Due to the corrosive nature of dissolved CO2, the potential short or long term alteration of rock properties, represents a major issue in several sites where natural CO2 circulation is observed, as ...well as in reservoirs targeted for storage of anthropogenic CO2. To date, this has been primarily studied from a transport-chemical perspective, with laboratory evidence of microstructural modifications together with the consequences for flow properties. Compared to the transport-chemical aspects, the mechanical-chemical aspects have been less investigated, though it is to be expected that mechanical properties (e.g. elastic properties, failure parameters, and time-dependent mechanical behaviour) could potentially be affected in a similar manner to hydraulic parameters. Yet, since CO2 is a weak acid, the pH drop is expected to be moderate with a likely lower limit close to 4.0. The buffering of pH by calcite minerals present in most reservoirs targeted for storage may further limit the pH drop, as well as confining it to a localized rock volume around the injection well. This leads to the question of the magnitude and time/spatial scales of chemically-mediated mechanical processes during CO2 sequestration. The authors propose to address this issue by reviewing recent laboratory-based studies restricted to sedimentary rocks, namely: reservoir rocks (carbonate or sandstone), intact or fractured caprocks and fault rocks. Key findings include the following: 1. the short-term impact on the elastic and inelastic behaviour of intact caprocks remains limited; 2. shear strength weakening is likely to be respectively low and low-to-moderate for shale/clay-rich and anhydrite-rich faults, but without modifying slip stability in either case; 3. the largest impact is located within carbonate reservoirs, but with a broad range of reported responses depending on hydrodynamic conditions (closed or open) and on dissolution regime (uniform or channelling); and 4. creep experiments confirm that CO2-induced dissolution may enhance long-term compaction of carbonate reservoirs, but the magnitude of acceleration (varying from non-significant to 50 times) depends to a large extent on site-specific conditions (grain size, pH, temperature, effective stress state, etc.), which renders any direct extrapolation from laboratory to reservoir scale difficult. Finally, some directions for future research studies are discussed.
•A compressible D3Q19 LBM has been developed for 3D aerodynamics in both subsonic and supersonic regimes.•A new D3Q19 equilibrium distribution function is derived to reduce the complexity of ...correcting terms.•A simple shock capturing scheme and upwind biased correction terms are developed for supersonic flows with shocks.•Excellent agreement is shown for supersonic laminar flow over flat plate and vortex shock interaction.
An efficient lattice Boltzmann (LB) model relying on a hybrid recursive regularization (HRR) collision operator on D3Q19 stencil is proposed for the simulation of three-dimensional high-speed compressible flows in both subsonic and supersonic regimes. An improved thermal equilibrium distribution function on D3Q19 lattice is derived to reduce the complexity of correcting terms. A simple shock capturing scheme and an upwind biased discretization of correction terms are implemented for supersonic flows with shocks. Mass and momentum equations are recovered by an efficient streaming, collision and forcing process on D3Q19 lattice. Then a non-conservative formulation of the entropy evolution equation is used, that is solved using a finite volume method. The proposed method is assessed considering the simulation of i) 2D isentropic vortex convection, ii) 3D non-isothermal acoustic pulse, iii) 2D supersonic flow over a bump, iv) 3D shock explosion in a box, v) 2D vortex interaction with shock wave, vi) 2D laminar flows over a flat plate at Ma of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5.
