11th Congress of the International Society for Rock Mechanics Ribeiro e Sousa, Olalla & Grossmann (eds)

2007 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-45084-3

Micromechanisms of borehole failure in reservoir rocks
B. Haimson
Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering and Geological Engineering Program, University of Wisconsin,
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
ABSTRACT: Drilling experiments under pre-existing true-triaxia l stress in an oil-producing limestone and several sandstones
revealed three distinct modes of failure leading to borehole breakouts. The failure micromechanism in Austin Chalk limestone
begins at the borehole wall, where two conjugate shear cracks initiate, straddling the
h
springline, and advance toward each
other along shear stress paths. AV-shaped breakout is formed when the two conjugate fractures intersect. SEM images of failed
boreholes in arkosic sandstones show that borehole instability begins behind the borehole wall along the
h
springline, where
a cluster of extensile microcracks subparallel to the borehole wall develop, and then follow a shear stress trajectory toward the
borehole wall. The microcracks dislodge thin layers of sandstone, which are flushed off by drilling fluid, creating a V-shaped
breakout. In quartz-rich sandstones, grains are bonded by sutured contacts, and breakouts are slot-shaped, aligned with
h
springline. Failure begins with the localized grain debonding along the
h
springline. Loosened grains compact, forming a
compaction band. Debonded grains at borehole wall are flushed off by the drilling fluid, creating a slot-shaped breakout, similar
in width to the compacted band, and can therefore be described as an emptied compaction band.
1 INTRODUCTION
Rock failure around boreholes leading to borehole cross sec-
tion elongations called breakouts is a common phenomenon
in reservoir rocks such as sandstones and limestones. Numer-
ous theories have been employed to explain the mechanism
responsible for borehole breakouts. Pressure-dependent elas-
ticity, microstatistics, elastoplasticity, bifurcation process, and
fracture mechanics are just some of the approaches taken
to explain borehole instability, and most are discussed in a
comprehensive review by Germanovich & Dyskin (2000).
Extensive laboratory drilling experiments in typical oil-
producing sandstones and a limestone, varying in porosity
between 15 and 30%, led to a better understanding of the
correlation between in situ stress and breakout dimensions,
and on the process of breakout formation (Haimson & Song,
1993; Haimson & Lee, 2004; Sheets, 2004). The present
paper reports on observations of grain-scale mechanisms that
bring about borehole breakouts, based solely on optical and
scanning electron microscopic studies of specimens tested in
the laboratory during a multi-year research program at the
University of Wisconsin.
2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND PROCEDURE
Drilling experiments at the University of Wisconsin were
designed to simulate more realistically actual field conditions
in which rock is already under in situ stress prior to drilling.
Hence, rather than applying external loads to specimens con-
tainingpre-existingboreholes, central vertical holes are drilled
in rock blocks already subjected to three unequal principal
stresses. Drilling experiments are conducted on rectangular
prismatic rock samples (typically 127 127 178 mm
3
). An
electric drill rig is mounted on top of a loading frame that
enables the application of the vertical stress to the sample.
The typical drilling bit used is a diamond-impregnated coring
bit that creates a 22 mm (in dia.) central borehole along the
largest sample dimension, although tests have also been con-
ducted using bi-cone bits as well as other borehole diameters
(ranging from 16 to 38 mm).
The loading frame is unique in that it enables vertical
drilling into a rectangular prismatic specimen that is subjected
simultaneously to three unequal mutually perpendicular loads,
simulating the most general in situ state of stress (Figure 1).
The hydraulic actuator attached to the lower reaction beam of
the frame produces the vertical load to the specimen. The two
horizontal loads are applied through a biaxial pressure appa-
ratus. The latter consists of a thick hollow cylinder housing
two pairs of facing hydraulic actuators for the application of
Biaxial cell
(
H'

h
)
Hydraulic cylinder
(
v
)
Coring bit
Electric drill
Vertical guide
Depth gage
Rock
specimen
Flow meter
Fluid inflow
Fluid outflow
Figure 1. Schematic of the University of Wisconsin apparatus for
drilling into rock blocks subjected to a true triaxial state of stress.
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two independent horizontal loads to the rock sample. Copper
shims coated with a thin layer of a stearic acid and petroleum
jelly mixture are placed between the loading pistons and the
sample in order to minimize friction.
Carefullypreparedrockspecimens, meetingthe dimensions
and orthogonality requirements are inserted into the biaxial
cell. Three independent servo-control units, activated by a test
programming software package run on a personal computer,
are used to apply the prescribed loads in each of the three
principal directions. Drilling of a central vertical hole is com-
menced only after the external loading has been completed.
Tap water is normally used as drilling fluid for the purpose of
cooling the bit and removing debris.
Upon the completion of drilling, the external loads are left
unchanged for some 30 minutes to allowfor the potential bore-
hole breakout to stabilize. The specimen is then dried, and the
drilled borehole is filled with a low viscosity epoxy so as
to preserve its condition. This is followed by sawcutting the
specimen into thin slices across the borehole axis in order to
observe borehole condition and the shapes and dimensions of
breakouts if any. Representative sections are further prepared
for optical and/or scanning electron microscopic studies of the
failure process.
3 STRESS CONDITIONS AROUND BOREHOLES
The state of stress in the vicinity of a borehole, with the
assumption of linear elasticity and isotropy typical of brittle
rock, is given by the Kirsch equations for a hole in an infinite
plate, modified for the case of plane strain, and including the
effect of borehole and pore fluid pressures (Fairhurst, 1968):
where compressive stresses are positive; ?
r
,

