Thermoporoelastic Analyses of Inclined Boreholes

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents an analytical solution for the combined temperature, pore pressure and stress distribution around a circular, infinitely long borehole drilled in a poroelastic media of infinite extent. The borehole is assumed to be subjected to a constant pressure and temperature difference applied by the drilling fluid, and the borehole axis is arbitrarily oriented with respect to the in-situ principal stresses. Utilizing a loading decomposition scheme, the problem is solved by the superposition of three fundamental problems: a thermoporoelastic plane-strain problem; an elastic uniaxial stress problem; and an elastic anti-plane shear problem. The potential impacts of non-isothermal drilling processes on inclined borehole stability are illustrated through an application example. P. 443