SUMMARY
We examine the strain accumulation and localization process throughout 12 triaxial compression experiments on six rock types deformed in an X-ray transparent apparatus. In each experiment, we ...acquire 50–100 tomograms of rock samples at differential stress steps during loading, revealing the evolving 3-D distribution of X-ray absorption contrasts, indicative of density. Using digital volume correlation (DVC) of pairs of tomograms, we build time-series of 3-D incremental strain tensor fields as the rocks are deformed towards failure. The Pearson correlation coefficients between components of the local incremental strain tensor at each stress step indicate that the correlation strength between pairs of local strain components, including dilation, contraction and shear strain, are moderate-strong in 11 of 12 experiments. In addition, changes in the local strain components from one DVC calculation to the next show differences in the correlations between pairs of strain components. In particular, the correlation of the local changes in dilation and shear strain tends to be stronger than the correlation of changes in dilation-contraction and contraction-shear strain. In 11 of 12 experiments, the most volumetrically frequent mode of strain accommodation includes a synchronized increase in multiple strain components. Early in loading, under lower differential stress, the most frequent strain accumulation mode involves the paired increase in dilation and contraction at neighbouring locations. Under higher differential stress, the most frequent mode is the paired increase in dilation and shear strain. This mode is also the first or second most frequent throughout each complete experiment. Tracking the mean values of the strain components in the sample and the volume of rock that each component occupies reveals fundamental differences in the nature of strain accumulation and localization between the volumetric and shear strain modes. As the dilative strain increases in magnitude throughout loading, it tends to occupy larger volumes within the rock sample and thus delocalizes. In contrast, the increasing shear strain components (left- or right-lateral) do not necessarily occupy larger volumes and so involve localization. Consistent with these evolutions, the correlation length of the dilatational strains tends to increase by the largest amounts of the strain components from lower to higher differential stress. In contrast, the correlation length of the shear strains does not consistently increase or decrease with increasing differential stress.
SUMMARY
Determining the size of the representative elementary volume (REV) for properties of fracture networks, such as porosity and permeability, is critical to robust upscaling of properties ...measured in the laboratory to crustal systems. Although fractured and damaged rock may have higher porosity and permeability than more intact rock, and thus exert a dominant influence on fluid flow, mechanical stability and seismic properties, many of the analyses that have constrained the REV size in geological materials have used intact rock. The REV size is expected to evolve as fracture networks propagate and coalesce, particularly when fracture development becomes correlated and the growth of one fracture influences the growth of another fracture. As fractures propagate and open with increasing differential stress, the REV size may increase to accommodate the larger fractures. The REV size may also increase as a consequence of the increasing heterogeneity of the fracture network, as many smaller fractures coalesce into fewer and longer fractures, and some smaller fractures stop growing. To quantify the evolving heterogeneity of fracture networks, we track the REV size of the porosity throughout eleven triaxial compression experiments under confining stresses of 5–35 MPa. Acquiring X-ray tomography scans after each increase of differential stress provides the evolving 3-D fracture network in four rock types: Carrara marble, Westerly granite, quartz monzonite and Fontainebleau sandstone. In contrast to expectations, the REV size does not systematically increase toward macroscopic failure in all of the experiments. Only one experiment on sandstone experiences a systematic increase in REV size because this rock contains significant porosity preceding loading, and it subsequently develops a localized fracture network that spans the core. The REV size may not systematically increase in most of the experiments because the highly heterogeneous porosity distributions cause the REV to become larger than the core. Consistent with this idea, when the rock does not have a REV, the fractures tend to be longer, thicker, more volumetric, and closer together than when the rock hosts a REV. Our estimates of the REV for the porosity of the sandstone are similar to previous work: about two to four times the mean grain diameter, or 0.5–1 mm. This agreement with previous work and the <15 per cent change in the REV size in two of the sandstone experiments suggests that when a system composed of sandstone does not host a localized, system-spanning fracture network, estimates of the REV derived from intact sandstone may be similar to estimates derived from damaged sandstone. Using the existing REV estimates derived from intact sandstone to simulations with more damaged crust, such as the damage zone adjacent to large crustal faults, will allow numerical models to robustly simulate increasingly complex crustal systems.
The increasing CO2 concentration in the Earth's atmosphere, mainly caused by fossil fuel combustion, has led to concerns about global warming. A technology that could possibly contribute to reducing ...carbon dioxide emissions is the in-situ mineral sequestration (long term geological storage) or the ex-situ mineral sequestration (controlled industrial reactors) of CO2. In the present study, we propose to use coal combustion fly-ash, an industrial waste that contains about 4.1 wt.% of lime (CaO), to sequester carbon dioxide by aqueous carbonation. The carbonation reaction was carried out in two successive chemical reactions, first, the irreversible hydration of lime.
