IntroGeomechanics JRM

AN INTRODUCTION TO
NEAR-WELLBORE ROCK MECHANICS

by
J. ROBERT MARSDEN
1 LIST OF CONTENTS
1 LIST OF CONTENTS
2 INTRODUCTION
3 TERMINOLOGY AND BASIC CONCEPTS
4 STRESSES IN UNDISTURBED GROUND
5 POROUS ROCKS AND PORE PRESSURE
6 EFFECTIVE STRESSES AND ROCK FAILURE
7 STRESSES AROUND WELLBORES AND WELLBORE INSTABILITIES
8 SOLIDS PRODUCTION
9 PREVENTATIVE MEASURES AND SOLIDS EXCLUSION
J.Robert Marsden - March 1997
An Introduction to Near-Wellbore Rock Mechanics - by J.Robert Marsden (Revision 25.1.99.)
- 1 -
2 INTRODUCTION
Rock mechanics is concerned with the application of Newtonian mechanics (i.e. statics and
dynamics) to the study of rocks in the ground. In particular, it is concerned with how the rocks
behave in response to disturbances and alteration brought about by excavation, changes in
stress, fluid flow, temperature changes, erosion, burial and other phenomena.
Structural Geologists use rock mechanics to study how natural processes occurring over
geological time periods might result in mountain building, folding, deformation, faulting and
earthquake phenomena. Engineers use the subject to study how rocks respond to disturbances
brought about by human activity, and to conduct detailed designs for engineering projects.
Engineering applications include foundations for surface structures, underground excavations,
mining, quarrying, tunnelling, drilling, surface excavations and cuttings, slope stability,
extraction of water, extraction of hydrocarbons, and exploitation of geothermal energy.
However, whilst the processes and conditions involved in different geological and engineering
applications might vary widely, the behaviour of the rocks are constrained by and must obey
the same laws of mechanics and physics.
The following notes aim to provide a basic text on some aspects of rock mechanics essential to
the understanding of rock behaviour in the near-wellbore region, particularly with respect to un-
lined open-holes. Whilst many of the explanations and descriptions are greatly simplified, they
should provide a conceptual understanding of the basic mechanisms and processes involved.
3 TERMINOLOGY AND BASIC CONCEPTS
If a force is distributed over a surface, the 'density' of the force with respect to the area on
which it acts is known as the stress.
If stresses act on a body which has some rigidity (i.e. a solid),
then stresses in different directions may be of different
magnitudes. Also, stresses may be compressive (which are taken
as being positive) or tensile (negative). However, the stresses in
different directions act independently and can not be added to
obtain a resultant (as one might do with vectors). Also, a stress
comprises two components which act equally and opposite to one
another.
If, however, the material has no rigidity (i.e. a liquid or a gas), the
stresses in all directions are the same. This particular state of stress is called pressure, with
negative pressure being a vacuum. If a fluid is compressed it reacts by exerting an equal and
opposite pressure outwards.
Because stresses and pressures within the same material can increase with depth, it is
convenient to normalise their magnitudes with respect to depth in order that we obtain
pressure gradient or stress gradient.
So far, the stresses being considered are termed normaI stresses, in
that they act perpendicular (i.e. normal) to the face or plane being
considered. There is another type of stress, known as shear stress and
also having units of psi or MPa, which in a rigid material will act parallel to
the plane or face being considered.
Both normal stresses and shear stresses are of vital importance in rock
mechanics, since the application of a normal stress across a plane (or a system of normal
Stress y
Stress y
Rigid
body
S
t
r
e
s
s

S
t
r
e
s
s

Plane
Norm al
stress
Shear
stress
- 2 -
stresses across a series of planes) results in the generation of different shear stresses in other
planes.
For instance, consider a 2-dimensional body subjected to a
normal stress
1
in one axis and a normal stress
3
in the
other axis, with these two applied stresses acting at right
angles to one another.
Although
1
and
3
are the only stresses applied to the
outside body, other stresses will be induced throughout the
body. If we consider an imaginary plane 'a' inclined at an
angle with respect to the body, this plane will be subjected
to an induced normal stress
a
(which acts to push the
surfaces of the plane together) and an induced shear stress
a
(which tends to cause the surfaces of the plane to slide
relative to one another).
The relation between the applied normal stresses and the
induced normal and shear stresses can most easily be
illustrated for this 2-dimensional situation using something
called a Mohr's circIe, in which normal stresses appear on
the horizontal axis and shear stresses correspond to the
vertical axis. As shown, an angle of in 'real-life' appears as
an angle 2 on a Mohr's circle, and planes at different angles (measured with respect to the
plane on which
1
acts) will be subjected to different normal stresses
n
(in the range
3
to
1
)
and different shear stresses (in the range 0 to
1-3
/
2
, with the maximum acting at 45 to
1
to
3
).
In this case, since
1
is the only stress acting on its plane and since
3
is the only stress acting
on its plane (i.e. there are no shear stresses acting on these planes), these stresses are known
as principaI stresses. Also, since
1
has the greatest magnitude of any of the normal stresses
action on the body it is known as the major or maximum principaI stress. Similarly,
3
has
the least value so is termed the minimum or minor principaI stress. For a 3-dimensional
situation, there will be a third principal stress known as the intermediate principaI stress
2
.
In all cases, whether we are considering 2- or 3-dimensions, the principal stresses always act
perpendicular to one another, and there are no shear stresses associated with the planes on
which the principal stresses act.
As will be explained later, it is the induced shear stresses which are the primary cause of rocks
breaking and failing when compressed by sufficiently different amounts in different directions.
When a body is subjected to any stress it will deform and undergo deformation. However,
rather than considering this deformation as an absolute quantity (i.e. measured in inches or
mm), it is often more appropriate to quantify the deformation in terms of the original dimensions
of the body. For instance, although a block of rock might be compressed by 2, the relative
effect would clearly be different if the block was originally a 10 cube as against a 100 cube.
Therefore, deformation is often normalised with respect to some unit length or original
dimension of the body, and this normalised quantity is termed strain. As an example, a 1000
column which is compressed axially and undergoes 2 of deformation is said to have
undergone
2
/
1000
of a unit of strain, or 2 miIIistrains (or 0.2% strain)
Of course, since strain is quantified relative to original dimensions, a 100 column undergoing
1000 millistrains in compression would end up having zero-height !!!, whereas the same
column undergoing the same amount of strain in tension would end up twice as high (i.e. 200).
If rocks undergo deformation and strain which are recoverable (i.e. if the rock would return to
its original dimensions were these stresses to be removed), this is known as eIastic
Shear
stress
Norm al
stress
1
3

