Publications

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Helium and argon are represented by known amounts in air. Helium is 5.2 ppm by volume in the atmosphere and primarily the result of the natural radioactive decay of heavy radioactive elements. Argon is the third most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere, 9340 ppm; radiogenic argon-40, is derived from the decay of potassium-40 in the Earth's crust. The isotopic signature of noble gases found in rocks is vastly different than that of the atmosphere which is contributed by a variety of sources. Geogenic noble gases are contained in most crustal rock at inter and intra granular sites, their release during natural and man-made stress and strain changes represents a signal of deformation. When rock is subjected to stress conditions exceeding about half its yield strength, micro-cracks begin to form. As rock deformation progresses a fracture network evolves, releasing trapped noble gases and changing the transport properties to gas migration. Thus, changes in gas emanation and noble gas composition from rocks could be used to infer changes in stress-state and deformation. An experimental system we developed combines triaxial rock deformation and mass spectrometry to measure noble gas flow real-time during deformation. Geogenic noble gases are released during triaxial deformation and that release is related to volume strain and acoustic emissions. The noble gas release then represents a signal of deformation during its stages of development. Gases released depend on initial gas content, pore structure and its evolution, and amount of deformation imposed. Noble gas release is stress/strain history dependent and pressure and strain rate dependent. Sensing of gases released related to both earthquakes and volcanic activity has resulted in anomalies detected for these natural processes. We propose using this deformation signal as a tool to detect subterranean deformation (fracture).

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We characterize geomechanical constitutive behavior of reservoir sandstones at conditions simulating the “Cranfield” Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership injection program. From two cores of Lower Tuscaloosa Formation, three sandstone lithofacies were identified for mechanical testing based on permeability and lithology. These include: chlorite-cemented conglomeratic sandstone (Facies A); quartz-cemented fine sandstone (Facies B); and quartz- and calcite-cemented very fine sandstone (Facies C). We performed a suite of compression tests for each lithofacies at 100 °C and pore pressure of 30 MPa, including hydrostatic compression and triaxial tests at several confining pressures. Plugs were saturated with supercritical CO2-saturated brine. Chemical environment affected the mechanical response of all three lithofacies, which experience initial plastic yielding at stresses far below estimated in situ stress. Measured elastic moduli degradation defines a secondary yield surface coinciding with in situ stress for Facies B and C. Facies A shows measurable volumetric creep strain and a failure envelope below estimates of in situ stress, linked to damage of chlorite cements by acidic pore solutions. The substantial weakening of a particular lithofacies by CO2 demonstrates a possible chemical-mechanical coupling during injection at Cranfield with implications for CO2 injection, reservoir permeability stimulation, and enhanced oil recovery.

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Presented herein are laboratory gas migration experiments conducted on samples of tuff with varying lithologies mounted within a triaxial core holder. A pressurized gas mixture standard comprised of known concentrations of argon (Ar), xenon (Xe), nitrogen (N2) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6used as a tracer) was used based on previous field gas migration studies. The gas mix is applied at known pressure to the upstream side of the samples to induce flow through the pore spaces and/or across fracture surfaces and the gases are detected in real-time on the downstream side using a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). Downstream detection under vacuum is possible by precise metering of the gas mixture through a leak valve with active feedback control. Arrival times and time-variant concentrations of the applied gases downstream are collected for comparison between samples. We intend to determine transport properties of noble gases and SF6, and hypothesize that transport properties vary due to solubility and water content. The parameters derived from this work will provide valuable insight into the three-dimensional structure of damage zones, including fracture networks, the production of temporally variable signatures, and the methods to best detect underground nuclear explosion signatures.