,
r?
and
z
are the radial, tangential, shear, and vertical stresses, respec-
tively, acting around the borehole wall;
H
and
h
are the
maximum and minimum in situ (far-field) horizontal prin-
cipal stresses;
v
is the vertical in situ stress; r is the radial
distance fromthe axis of the hole, a is the borehole radius, is
the angular direction measured counterclockwise fromthe
H
direction; is the Poissons ratio of the rock; P is the excess
borehole fluid pressure P
w
over the pore pressure in the rock
P
p
(Fig. 3).
Based on equations (1) the largest principal compressive
stress at the borehole wall is the tangential component,

,
acting along the
h
springline, i.e. at =90

and 270

. More-
over,

is the maximum stress along the

h
springline for
some distance away from the borehole. Equations (1) are cor-
rect strictly for far-field stresses acting at very large distance
fromthe borehole, but they are also approximately representa-
tive of the conditions in the present experiments since the ratio
between the hole radius and the width of one half of specimen
lateral faces is about 1:6.
4 BOREHOLE BREAKOUTS INAUSTIN CHALK:
SHEAR FAILURE
Austin Chalk, also known as Cordova Cream limestone,
is a lightly bedded, porous (19%) oolitic limestone found
in Texas and Louisiana, USA. The National Oil and Gas
Assessment conducted by the United Sates Geological Sur-
vey (USGS) in 1995 determined that the Austin Chalk is
the U.S. largest onshore domestic continuous-type, uncon-
ventional (i.e. cannot be developed by traditional methods)
oil resource. Laboratory tests of basic mechanical proper-
ties yielded a density of 1920 kg/m
3
, uniaxial compressive
strength of 13 21 MPa, Youngs modulus of 17 22 GPa,
and Poissons ratios of 0.25 0.27 (Haimson & Song, 1993).
These recorded properties suggest that Austin Chalk is gen-
erally a weak and rather soft limestone. The axial stress-axial
strain and axial stress-lateral strain relationships are both sur-
prisingly linear almost all the way to the point of compressive
failure.
Aseries of drillingexperiments were conductedinwhichthe
far-field vertical and least horizontal stresses were kept con-
stant throughout (
v
=10 MPa and
h
=5 MPa, respectively).
The largest horizontal stress H was increased steadily from
test to test. Thin sections prepared of cross sections of bore-
holes drilled under different levels of
H
were studied under
an optical microscope. At levels approaching
H
=30 MPa
no breakouts or microcracks developing behind the borehole
wall are observed. Such clusters of extensile cracks subparal-
lel to H direction along the direction of the least horizontal
stress (
h
springline) always develop prior to breakout occur-
rence in crystalline rocks such as granite (Lee and Haimson,
1993).
However, at
H
=31 MPa a breakout initiating crack is
observed on the borehole wall in an area roughly aligned with
=90

or 270

, i.e. along the

h
springline (Fig. 2a). The
crack appears to have initiated at the borehole wall and has
advanced into the rock along a shear stress trajectory. Acloser
look reveals several loose grains trapped within the crack.
They appear to have been dislodged from the rock matrix by
frictional shear between the crack walls. A wing of the shear
crack seems to have turned into an extensile fracture subparal-
lel to the borehole surface. In the extensile branch of the crack
no loose grains are found.
At higher stress differential (
H
=32 MPa) a conjugate
shear microcrack develops and both microfractures advance
toward each other along a shear stress path, about to form
a V-shaped breakout with its point aligned roughly with the
direction of the
h
springline (Fig. 2b). Both microcracks
are propped open by abundant loose grains and fragments,
suggesting intergranular shear dislodging grains and crushing
some. No evidence is found of extensile microcracks behind
the borehole wall along the h springline.
Afinal breakout was observed on both sides of the borehole
wall along the
h
springline when
H
reached 38 MPa for
somewhat larger
h
(=10 MPa) and
v
(=15 MPa). As Figure
2c shows, the breakout isV-shapedor dogeared, analogous to
breakouts in granite and other rocks, but a result of an entirely
different micromechanism.
5 BOREHOLE BREAKOUTS INARKOSIC
SANDSTONES: EXTENSILE CRACK FAILURE
Drilling experiments were conducted in several arkosic sand-
stones, having a grain mineral composition consisting of
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Figure 2. Sequence of breakout formation in Austin Chalk limestone. Shown are only segments of borehole cross sections straddling the h
springline. (a) Incipient breakout on the form of a shear microcrack emanating from the borehole wall and extending into the roc k along a
shear stress trajectory. Loose grains propping the microfracture open provide evidence of frictional shear (
h
/
v
/
H
=5/10/31 MPa). (b) At
a higher (
H