a
a
M ohrs circle
2
1

1
Plane a
a
- 3 -
deformation or elastic strain. Linear-eIastic behaviour simply means that there is a linear
relation between an applied stress and the elastic strain which results from the application of
this stress. If, however, the deformations or strains are permanent (the rocks having undergone
some cataclasis or breakage as they are deformed) they are termed pIastic deformations or
plastic strains.
The stiffness of the rock is its ability to resist being deformed and strained due to the
application of stress. The compressibiIity of a rock is the inverse of its stiffness. If the
deformation being considered is elastic, then the stiffness of a rock with respect to a particular
stress is termed its moduIus (i.e. the magnitude of stress needed to cause unit elastic strain).
For instance, Young's moduIus is the ratio of
normal stress
/
strain in the same axis
.
When rocks and other materials are compressed in one direction they
respond by expanding outwards in the other perpendicular directions.
To illustrate this one can squeeze a soft rubber eraser between ones
fingers and see it bulge outwards in the other directions. This effect is
known as the Poisson effect, and Poisson's ratio is the ratio of
lateral
strain
/
axial strain
. In terms of elements of rock in the ground, the Poisson
effect plays an important role in generating stresses and providing
support to other adjacent elements of rock.
For example, if we consider one element of rock within a larger
mass, and if the whole rock mass is subjected to a given stress
in one direction, we can see intuitively that the element must be
prevented from expanding laterally since its neighbouring
elements are attempting to do the same but in opposite
directions. This means that, unless a particular element of rock
is bounded by a free-face which is able to move (i.e. the surface of a tunnel or a borehole),
lateral stresses and hence lateral support must be generated within the rock due to the Poisson
effect.
Other terminology and abbreviations encountered can include:
Anisotropy If a property or quantity varies with direction it is said to be anisotropic. In
the case of rock, such a property can include strength, deformability or
stiffness, whereby a rock might exhibit different behaviour if loaded in
different directions. As will be seen later, quantities such as in situ stresses
can also be anisotropic, in that their magnitudes vary in different directions. In
contrast, if a property or quantity is the same in all directions it is isotropic.
Heterogeneity Whereas anisotropy refers to a directional variation, heterogeneity or
inhomogeneity both refer to the composition of the material or the quantity
varying from point to point (i.e. a spatial variation). If the material has the
same composition throughout, it is said to be homogeneous.
However, heterogeneity needs to be considered in the context of scale. For
instance, if a piece of rock a few inches across was observed to be made up
of grains or crystals approximately or long, and if these grains or
crystals were seen to be composed of different minerals, one could consider
the rock at that scale to be heterogeneous. However, if a greater volume of
the same rock were to be considered (i.e. perhaps tens or hundreds of feet
across), and if it was found to be much the same throughout, the rock at this
larger scale could be considered as being homogeneous.
Consolidated In the context we will be encountering, consoIidated means that the
constituent grains of the rock are cemented together. Consolidation in a soil
- 4 -
mechanics context means the squeezing out of pore fluids until the material
reaches and equilibrium condition with the applied stresses/
4 STRESSES IN UNDISTURBED GROUND
Rocks buried deep in the ground are subjected to high stresses. These usually differ in
different directions since they originate from many different sources. For instance:
The verticaI stress at a particular depth will be due, essentially, to the weight of overlying
formations. Hence, this is also known as the overburden stress.

The effect of this overburden stress will tend to spread or expand the underlying rocks in the
horizontal lateral directions (i.e. due to the Poisson effect). However, as outlined earlier, this
tendency for lateral movement will be restrained by the presence of adjacent material, and
therefore horizontal lateral stresses which confine the rock will result.

Regional tectonic stresses, such as might cause earthquakes or mountain-building,
contribute further to these horizontal stresses.

Temperature increases or reductions lead to thermal expansion or contraction, the effects of
which also contribute to the stresses in the ground.

The result is that, in the undisturbed state before any
engineering activity, the state of stress in the rock
(termed the far-fieId stresses, the stresses,
or the virgin stresses) will generally be compressive
and can be simplified and approximated to:

a verticaI or overburden stress
V
,

a maximum horizontaI stress
H
,

a minimum horizontaI stress
h
.

For instance, in North Western Europe, the regional
state of stress is influenced by the movement of North Africa
towards the N-W, which in turn results in a high horizontal
stress in this general direction and in the upwards growth of
the Alps. Therefore, in the North Sea at typical reservoir
depths, the regional state of stress approximates to the
following three components:

the vertical or overburden stress
V
, which has the
greatest magnitude and is therefore known as the
maximum stress,
the maximum horizontal stress
H
, which has a lower
magnitude and is termed the intermediate stress,
and which is aligned in the general direction NW-SE
the minimum horizontal stress
h
, which has the lowest
magnitude and is thus known as the minimum
stress, and which is aligned at right-angles to
H
.

Of course, local stresses may be modified by the presence of faults, or by the intrusion of salt
domes into shallower formations. Also, in some formations, tendency for the rock to creep or
Im aginary cube
of rock at depth
Vertical or
overburden stress
V
M axim um horizontal
stress
H
M inim um
horizontal stress
h
h
- 5 -
flow over geological time periods (i.e. salt, or soft mudrocks) can result in the horizontal
stresses equilibrating towards the magnitude of the overburden stress, such that all the
stresses become equal and are isotropic (i.e. pressure).

Also, as will be explained later, any reduction of fluid pressure throughout a reservoir can lead
to changes in the magnitudes of the horizontal in situ stresses acting through the reservoir
rock.

Again, and most importantly, it should be remembered that stresses acting in different
directions act independently (i.e. they are tensor quantities), and as such they can not be
added together or resolved to obtain a single equivalent value (i.e. as one can do with vector
quantities).

5 POROUS ROCKS AND PORE PRESSURE

Rocks such as sandstones are composed of small
grains of material, these generally being quartz or
other sand in the case of sandstones. These grains
are in contact with one another, and may be
cemented together. The degree and type of
cementing and the shape and interlocking of the
grains influences greatly the strength of the rock
material. Poorly cemented rocks are sometimes
referred to as being poorly consolidated.

