Method for analysis of failure of material employing imaging
AssigneeShell Oil Company
InventorsHarold J. Vinegar, Scott L. Wellington, Jannetje A. de Waal
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Abstract
Methods are provided for determining mechanical and petrophysical properties (density, porosity, bulk compressibility, Young's modulus, Poisson's Ratio) of a material undergoing mechanical deformation studies with an imaging (CT, NMR) apparatus. The methods may also be used to measure and depict any fractures in the material.
Claims12
A method for determining at least one preselected property of a sample of material employing an imaging apparatus comprising:
- imaging said sample during the application of known preselected forces to said sample, and
- determining density in said sample responsive to said preselected forces.
A method for measuring at least one mechanical property of a sample, comprising:
- generating known preselected hydrostatic forces on said sample,
- imaging said sample during said generating of hydrostatic forces on said sample, and
- determining said property from average density and change in density between two different known hydrostatic forces and the average of said two known hydrostatic forces.
A method for determining the onset of dilatant behavior for a sample in at least one region, comprising:
- generating known uniaxial forces on said sample,
- imaging said sample in said at least one region during said generating of uniaxial forces on said sample, and
- determining the axial stress at which normalized density change versus axial stress first departs from linearity.
A method of measuring the size, shape, and location of a fracture inside a sample induced by applied forces, comprising:
- generating forces sufficient to fracture said sample,
- imaging said sample before, during and after said generating of said forces, and
- constructing images of density inside said sample as a function of said forces.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.