Experimental Investigation to Test Rough Fracture Morphology of Longmaxi Formation Using Wood Alloy Casting Method (WACM) and 3D Laser Scan

Abstract

Abstract The production of shale hydrocarbon has recently increased significantly, and it is predicted that the production of shale will account for 50% of total dry gas production in the USA by 2040. China has also been embarking on an ambitious shale gas development program. China Petroleum and chemical corporation, SINOPEC as one of the leading production companies, stated that by November 24, 2012, their first ever marine shale well was producing 2.0×10^5 m^3 gas/day and has been maintaining a steady production. The Longmaxi shale is an extensive and prolific unconventional reservoir play in the southwest of China. Reports showed that unpropped fracture would cause a large part of the fracture network to be disconnected from the wellbore, thereby reducing the available fracture area for production. So unpropped rough fracture are important as they get their fracture conductivities from its unmatched rough surfaces. Hence the reason why we focus on investigating Longmaxi rough fracture formation using wood alloy casting method and 3D laser scan to determine the reliability if the former. Wood alloy is made of 50% bismuth (Bi), 25% lead (Pb), 12.5% tin (Sn) and 12.5% cadmium (Cd). Wood alloy has Low melting point, High density, Low viscosity in molten state and No shrinkage during cooling. So, it was chosen as the material for casting Result showed a very good matching effect of characteristic parameters that can reach 90%. This shows that the established rough dislocation fracture deformation model using wood alloy method under the action of stress has good calculation reliability.