The present study results are focused on laboratory testing of surrogate materials representing Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) waste. The surrogate wastes correspond to a conservative estimate of the containers and transuranic waste materials emplaced at the WIPP. Testing consists of hydrostatic, triaxial, and uniaxial tests performed on surrogate waste recipes based on those previously developed by Hansen et al. (1997). These recipes represent actual waste by weight percent of each constituent and total density. Testing was performed on full-scale and 1/4-scale containers. Axial, lateral, and volumetric strain and axial and lateral stress measurements were made. Unique testing techniques were developed during the course of the experimental program. The first involves the use of a spirometer or precision flow meter to measure sample volumetric strain under the various stress conditions. Since the manner in which the waste containers deformed when compressed was not even, the volumetric and axial strains were used to determine the lateral strains. The second technique involved the development of unique coating procedures that also acted as jackets during hydrostatic, triaxial, and full-scale uniaxial testing; 1/4-scale uniaxial tests were not coated but wrapped with clay to maintain an airtight seal for volumetric strain measurement. During all testing methods, the coatings allowed the use of either a spirometer or precision flow meter to estimate the amount of air driven from the container as it crushed down since the jacket adhered to the container and yet was flexible enough to remain airtight during deformation.

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This report details experimental testing and constitutive modeling of sandy soil deformation under quasi - static conditions. This is driven by the need to understand constitutive response of soil to target/component behavior upon impact . An experimental and constitutive modeling program was followed to determine elastic - plastic properties and a compressional failure envelope of dry soil . One hydrostatic, one unconfined compressive stress (UCS), nine axisymmetric compression (ACS) , and one uniaxial strain (US) test were conducted at room temperature . Elastic moduli, assuming isotropy, are determined from unload/reload loops and final unloading for all tests pre - failure and increase monotonically with mean stress. Very little modulus degradation was discernable from elastic results even when exposed to mean stresses above 200 MPa . The failure envelope and initial yield surface were determined from peak stresses and observed onset of plastic yielding from all test results. Soil elasto - plastic behavior is described using the Brannon et al. (2009) Kayenta constitutive model. As a validation exercise, the ACS - parameterized Kayenta model is used to predict response of the soil material under uniaxial strain loading. The resulting parameterized and validated Kayenta model is of high quality and suitable for modeling sandy soil deformation under a range of conditions, including that for impact prediction.

Seven water-saturated triaxial extension experiments were conducted on four sedimentary rocks. This experimental condition was hypothesized more representative of that existing for downhole hydrofracture and thus it may improve our understanding of the phenomena. In all tests the pore pressure was 10 MPa and confirming pressure was adjusted to achieve tensile and transitional failure mode conditions. Using previous work in this LDRD for comparison, the law of effective stress is demonstrated in extension using this sample geometry. In three of the four lithologies, no apparent chemo-mechanical effect of water is apparent, and in the fourth lithology test results indicate some chemo-mechanical effect of water.

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A laboratory testing program was developed to examine the short-term mechanical and time-dependent (creep) behavior of salt from the Bayou Choctaw Salt Dome. Core was tested under creep and quasi-static constant mean stress axisymmetric compression, and constant mean stress axisymmetric extension conditions. Creep tests were performed at 38 degrees Celsius, and the axisymmetric tests were performed at ambient temperatures (22-26 degrees Celsius). The testing performed indicates that the dilation criterion is pressure and stress state dependent. It was found that as the mean stress increases, the shear stress required to cause dilation increases. The results for this salt are reasonably consistent with those observed for other domal salts. Also it was observed that tests performed under extensile conditions required consistently lower shear stress to cause dilation for the same mean stress, which is consistent with other domal salts. Young's modulus ranged from 27.2 to 58.7 GPa with an average of 44.4 GPa, with Poisson's ratio ranging from 0.10 to 0.43 with an average of 0.30. Creep testing indicates that the BC salt is intermediate in creep resistance when compared with other bedded and domal salt steady-state behavior.

Crushed salt is being considered as a backfill material in the event of a salt repository for high level nuclear waste. The thermal-mechanical-hydrological properties of crushed salt as it reconsolidates in response to pressure and temperature changes are therefore important. An experimental system to measure gas flow through consolidating crushed salt at elevated temperature and pressure has been developed and tested. An experiment completed at 250°C, and hydrostatic pressures to 20 MPa, compacted a crushed salt sample from ∼40 percent porosity to near zero porosity. For this consolidation history, apparent permeability decreased from greater than 10-12 m2 to ∼10-22 m2.