However, the solid grains and any cementing
materials make up only part of the bulk of the rock.
Spaces exist in between the grains such that the rock
is porous. The porosity of the rock is a measure of
the total volume of these pore spaces relative to the
volume of the rock as a whole.

The connectivity of these pore spaces, or the ability of a fluid (i.e. gas or liquid) to pass through
these spaces, is a measure of the permeabiIity of the rock.

Fluids, such as water, oil and gas, can exist in the pore spaces, with the less dense fluids (i.e.
gas) tending to rise upwards through the pore spaces and the denser liquids (i.e. water)
tending to drain downwards (although a certain amount of water, oil and gas may remain
trapped throughout the rock due to capillary effects).

The pore fluids will be pressurised. The origins of this pore pressure are numerous, but
include:

self-weight of the fluids in the rock (i.e. as with a static fluid column, where pressure
increases with depth),

compression of the pore spaces due to burial of the rock beneath other sediments, as
occurs over geological time,

expansion of the rock and its pore spaces as overlying rocks are eroded away, as also
occurs over geological time,

liberation of fluids and gases from the constituent materials due to chemical changes
brought about by burial at high stresses and temperature.
Boundary stresses
Pore
pressure
Sand grains
- 6 -

Importantly, the pore pressure at any point acts equally in all directions, but the pressure may
vary from point-to-point. For example, pressure generally increases with depth and, in the case
of a producing oilwell, the pressure in proximity to the well must be less than that in the rock
remote from the well in order that the oil can flow. This change in pore pressure over a given
distance results in a pore pressure gradient.

If the rock is a hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir, the pore pressure remote from the influence of a
producing wellbore is known as the reservoir pressure or formation pressure. As
hydrocarbons (and, unfortunately, sometimes water) are produced during the life of the
reservoir, this reservoir pressure will tend to reduce. This is termed reservoir depIetion.
Sometimes, in order to maintain or enhance production, the reservoir pressure can be
maintained or increased by injecting water, spare gas or other fluids down injection wells into
parts of the reservoir remote from the producing wells.

If the pore pressure at a depth is equivalent to the pressure at the base of a column of the
same pore fluids through the rock, the rock is referred to as being normaIIy-pressured
(although when calculating a normal pressure, a static column of water is usually assumed). If
it is greater, the rock is said to be over-pressured.

6 EFFECTIVE STRESSES AND ROCK FAILURE

The application of boundary stresses on a rock will cause it to undergo deformation. If these
changes in the stresses are small, the deformation may be recoverable and no permanent
strain will occur. This is known as eIastic deformation. Elastic deformation in a rock occurs
mainly as a consequence of elastic strains and deformations within its constituent grains and
cementing materials.

If the boundary stresses are excessive, the rock may undergo some degree of failure and
permanent deformation will result. This is known as pIastic deformation, and it occurs mainly
as a consequence of crushing and fracturing at grain boundaries and contacts, and in the
cementing materials. The resulting deformations and strains are generally greater than those
associated with recoverable elastic deformation.

However, the effects of the boundary stresses are diminished by the presence of the pore
pressure. This is because the pore pressure acts in all directions from within the rock, and
helps to support or relieve some parts of the applied boundary stresses which would otherwise
be transmitted through the rock via grain-contacts and cementing. It is those components of
the boundary stresses which are not relieved by the pore pressure that are responsible for the
deformation and failure of the rock. These components of stress are known as the effective
stresses (or net stresses).

As a close approximation, the relief provided to the rock by the pore pressure is of the same
magnitude as the pore pressure (in reality, it will be slightly less due to compressibility in the
constituent grains). The pore pressure also acts in all directions to relieve the different
boundary stresses by the same amount. Hence:

Effective stress ' = Boundary stress (or totaI stress) - pore pressure u

where we use the term total stress to mean the stress acting at the boundary of the element of
rock, as against that which would be transmitted through the grains of the rock.

Therefore, when considering how deformation or failure might occur in a rock due to the
application of any state of stress, we must consider changes to the effective stresses rather
- 7 -
than just changes to the total or boundary stresses. For instance, localised crushing can occur
at the point-to-point grain contacts or within the cementing materials if there is sufficient
increase in the total stresses and/or if there is sufficient decrease in the pore pressure. In such
a situation, pore coIIapse will occur.

However, if one or more of the total stresses becomes significantly large or if the pore pressure
is such that the difference between the effective stress in one direction is sufficiently greater
than the effective stress acting at right angles to it, the material undergoes a different mode of
failure termed shear faiIure. This occurs when the shear stress acting with respect to some
(imaginary) plane in the material exceeds the shear strength of the material (remembering, as
we have seen before, that different shear stresses occur on different planes due to the
application of the boundary stresses).

We can demonstrate this concept of shear failure in
2-dimensions by using Mohr's circles of stress and,
for simplicity, we will assume that there is no pore
pressure in the rock (thus effective stress = total
stress). If pore pressures were present, we would
simply draw the Mohr's circle in terms of effective
stress.

We will also introduce something termed a faiIure
enveIope, which defines the maximum limit of shear
stress for any normal stress. Any combination of
normal stress and shear stress which plots above
the failure envelope is an impossible state (since the
rock breaks and can not sustain such a stress
state).

Imagine applying a constant lateral stress or
confining stress
3
, and increasing our axial stress
1
until failure is initiated in the rock. This occurs
when the stress
1
reaches some maximum value
1(f)
which, if exceeded, would cause part of the
Mohr's circle to extend above the failure envelope
(i.e. the diameter of the Mohr's circle becomes too large). This maximum stress
1(f)
is known
as the peak strength of the rock, and different peak strengths corresponds to different values
of confinement
3
. The difference between
1
and
3
(i.e. the diameter of the Mohr's circle) is
known as the deviatoric stress.

One special case of this loading is when there is no
confining stress
3
acting on the rock. Such a condition is
termed uniaxiaI compression, and in this case the peak
strength is known as the uniaxiaI compressive strength
or the unconfined compressive strength UCS. In a 2-
dimensional representation of this using a Mohr's circle,
we can see that the uniaxial compressive strength is the
diameter of the largest possible Mohr's circle for when
3
is zero.

However, and very importantly as we will see later when considering wellbore pressures, shear
failure can be induced not only by having an excessive major stress
1
, but also by having too
small a confining stress
3
or by any combination of changes to
3
and
1
which will result in
part of the Mohr's circle touching or falling above the failure envelope.

