System and method for stress and stability related measurements in boreholes

A method to determine the preferred fracture orientation for optimized hydraulic fracture treatments in a wellbore, comprising:

• providing a stress profile system having a contact stress sensor;
• locating said contact stress sensor;
• measuring contact stress between a casing and a contact surface disposed about the casing;
• perforating the casing in a pre-selected geological test zone;
• performing a hydraulic fracture treatment within the test zone to induce changes in the contact stress;
• measuring changes induced in the contact stress between the casing and the contact surface;
• determining formation stress around the wellbore;
• and
• determining a preferred hydraulic fracture orientation.

A method to assess the degree of shrinkage of a sealant between a casing and a formation, comprising:

• providing a stress profile analyzer having a contact stress sensor array and a data processor;
• installing said contact stress sensor array on a wellbore casing;
• measuring a contact stress between the casing, sealant and formation while the sealant is curing;
• and
• calculating a shrinkage value based on the change in contact stress over time using a basing analytical elasticity algorithm.

A method to assess the quality of a bond between a casing and a sealant, comprising:

• providing a stress profile system having a contact stress sensor and a data processor;
• installing said contact stress sensor about a wellbore casing;
• applying pressure to an inside diameter of the casing;
• measuring an induced contact stress between the casing and sealant;
• determining when a contact occurs between the casing and the sealant utilizing the induced contact stress measurements;
• and
• calculating a casing deflection to establish contact between the casing and sealant.