion of a swarm of autonomous micro-explosive packages during the fracturing process, with subsequent triggering of the energetic material to create an array of micro-seismic sources that can be detected and analyzed using existing seismic receiver arrays and analysis software. The project included investigations of energetic mixtures, triggering systems, package size and shape, and seismic output. Given the current absence of any technology capable of such high resolution mapping of subsurface structures, this technology has the potential for major impact on petroleum industry, which spends approximately $1 billion dollar per year on hydraulic fracturing operations in the United States alone.
The recent development of downhole tiltmeter arrays for monitoring hydraulic fractures has provided new information on fracture growth and geometry. These downhole arrays offer the significant advantages of being close to the fracture (large signal) and being unaffected by the free surface. As with surface tiltmeter data, analysis of these measurements requires the inversion of a crack or dislocation model. To supplement the dislocation models of Davis [1983], Okada [1992], and others, this work has extended several elastic crack solutions to provide tilt calculations. The solutions include constant-pressure two-dimensional (2-D), penny-shaped, and 3-D-elliptic cracks and a 2-D-variable-pressure crack. Equations are developed for an arbitrary inclined fracture in an infinite elastic space. Effects of fracture height, fracture length, fracture dip, fracture azimuth, fracture width, and monitoring distance on the tilt distribution are given, as well as comparisons with the dislocation model. The results show that the tilt measurements are very sensitive to the fracture dimensions but also that it is difficult to separate the competing effects of the various parameters. Copyright 2000 by the American Geophysical Union.