Shear
stress
Norm al
stress
1(f)
3

f
f
Failure envelope
2
3
Possible
states
Im possible
state
Shear
stress
Norm al
stress
UCS 0
Failure envelope
- 8 -
At achieving the maximum stress
1(f)
, whether the sample is
confined or is in uniaxial compression, shear failure will initiate
along some plane in the material at which the shear stress
reaches its shear strength
f
. From the Mohr's circles, we can
see that this plane will be inclined at an angle to that on
which
1
acts. The angle tends to reduce as the confinement
3
on the sample increases.

In fact, shear failure can initiate on any plane oriented at this
angle , and therefore discrete conjugate shear failures and
microcracks can occur at many different scales and at different
spacings throughout the rock. How the rock ultimately fails and
deforms will depend very much on the nature of the rock and
its cementing. For instance, at low confining stresses
3
in well
cemented rocks, these cracks and failure surfaces might
coalesce to form a single shear surface. Softer rocks, or even
well cemented materials at high values of
3
, might fail by the
generation of many smaller discrete cracks such that the rock
is dramatically altered and it bulges outwards.

In either case, shear failure ultimately occurs not only because the rock has been subjected to
an excessive stress in one direction, but also because it is able to deform and expand outwards
in the other directions. This is a very important consideration, since the application of
confinement to a rock means that shear failure can be inhibited or prevented. There are two
ways that this additional confinement might be achieved:

Firstly, confining stress
3
might be increased deliberately. As we will see later, such an
increase can be provided to rock surrounding a wellbore by increasing the pressure or the
mud weight in the wellbore.

If the confinement
3
acting on the rock increases, we
can see that the left-hand limit of the Mohr's circle
would move to the right. If
1
remains unchanged, the
diameter of the Mohr's circle becomes smaller such
that it moves further below the failure envelope and
hence shear failure in the rock is avoided.

Similarly, by subjecting the rock to higher confinement
we can now apply a much greater stress
1
before
shear failure would be initiated. In fact, by having a greater confinement
3
the rock can
sustain a disproportionately greater stress
1
or deviatoric stress before it fails in shear (i.e.
the diameters of the maximum possible Mohr's circles get larger as
3
becomes greater).
This demonstrates a characteristic which is peculiar to many porous rocks, in that they
effectively become stronger the more they are confined. However, some very soft rocks (i.e.
almost akin to clays) and some exceptionally strong and tight igneous rocks (i.e. basalts and
pyrites) do not behave like this, and their corresponding failure envelopes appear near-
horizontal.

Secondly, if a rock is prevented from dilating outwards as it attempts to undergo shear
failure (i.e. by the presence of neighbouring material), additional confining stresses are
generated. This is much the same as the Poisson effect we discussed earlier, where lateral
spreading of an element of rock can be inhibited by the presence of neighbouring elements.
The only difference is that the Poisson effect relates to elastic strain, whereas we are now
considering dilation of the rock due to failure and plastic strain. In either case, the effect of
one element of rock pushing against its neighbours is the generation of some additional
confining stress.
Lateral
strain
Conjugate
shear
surfaces
Shear
stress
Norm al
stress
1(f)
Low
3
Failure envelope
High
1(f)
- 9 -

For instance, if a laboratory sample of rock is subjected to an increasing stress in one
direction but is prevented from expanding laterally (i.e. if it is subjected to total lateral
restraint) by continuously increasing the confinement in the other directions, it will not
experience shear failure. Instead it may undergo failure by collapse of its pore spaces and
reduction of its porosity.

Clearly, however, this latter type of restraint and additional confinement can not occur
adjacent to a free face such as the wall or a borehole or a tunnel, and it can only exist as
one moves into the rock and away from the free-face.

This effect of changing confinement also leads us to consider the important influence of pore
pressure on the effective stresses, remembering that it is the effective stresses which control
the behaviour of the rock rather than the total stresses. For instance, a rock at low pore
pressure may be stable under a given set of total
stresses acting at its boundary. However, if the pore
pressure increases (and assuming the total stresses
remain unchanged), the effective stresses decrease
(remembering that pore pressure acts in all
directions and thus tends to relieve the total stresses
in the different directions by the same amount).
Therefore, we see that the Mohr's circle shifts
leftwards towards a more unstable condition, until
such a time that shear failure will be initiated.

Vice versa, by reducing pore pressure we can also stabilise the rock against shear failure, but
only if the deviatoric stress (i.e. the diameter of the Mohr's circle) remains unchanged or does
not increase. However, we must remember that reducing the pore pressure we are increasing
the stresses transmitted through the rock by the grain to grain contacts and by the cementing
materials thus by reducing pore pressure in poorly cemented materials by too much we can
induce failure by crushing at grain contacts and hence induce pore collapse.

Once shear failure has been initiated in a rock, and assuming that sufficient stress is
maintained, the rock will continue to undergo irrecoverable (i.e. plastic) strain and will exhibit
one of three behaviours:

BrittIe or strain softening behaviour, in which the rock undergoes the further dilation and
failure associated with the development of microcracking (and thus loses its ability to sustain
deviatoric load), until it eventually achieves some state of
equilibrium (at which the rock may or may not have been
totally comminuted and reduced to its individual grains).
This type of behaviour is usually exhibited by cemented
sandstones, limestones and rocks such as granites.

PerfectIy pIastic behaviour, in which the rock essentially
flows without any change in its load bearing capacity, and
thus it remains as a continuum. This type of behaviour is
exhibited by some soft shales, and by some soft, clayey
chalks and carbonates.

Strain hardening behaviour, where plastic strains tend to
result in a kind of work hardening of constituent grains and
crystals. This can occur in salt.

However, in the case of many rocks, increasing confinement
Shear
stress
Norm al
stress
Failure envelope
Increasing pore pressure
Deviatoric
stress
1
-
3
3
Strain in direction of
1

Shear failure
initiated
Brittle or
strain softening
Perfectly plastic
Strain
hardening
Elastic
behaviour
- 10 -
and increasing temperature both tend to induce plasticity and ductility (i.e. the amount of strain
which can occur before total fracture and disintegration occurs) in a manner akin to annealing.
Thus, one rock which exhibits brittle behaviour at low confinement might tend towards perfectly
plastic behaviour at much higher confinement.

So far we have considered a simplified 2-dimensional problem and have enlisted the use of
Mohr's circles to assist in our understanding shear failure in rock.