Postseismic recovery within fault damage zones involves slow healing of coseismic fractures leading to permeability reduction and strength increase with time. To better understand this process, ...experiments were performed by long‐term fluid percolation with calcite precipitation through predamaged quartz‐monzonite samples subjected to upper crustal conditions of stress and temperature. This resulted in a P wave velocity recovery of 50% of its initial drop after 64 days. In contrast, the permeability remained more or less constant for the duration of the experiment. Microstructures, fluid chemistry, and X‐ray microtomography demonstrate that incipient calcite sealing and asperity dissolution are responsible for the P wave velocity recovery. The permeability is unaffected because calcite precipitates outside of the main flow channels. The highly nonparallel evolution of strength recovery and permeability suggests that fluid conduits within fault damage zones can remain open fluid conduits after an earthquake for much longer durations than suggested by the seismic monitoring of fault healing.
Key Points
Calcite sealing assisted recovery experiments detail the evolution of seismic velocities and permeability with time
The P wave velocity recovers but permeability remains more or less similar due to the location of calcite precipitation
Results imply that fault zones remain fluid conduits for longer than seismic observations suggest
Rock deformation experiments performed at X-ray synchrotrons provide unique insights into the nature of fracture network development. However, these insights depend on the limitations of the X-ray ...tomography data. Here, we examine how spatial resolution and noise influence the calculated fracture network properties. To assess the influence of spatial resolution, we acquire two overlapping X-ray tomograms with spatial resolution that differ by an order of magnitude. To assess the influence of noise, we produce sets of synthetic tomograms with varying degrees of noise, including point-source noise and blurring noise. In the absence of noise, the differing spatial resolutions produce calculated porosities that differ by 0.05%, or 30% of the porosity measured in the high-resolution data. The fracture property that changes the most in the datasets of varying resolution is the fracture surface area, rather than the volume, length, or aperture. The two types of noise influence the porosity and fracture characteristics in opposite ways. In the synthetic tomograms in which higher values indicate fractures, added point noise increases the porosity while blurring noise decreases the porosity. In volumes with a mapping of gray values in which fractures have lower values, this trend would be reversed. This study is the first to quantify differences in fracture network properties extracted from X-ray tomograms due to spatial resolution and noise.
•We assess the influence of spatial resolution and noise on fracture properties.•Porosity differs by 0.05% between the tomograms of two spatial resolutions.•Varying the spatial resolution produces the largest changes in the surface area.•The calculated fracture volume, lengths and apertures change the least.•Point noise increases the porosity; blurring decreases the porosity.
Forecasting the timing of catastrophic failure, such as crustal earthquakes, has been a central concern for centuries. Such forecasting requires identifying signals that evolve or accelerate in the ...precursory phase leading to failure, and the subset of signals that may be detected in the crust. We develop machine learning models to predict the proximity of catastrophic failure in synchrotron X‐ray tomography triaxial compression experiments on rocks using characteristics of evolving fracture networks. We then examine the characteristics that most strongly influence the model results, and thus may be considered the best predictors of the proximity of macroscopic failure. The resulting suite of predictive parameters underscores the importance of dilation in the precursory phase leading to catastrophic failure. The results indicate that the evolution of the strain energy density field may provide more robust predictions of the proximity of failure than other existing metrics of rock deformation.
Plain Language Summary
What controls the timing of large earthquakes? Estimating the conditions conducive to the next large earthquake can help mitigate seismic hazard and save significant societal and economic costs. A prerequisite for such estimates includes determining what measurable and detectable signals change in a systematic manner in rocks approaching catastrophic failure. Machine learning analyses of data acquired by synchrotron X‐ray experiments on rocks provide robust means of identifying the evolving fault network characteristics that best predict the proximity of catastrophic failure of the rocks. Translating these fracture network characteristics to geophysical signals may help scientists detect such precursors within crustal fault systems preceding large earthquakes.
