Slip Tendency Analysis & Frictional Strength of Reservoir Rocks in south Germany

Abstract

The hydraulic system of the Jurassic limestone is complex and consists of a facies and a fault, i.e. fracture dominated flow. This interplay is currently under discussion and we want to focus in this paper on the fracture dominated flow. In the deep underground fracture flow highly depend on the fracture orientation and the local stress tensor. To evaluate the hydraulic significance of fractures the slip and dilation tendency method as well as the Hoek-Brown strength criterion can be used to determine their character to shear and to be open. In a previous study we investigated the current stress tensor for the Sauerlach wells. Here, we use these results to determine the influence on fracture flow. Slip and dilation tendency data indicate different distributions for each of the three wells. The Sauerlach Th1 indicate high slip and dilation tendency values for the investigated stress tensor, which even proof the results from hydraulic testing. For Sauerlach Th2 & Th3 the results show a variable distribution of the slip and dilation tendency values, illustrating the influence of the different fracture sets in the reservoir and the different influence on the hydraulic character.