In fact the linear failure envelope we have been
considering corresponds to a shear failure criterion
called the Iinear Mohr-CouIomb criterion, which is
represented by the equation = C +
n
Tan

This is one of the simplest criteria we use in rock
mechanics to describe failure in rocks, and we can
see the equation to be, essentially, the equation of a
straight line (i.e. y = mx + c).

The value of C (i.e. the intercept on the shear stress axis) is known as the cohesion of the
rock, and the angle is termed the angle of internal friction of the rock. The equation
describes how cohesion remains constant at different levels of normal stress, but that the effect
of friction within the rock increases with increasing normal stress and confinement. This is why
granular rocks, such as sandstones which derive a greater part of their strength from internal
friction, become stronger the more they are confined. In contrast, clays exhibit almost no
internal friction, but derive their strength almost entirely from cohesion between grains (hence
their Mohr-Coulomb failure envelopes appear as near-horizontal lines).

To determine values of cohesion C and friction angle , and hence determine the failure
envelope for a rock, we can take a series of identical rock samples (i.e. cores) and in laboratory
tests (known as triaxiaI tests) subject each to a different
confining stress
3
and determining its peak strengths. We
can then fit our laboratory derived data (i.e. one Mohr's circle
for each sample) to whatever failure criterion we believe is
most appropriate. For example, we find in reality that the real
failure envelopes for many rocks (when plotted in a shear
stress versus normal stress
n
space) are not really linear
but are somewhat curved.

Therefore, rather than considering our data and
states of effective stress using a versus
n
space,
we might choose to use a
1
' versus
3
' space (the '
being used to indicate that we are considering
effective stresses rather than total stresses).

In such a case, a linear Mohr-Coulomb failure
envelope would still appear as a straight line.
Therefore, we might choose a more appropriate non-
linear criterion such as the Hoek-Brown criterion,
which describes a curved failure envelope.

Although we are not representing shear stresses
explicitly within the
1
' versus
3
' space, the Hoek-
Brown failure envelope and its mathematical equation
still describe a limiting condition at which shear failure
will initiate in a rock due to the shear stresses on
some plane exceeding its shear strength.
Shear
stress
Norm al
stress
1(f)
3
Linear M ohr-Coulom b
failure envelope
C
Shear
stress
Norm al stress
Curved
failure envelope
Individual
test data
M inor effective stress
3
M ajor
effective
stress
1
Uniaxial com pressive

strength UCS
Tensile strength
Possible states
Im possible state
- 11 -

Also, note that whilst we are still considering a simplified 2-dimensional situation (or at most a
3-dimensional situation where two of the principal stresses are the same, i.e.
1

2
=
3
), we
are certainly not restricted to this approach and we can extend our thinking and description of
rock failure to a more representative 3-dimensional state of stress. For instance, one form of an
extended Von-Mises criterion expresses shear failure in a rock in terms of the equation J
2
=
B + J
1
'

Tan which is essentially that of a straight line but where the parts J
2
and J
1
'

are now
complex mathematical functions of the various shear stresses and normal stresses in the rock.
Again, the values of B and can be determined from analysis of strength data from laboratory
tests.

If no cores are available for testing, it may be possible to define a failure envelope for rock by
back-calculating rock strengths using existing knowledge about previous engineering projects.
For instance, if we have an existing excavation or borehole around which we believe the rock
has not undergone shear failure, and if we can estimate the states of stress in the rock around
this opening, we can make a judgement that the rock must have at least a certain strength
criterion otherwise it would have failed. However, unlike defining the strength behaviour of a
rock using data from controlled laboratory tests, back-calculation is not a straight-forward task
and it can only provide an estimate of the rock strengths. This is because we are unlikely to
know the true state of stress around the existing opening. We can estimate or calculate them,
but in doing so we must make a whole bunch of assumptions relating to the virgin state of
stress in the rock prior to drilling and relating to the deformation behaviour of the rock after the
excavation is made. Also, we might not always be able to detect that shear failure has in fact
not occurred around the earlier excavations or wells.

One additional aspect of rock strength which we must consider (i.e. further to the pore collapse
and shear failure we have discussed so far) is that associated with tensiIe faiIure. This occurs
if rock is subjected to excessive tensile stresses, and most rocks are exceptionally weak in
tension. All are far weaker in tension than they are in compression (i.e. similar to concrete in
buildings, which must be reinforced with steel bars if it is to carry any tensile loads).

Tensile failure occurs not because shear stresses are induced and sliding occurs between
neighbouring elements, but because neighbouring elements of rock are simply expanded and
pulled apart. As an example, such failure will occur in rock around a wellbore because a
wellbore pressure or mud weight is excessive and the wellbore wall expands until it bursts (i.e.
as occurs with bursting pipe).

However, tensile failure can also occur if one of the effective stresses becomes negative (i.e.
tensile). This happens if the pore pressure in the rock becomes greater than the minor stress
3
and exceeds it by an amount equal to the tensiIe strength of the rock. Then the rock is
simply blown apart and cementing between grains is lost. Generally, when such failure occurs,
a continuous fracture or network of interconnecting fractures will form in planes at right angles
to the minor stress
3
. This is because it is easier for the fracture to open up and push against
the adjacent rock in the direction of the minimum stress rather than in the direction of some
greater stress. Also, once a fracture has formed, the pore pressure can sometimes escape and
diminish along the fracture and thus the tensile failure does not progress further or propagate
throughout the entire rock.

7 STRESSES AROUND WELLBORES AND WELLBORE INSTABILITIES

As discussed earlier, undisturbed rock in the ground exists at equilibrium in a state of in situ
stress. When part of that rock is removed, say by excavation of a cavity or by drilling a
borehole, that equilibrium is disturbed and those parts of stress which were originally carried by
the excavated rock must be transferred to and borne by the remaining material.
- 12 -

This redistribution and concentration of stresses near to the wellbore results in the generation
of hoop stresses or circumferentiaI stresses
which act around the wellbore. Also, if there

is a pressure in the wellbore (say due to a column of drilling mud or due to hydrocarbons under
pressure), this will provide some support to the wellbore wall in the form of a radiaI stress
r
.
Furthermore, if the pressure in the wellbore increases, the hoop stress reduces (such that if the
wellbore pressure is increased sufficiently the hoop stress becomes negative, the rock then
fails in tension, and the wellbore 'bursts' and fractures). A IongitudinaI stress
z
will also act
along the axis of the wellbore, and therefore the three induced stresses are mutually
perpendicular at any point we wish to consider (i.e. they all act at right angles to each other).

