Experimental Observations of Permeability Enhancements by Dynamic Stresses
Abstract
Shaking produced by seismic faulting often triggers distant and nearby earthquakes. Seismic waves are also known to increase stream flow and spring discharge and enhance oil production; in some cases tripling the effective permeability of the natural system. These observations have been attributed to shaking-induced increases in permeability. However, the underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Here we present experimental evidence of permeability enhancement in fractured rock samples subject to dynamic stresses. We use Berea sandstone samples under triaxial stresses with confining pressure of 9 MPa and 20 MPa of normal stress. We flow deionized water through a fracture produced in-situ and find that oscillations in pore pressure, of 20 second period and 120 second duration, induce transient increases in permeability. Permeability increases scale with the amplitude of pore pressure oscillations. The maximum value of the permeability enhancement is 5x10-16 m2 over a background permeability of 1x10-15 m2. After the oscillations, permeability recovers as the inverse square root of time. The recovery indicates a reversible mechanism, such as clogging/unclogging of fractures, as opposed to an irreversible one, like micro-fracturing. Our result has clear consequences for earthquake triggering mediated by permeability enhancement. Moreover, our data point at the feasibility of dynamically controlling permeability of fractured systems with applications to hydrology and oil reservoir engineering.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008AGUFM.T13A1918E
- Keywords:
-
- 7209 Earthquake dynamics (1242);
- 7223 Earthquake interaction;
- forecasting;
- and prediction (1217;
- 1242);
- 8118 Dynamics and mechanics of faulting (8004)