Propagation of Cavities in Unconsolidated Sand
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Underground fluids are produced by penetrating a permeable, porous medium with a well in order to create a pressure sink. The stress alteration accompanying the initial penetration may cause some rocks to "Slough" into the wellbore (Bradley, 1979). The state of stress is further altered when fluids begin to flow into or from the wellbore. The effects of the stress variation accompanying fluid flow often determine the stability of the cavity. High-pressure fluid injection may induce tensile failure of the formation rock, as in hydraulic fracturing. Fluid inflow causes some unconsolidated sands to fail in shear and collapse (often through casing perforations) into the well-bore -- this i s one o f the origins of sand production problems.This summary report examines inflow failures in unconsolidated sands. The sand remains i n place only so long as it is able to form stable arches over any openings, such as perforations. These failures are generally considered undesirable due to problems associated with sand production and flow control of the completed interval .However, it would be useful to be able to propagate cavities into formations solely by means of successive flow-induced failures. For instance, horizontal cavities extending from injection wells could greatly improve the sweep efficiency of an enhanced oil recovery project. Such a cavity would increase the injectivity/production index, perhaps by several decades of magnitude.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | December 1982 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | White, Christopher D. |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Horne, Roland N. |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Petroleum Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- White, Christopher D. (1982). Propagation of Cavities in Unconsolidated Sand. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/vk709fh9739
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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