In fact, the magnitudes of these induced circumferential and radial stresses, and to some
degree the magnitude of the longitudinal stress, vary at different positions around the wellbore.
This variation is highly complex, and it depends on:

the alignment of the wellbore with respect to the orientations of the in situ stresses,

the magnitudes of the in situ stresses,

the deformation behaviour of the rock (i.e. whether it remains elastic, whether it exhibits
some plastic strains, or whether it flows),

the geometry of the opening (i.e. a circle in the case of a wellbore, unless the sides of the
borehole break away and the borehole goes out-of-gauge),

the distance from the wellbore.

For typical open wellbores in the UK and North Sea which are
subjected to the regional state of in situ stress:

the circumferential stress
in proximity to the borehole is

generally the major principal stress
1
,

the longitudinal stress
z
in proximity to the borehole is
generally the intermediate principal stress
2
,

the radial stress
r
in proximity to the borehole is generally
the minor principal stress
3
, and at the wellbore wall will be
the well pressure,

although for some shallow vertical wells (say at around 3000 ft
TVD) the longitudinal stress near to the wellbore might be the
minor principal stress
3
.

Circum ferential
or hoop stress
= m ajor stress
1
W ell pressure
= radial stress
r
at w all
= m inor stress
3
Pore
pressure
u
Longitudinal stress
z
= interm ediate stress
2
- 13 -

Therefore, the analogy we have in proximity to a typical
well (whether it be vertical, inclined or horizontal) is that of
a rock core subjected to a high axial stress, with some
confinement being provided by the longitudinal stress and
slightly less confinement being provided by the well
pressure.

Clearly, as one moves away from the influence of the
wellbore, the stresses in the rock revert back to the in situ
state of stress as would exist in the undisturbed ground. Of
course, as we have mentioned before, the effects of all
these induced stresses and in situ stresses on the rock are
diminished by the presence of any pore pressure u.

Therefore, a typical stress concentration around the
wellbore, assuming the rock to exhibit perfectly linear-
elasticity and not to undergo any plastic deformation, will be
as shown on the right. In fact, this assumption of perfect
linear-elasticity tends to overestimate the magnitude of the
circumferential stress
adjacent to the borehole. In reality,

since the rock's stiffness may increase with confinement
and (as we will see later) some localised failure may occur,
the maximum value of
may occur just behind the

borehole wall.

In contrast, the pore pressure profile will depend on whether
or not there is any flow into or out of the wellbore. For
instance, assuming that the permeability of the rock
remains constant throughout:

If the wellbore
pressure is the same as the reservoir pressure
(such as might occur when a well has been shut-in
for some time and the well pressure has
equilibrated to the reservoir pressure), there will
be no flow and no pore pressure gradient.

If the wellbore pressure is less than the reservoir
pressure, there will be flow into the well and a pore
pressure gradient will result with the pressure
reducing in closer proximity to the well. Clearly,
this condition is essential if a well is to produce
any hydrocarbons.

If the wellbore pressure is greater than the
reservoir pressure, there will be flow outwards
from the well and a pore pressure gradient will
result with the pressure tending to reduce away
from the well. Such a situation will arise if water or spare gas are being injected into a well to
enable pressure maintenance of the reservoir.

Circum ferential
stress
=
1
W ell pressure
=
r
=
3
Pore
pressure
u
Longitudinal
stress
z
=
2
W ellbore
w all
Distance from
w ellbore centreline
Stress
Circum ferential
stress
Longitudinal
stress
z
W ell pressure
Radial stress
r
W ellbore
w all
Distance from
Pore
pressure
Flow outw ards
from w ell
Reservoir
pressure
Flow into w ellbore
No flow
M ud cake
Thickness of
m ud cake
- 14 -
During drilling, the wellbore pressure will usually be maintained slightly greater than the pore
pressure (i.e. some over balance) in order to ensure well control. As a mud cake or fiIter cake
develop[s in permeable rocks, the presence of an over-balance causes the pore pressure
gradient to have some step in it which will correspond to the thickness of the mud cake.

Clearly, if the difference (
-
r
) between the
circumferential stress and the radial stress (in other
words the deviatoric stress
1
-
3
) in some element of
rock surrounding the wellbore is excessive then, as
we have seen earlier, shear failure will be induced.
This effect is known as borehoIe coIIapse, and the
wellbore pressure or mud weight at which this occurs
is known as the borehoIe coIIapse pressure. The
zone around the wellbore which has undergone this
shear failure is known as the pIastic zone or yieId
zone.

Therefore in brittle rocks, which lose some of their
load bearing capacity as they undergo shear failure,
there must be some reduction and modification to the
stresses within the plastic zone. If we consider the
situation with no flow, where the wellbore pressure
equals the reservoir pressure, the stress distribution
will look something like that shown on the right.

Because the stresses at various points about
the well may differ, the plastic zone need not
be circular but may form an ellipse, or may be
limited to small 'dog ears' to each side of the
well.

Such stress variations at different points around a well, and the fact that different stress
concentrations will exist around wells drilled in different directions with respect to the in situ
stresses, can be illustrated with the aid of something called the Kirsch equations. These
describe the stress concentration which occur within a plane containing a circular opening
through a perfectly linear-elastic material, where the material is subjected to far-field
compression or tension. Although the equations enable only a very simplified analysis of an
ideal situation, they do allow us to demonstrate different stress concentrations which might
occur around wells drilled in different directions.

W ellbore
w all
Stress
r
u
z
Elastic
Plastic
zone
W ellbore
W ell pressure
Distance from
Plastic
zone
Elastic
Lim it of
failed m aterial
- 15 -
Also, for simplicity, we will consider the situation of
no pore pressure in the material (i.e. in our rock)
and no pressure in the circular hole (i.e. no wellbore
pressure). Thus we find that the Kirsch solutions for
the circumferential stresses at the surface of the
opening tangential to the axes of the principal
stresses reduce to either
=3
A
-
B
or
=3
B
-
A
depending on which parts of the wellbore wall we
are consider (i.e. either points 1 or 2 as shown on
the diagram). Note that the stress distributions are
axi-symmetric, thus the stress concentrations of one
side of the wellbore are the same as those on the
opposite side (i.e. both points marked as 1 are
subjected to the same stresses.)