Key Points
X‐ray tomography during triaxial compression reveal evolving fracture network characteristics leading to catastrophic failure in rocks
Machine learning methods identify fracture characteristics that best signal the proximity of catastrophic failure
The strain energy density field (off‐fault deformation) may provide the most accurate predictions of failure proximity of existing criteria
► High gas–solid carbonation of Ca(OH)2 and CaO under non-isothermal conditions. ► Gas–solid carbonation of Ca(OH)2 requires low activation energy (Ea≈6kJ/mol). ► More complex thermokinetic behavior ...for CaO carbonation. ► Isothermal gas–solid carbonation of Ca(OH)2 was poorly complete (<0.56).
The gas–solid carbonation of alkaline sorbents has been actively investigated as an alternative method to CO2 capture from industrial combustion sources and CO2 contained in the air. This study has a two-fold objective: firstly, quantify the gas–solid carbonation extent and the carbonation kinetics of Ca(OH)2 and CaO; and secondly, propose a reaction mechanism of gas–solid carbonation for CaO under dry conditions (relative humidity close to 0), i.e., when the action of water is negligible. The main results of our study have revealed that a high proportion of Ca(OH)2 nanoparticles were transformed into CaCO3 particles by gas–solid carbonation (carbonation extent, ξ>0.94) under non-isothermal conditions. Moreover, this gas–solid reaction requires low activation energy (Ea≈6kJ/mol) at a constant heating rate of 5 or 10K/min. A similar carbonation extent was determined for gas–solid carbonation of in situ synthesized CaO under non-isothermal conditions. However, the gas–solid carbonation of CaO takes place in a broader temperature range, implying a more complex thermokinetic behavior (overlapping of carbonation regimes or steps). Concerning the gas–solid carbonation of Ca(OH)2 and CaO under isothermal conditions, a high carbonation extent (>0.9) was determined for CaO at 600 (873K) and 800°C (1073K). Conversely, the gas–solid carbonation of Ca(OH)2 particles was relatively low (<0.56) at 400°C (673K) after 6h of reaction. This case is in agreement with the formation of a dense non-porous layer of carbonate mineral around the core of the reacting Ca(OH)2 particles, thereby limiting the transfer of CO2.
Finally, an alternative reaction mechanism is proposed for the gas–solid carbonation of CaO, when the relative humidity is close to 0. This macroscopic control at high temperature avoids CO2 dissociation with molecular water at the CaO–CO2 interface. For these specific conditions, the mineralization of adsorbed CO2 on CaO particles implies a solid state transformation, i.e., CaCO3 formation from CaO–CO2 interactions. This could be explained by an atomic excitation than at high temperature allows the local migration of one oxygen atom from the solid toward the adsorbed CO2 leading to its mineralization into carbonate (porous or non-porous layer) around the reacting particles; chemically the mineralization of CO2 also implies the breaking of one covalent bond in the CO2 molecule.
The geometric properties of fractures influence whether they propagate, arrest, or coalesce with other fractures. Thus, quantifying the relationship between fracture network characteristics may help ...predict fracture network development, and perhaps precursors to catastrophic failure. To constrain the relationship and predictability of fracture characteristics, we deform eight one centimeter tall rock cores under triaxial compression while acquiring in situ X-ray tomograms. The tomograms reveal precise measurements of the fracture network characteristics above the spatial resolution of 6.5 µm. We develop machine learning models to predict the value of each characteristic using the other characteristics, and excluding the macroscopic stress or strain imposed on the rock. The models predict fracture development more accurately in the experiments performed on granite and monzonite, than the experiments on marble. Fracture network development may be more predictable in these igneous rocks because their microstructure is more mechanically homogeneous than the marble, producing more systematic fracture development that is not strongly impeded by grain contacts and cleavage planes. The varying performance of the models suggest that fracture volume, length, and aperture are the most predictable of the characteristics, while fracture orientation is the least predictable. Orientation does not correlate with length, as suggested by the idea that the orientation evolves with increasing differential stress and thus fracture length. This difference between the observed and expected relationship between orientation and length highlights the influence of mechanical heterogeneities and local stress perturbations on fracture growth as fractures propagate, link, and coalesce.
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