If the far field stresses are different, and if
A
is
greater than
B
, then clearly the stress
=3
A
-
B
at points 1 must be greater than
=3
B
-
A
at
points 2. Therefore, shear failure is more likely to
occur to either sides of the wellbore at points 1
(i.e. in the axis of the least stress
B
). Similarly, if
the wellbore were to be pressurised until it burst,
tensile fractures would propagate outwards from
points 2 since it is at these locations that the
circumferential stresses
are least and are

therefore most easily overcome.

Extending this type of analysis to vertical and
horizontal wells through rock subjected to the
regional state of in situ stress which exists for the
North Sea (i.e.
V
>
H
>
h
), we find that the
maximum possible value of
is 3
V
-
h
, and that this occurs to each side of a horizontal well
drilled in the direction of
H
(i.e. towards the NW or SE). Thus, in the region of the North Sea
the Ieast favourabIe weII trajectories for stability against shear failure are towards the NW or
SE. The most favourabIe trajectories are, depending on the stress differences
V
-
H
or
H
-
h
,
either vertical wells, horizontal wells aligned with the minimum horizontal stress (i.e. NE-SW),
or wells inclined towards the minimum horizontal stress (i.e. towards NE or SW).

Therefore, by drilling a well at different inclinations and at different directions with respect to the
in situ stresses, different degrees of stability can be achieved. Alternatively, by having sufficient
mud weight or wellbore pressure so as to reduce the circumferential stresses and increase the
radial stresses in proximity to the wellbore, and/or by restraining the rock by cementing a liner
or casing in place, it is possible to inhibit or prevent shear failure in the rock surrounding the
borehole and thus avoid major instabilities.

= 3
= 3

Far-field stress
B
Far-field
stress
A
1
1
2 2
Far-field stress
B
Far-field
stress
A
1
1
2 2
A
>
B
Potential zones
of shear failure
Alignm ent of
potential
fractures
- 16 -
In the case of rocks exhibiting brittle behaviour, borehole
collapse manifests itself as break-out or borehoIe
enIargement, where rocks breaks away from the
wellbore wall either as large slabs of intact rock, as small
pieces of intact rock, or as individual grains. For an
openhole producing well or for a perforation cavity, the
production of this broken rock in small pieces or
individual grains and its transport with the produced fluids
amounts to soIids production (i.e. sanding in the case
of sandstones).

In the case of a soft rock exhibiting perfectly plastic
behaviour (i.e. a soft shale), the failed material will
remain a continuum and the borehole will experience either partial cIosure (i.e. a tight-hoIe)
or, in extreme cases, total closure.

Not only can a plastic zone develop around an
openhole wellbore, it can also form around a
perforation cavity behind a cemented and
cased/lined well. This is because these perforation
cavities are just like miniature tunnels or wellbores
radiating out from the main wellbore, so the rock
material surrounding them also undergoes stress
redistributions and concentrations as does that
around the main wellbore. However, the stress
distributions which develop around a perforation
cavity are even more complex than those which might
develop around an open wellbore, since they are
additional factors to consider:

the complex stress distributions which already exist
around the wellbore,

the lateral restraint provided by the cemented casing or cemented liner, which prevents the
rock from straining and dilating,

the geometry and orientation of the cavity itself,

the alteration to rock around the perforation cavity due to the effect of an explosive charge
being fired into it.

Whether we are considering rock around an openhole wellbore or a perforation cavity, if the
rock reaches some state of equilibrium under the state of induced stress then the plastic zone
will stabilise at some distance away from the opening. However, it can be seen from the stress
distribution on page 20 that some effective radial stress
r
' can exist within the yielded or
plastic zone (since the effective radial stress
r
' =
r
- pore pressure u, and
r
> u). In contrast,
there is no effective radial stress at the cavity wall, since
r
= u and hence
r
' = 0. Therefore,
elements of rock in the plastic zone can provide some lateral support (i.e. confinement) to their
neighbouring elements and hence prevent them straining or undergoing shear failure, provided
that they remain in place around the wellbore or perforation cavity.

This means that if the broken rock in the plastic zone moves inwards towards an open wellbore
or if it is removed (say due to mud circulating in the wellbore or due to an inflow of
hydrocarbons into the well), then this mutual confinement is diminished or removed. Hence, the
rock that is left adjacent to the open well will be more susceptible to shear failure, and the
Breakout
or enlargem ent
Closure
Hole in-gauge
Centre
line
Cem ent
Casing or liner
Perforations through
casing/liner and
cem ent, and into
the rock
- 17 -
plastic zone will grow further into the rock. Hence, failure of the rock around a yielding wellbore
need not occur immediately, but may be progressive and somewhat time-dependent.

Also, when an opening is made, the induced stresses will vary from point to point in the rock
around the well, thus the rock and its pore spaces will undergo different amounts of
compression at different points around the well. Therefore, even for the case of no flow into the
well, the pore pressure will vary during excavation and for some time afterwards. Ultimately, the
pore pressure distribution around the well will reach some equilibrium, but this may take some
time (especially so in low permeability formations such as shales) since this equilibration
involves flow of fluid from pore space to pore space. Clearly this is a time-dependent
phenomenon, and is therefore an additional reason that wellbores and cavities might
experience time-dependent and progressive movement or collapse.

Time-dependent instability can also be a consequence of the continuing depletion of a
reservoir pressure during the life of a field:

Firstly, as the field is depleted, the wellbore pressure must be continuously reduced and
kept below the reservoir pressure if production is to be maintained. Therefore, the amount of
support provided to the wellbore or cavity wall tends to reduce with time.

Secondly, depletion may also result in some change to the horizontal stresses acting
throughout the reservoir. This is a consequence of the Poisson effect, and it occurs because
a rock tends to relax inwards as the fluid pressure inside it is reduced. Therefore, elements
of rock tend to exert less of a lateral stress on their neighbouring elements.

However, the vertical or overburden stress does not diminish, simply because the overlying
rocks remain in place and thus continue to bear down on lower strata. This constant vertical
stress
v
and the reduced pore pressure u result in an increase in the effective vertical
stress
v
' (=
v
- u) such that the rock is compressed downwards. The consequence of this
is that the rock then tends to bulge laterally due to the Poisson effect, and the horizontal
stresses increases.

This combined effect of a reduction in the horizontal stresses plus some increase leads to
an overall time-dependent reduction in their magnitudes. In turn, this results in some time-
dependent and progressive changes to the circumferential stresses around the wellbore.

- 18 -
8 SOLIDS PRODUCTION

Not only is rock around a producing open wellbore or a producing perforation cavity subjected
to the type of stress distributions and stress changes discussed so far, the very fact that a fluid
is flowing into the cavity means that there is an additional force acting within the rock. This can
be visualised if one considers a person standing in a fast-flowing river, and the fact that that
person will experience some force acting in the direction of the flow. Therefore, in the case of a
producing wellbore, the fIuid force will act towards the wellbore and will therefore tend to
diminish any confinement or support provided by the well pressure or by adjacent rock material.
The fluid force will depend on a number of factors, including the velocity of flow, the
permeability of the rock and the viscosity of the fluid, but the overall result will be that the rock
around the opening is further destabilised and consequently the yield zone will grow outwards
from the wellbore or cavity.

Therefore, a producing wellbore which has already experienced some shear failure in its walls
will undergo further disturbance and damage, thus there will be an increased volume of
weakened material around the well which might be produced as solids. Removal of this
material from the walls of the wellbore will result in further loss of containment, and further
growth of the yield zone into the surrounding formation.

In fact, for a given fluid and for a given rock strength, there is a critical flow velocity or flow rate
which, if reached or exceeded, will cause the plastic zone to grow uncontrollably into the
surrounding formation such that it never reaches a state of equilibrium and thus the formation
undergoes totaI coIIapse.

In the case of solids production, it is shear failure of rock around the wellbore or perforation
cavities which is the mechanism which enables sand to be produced in huge quantities (i.e. by
the ton for individual wells). In fact, there are three other mechanisms which are also
associated with sand production, although to a much lesser degree:

tensile failure, where the pore pressure in proximity to the wellbore is greater than the minor
stress acting in the rock,

pore collapse and loss of cementing throughout the reservoir which, as discussed earlier,
can occur as a result of reservoir depletion,

fines migration, in which very fine loose grains or loose cementing materials can migrate
through the pore spaces along with the reservoir fluids.

In all our previous discussions of pore collapse or of shear and tensile failure and their
associated instability phenomena, we have not considered the mobilisation of the broken rock
and its entry into any flow stream of produced fluids or of a circulating drilling mud (i.e. the
transformation of a piece or grain of rock from within the body of rock into a discrete fragment
or grain within a flowing fluid). In fact, all of the rock mechanics concepts introduced so far are
incapable of describing this jump, nor have they been developed for this purpose. This is
because they relate to the problem of solid mechanics (albeit for materials which might become
fragmented or comminuted to individual grains). In contrast, the consideration of transport of
discrete solids within a flowing fluid fall within the subjects of fluid mechanics and of particle
mechanics (which are themselves incapable of describing shear failure in those materials, such
as porous rocks, which exhibit rigidity and shear strength).

Even today, how a fragment of broken rock within a body of rock might translate over into a
discrete particle within a flow stream is poorly and incompletely understood. Some efforts to
understand and describe this change from one state to another have been made at a research
level. For instance, one approach has been to firstly consider the mathematics associated with
solid mechanics and the behaviour of yielded material within the body of rock (i.e. just as we
- 19 -
have been doing so far). Then, the transport of discrete grains is tackled using mathematics
associated with particle mechanics (such as can be used to describe the behaviour of wheat or
industrial powders in silos, and how these materials can be loosened and then pumped and
transported using a stream of compressed air). For those conditions when both sets of
mathematics are satisfied, the 'jump' can be made between the solid mechanics to the particle
mechanics or vice versa.

However, such approaches remain topics of research and have yet to be implemented
satisfactorily into solutions and tools for everyday engineering problems.

9 PREVENTATIVE MEASURES AND SOLIDS EXCLUSION

As we have seen, shear failure and its associated instability phenomena can be minimised or
overcome by:

drilling a well at different inclinations and at different directions with respect to the in situ
stresses,

having sufficient mud weight or wellbore pressure so as to reduce the circumferential
stresses and increase the radial stresses in proximity to the wellbore,

by restraining the rock by cementing a liner or casing in place, it is possible to inhibit or
prevent shear failure in the rock surrounding the borehole and thus avoid major instabilities.

Sometimes it may not be feasible, nor may it be necessary, to totally inhibit shear failure
around a well. For instance, during drilling, some limited break-out might be acceptable,
especially if the failed rock remains in place in the walls of the wellbore due to the cementing
effect of the mud cake and the outward acting fluid forces associated with an overbalance
pressure. Similarly, holes can often be reamed back to their correct gauge in order to reduce
any tightness due to wellbore closure. In any case, a cemented liner or casing can be installed
to provide either primary support against any collapse which might occur or to provide remedial
support against shear failure which has already occurred.

However, in the case of a producing well with an openhole completion, the only option available
which can provide the necessary support and confinement against shear failure is to maintain
the wellbore pressure above the borehole collapse pressure. Clearly this can only be achieved
if the borehole collapse pressure is less than the reservoir pressure, since the well can only
produce hydrocarbons if its bottom hole pressure is drawn down below that of the reservoir
fluids.

If, however, the borehole collapse pressure is greater than the pore pressure, the act of
drawing down the well to produce the hydrocarbons will, implicitly, initiate shear failure of rock
in proximity to the well. Also, as discussed earlier, the flow into the well and any depletion
across the field will further facilitate this shear failure and cause growth of the plastic zone.
Therefore, if significant shear failure is initiated and anticipated around an openhole
completion, and if the mobilised solids are to be prevented from entering the flow stream and
being delivered to surface with the produced fluids, it is necessary to implement measures or
special bottom-hole completions which will confine the solids to the openhole and prevent them
entering the production tubing. Such measures include:
- 20 -

graveI packing,
chemicaI consoIidation,
a resin pack or consoIidation pack,
a pre-packed screen liner is installed along the open hole,
a wire-wrapped or mesh screen is installed at the end of the production tubing.
Alternatively, if the solids production is not excessive and if the necessary equipment is
available, the well might be completed bare-foot and the solids then carried to surface with the
produced fluids. At surface, they are then separated from the hydrocarbons, cleaned and
disposed of.
Where it is possible to limit drawdown in a well but still induce flow into the open hole or
through perforation cavities without inducing failure in the rock, and where no other measures
such as gravel packs or screens are needed to prevent sand production, this is sometimes
termed a naturaI compIetion.

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AN INTRODUCTION TO

NEAR-WELLBORE ROCK MECHANICS

Uniaxial com pressive

which act around the wellbore. Also, if there

in proximity to the borehole is

adjacent to the borehole. In reality,

may occur just behind the

are least and are

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