h
) differential a conjugate microcrack emanates from the other side of the
h
springline (
h
/
v
/
H
=5/10/32 MPa). Loose
grains in both cracks suggest shear rupturing. (c) At a higher yet stress differential (
h
/
v
/
H
=10/15/38 MPa) the conjugate shear fractures
intersect and a V-shaped breakout is formed.
Figure 3. (a) Electron backscatter image (mosaic) of a borehole cross section in Boise sandstone subjected to
h
/
v
/
H
=30/40/50 MPa.
Shown is an incipient breakout along the
h
springline. Multiple extensile microcracks subparallel to the borehole wall are seen along the
springline (A). Microcracks readjust their direction away fromthe springline to one along the shear stress trajectory approaching the borehole
wall. Thin layers, just a few grains thick, are in the process of detaching from host rock, initiating the breakout. Cracks are both inter- and
intra-granular. The dotted line demarks the expected final shape of the breakout under higher differential far -field stresses, based on visible
microcracks. (b) Photograph of a borehole cross section showing a mature breakout (
h
/
v
/
H
=30/40/80 MPa).
1251
Figure 4. Photograph of a borehole cross section in quartz-rich St. Meinrad sandstone, showing a typical slot-shaped breakout along the

h
springline. (Dark stain is from epoxy pored into borehole after the test to preserve its condition during sectioning and preparation for
microscopic observations).
2550% feldspar and the rest mainly quartz, clay and other
minor minerals. We report here on micromechanismof break-
out failure in one such rock, the Boise (or Tablerock) sand-
stone, the mechanical behavior of which is representative of
the Berea and other oil reservoir sandstones.
The Boise sandstone, which has been extensively used
as an oil bearing rock in oil industry-related experiments,
comes from Boise, Idaho. It is composed primarily of quartz
(55%) and feldspar (37%), and its angular grains are cemented
by microcrystalline quartz. Grains are well-sorted and aver-
age 0.2 mm in size. The sandstone has a high porosity
(28%), medium uniaxial compressive strength (40 MPa), and
a modulus of elasticity of 15 GPa.
As withtheAustinChalk, breakout failure micromechanism
of the Boise sandstone was studied from the condition of the
breakout tip and its surroundings at the end of the drilling
experiment. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) backscat-
ter images of polished sections reveal intra- and trans-granular
dilatant microcracking immediately ahead of the breakout tip,
along the
h
springline, where stress concentration is the high-
est (Fig. 3). Microcracks are simultaneously subparallel to the
maximum principal stress
H
and to the borehole wall (A in
Fig. 3). They extend to both sides of the
h
springline, where
they gradually reorient toward the borehole wall following
shear stress trajectories, thus shaping the breakout (B in Fig.
3). This process releases the first layer of grains adjacent to the
borehole wall, creating the incipient breakout. As the breakout
grows, the stress concentration shifts forward and additional
microcracking occurs, releasing more grain layers, and length-
ening the failed zone. The breakout narrows as it progresses,
because some fragments on both sides remain locked in place
and prevent removal of additional cracked grains behind them.
The failure mechanism in Boise sandstone is dilatant, since
the extensile microcracks (Fig. 3) create an increase in total
rock volume, and is similar to that observed in previous
experiments in granite and Indiana limestone (Lee and Haim-
son, 1993, Haimson and Herrick, 1986), as well as in Berea
sandstone of 17% porosity (Haimson, 2003).
6 BOREHOLE BREAKOUTS IN QUARTZ-RICH
SANDSTONES: LOCALIZED COMPACTION
FAILURE
A separate series of drilling tests were carried out in six dif-
ferent high-porosity sandstones characterized by 90%or more
quartz grains. Theyexhibiteda distinctlydifferent micromech-
anismof failure leading to breakouts of an entirely unexpected
breakout shape. We highlight here one such rock, the St.
Meinrad sandstone, quarried in Perry County, Indiana (Sheets.
2004).
St. Meinrad sandstone contains 90% quartz, and minor
amounts of mica, feldspar, and iron oxide. Grains are sub-
rounded and average 0.13 mm in size. Grain bonding is
primarily through sutured contacts, with little if any noticeable
cementingmaterial. Basic mechanical propertymeasurements
reveal an effective porosity of 25%, uniaxial compressive
strength of 39 MPa, and modulus of elasticity of 11 GPa. Gen-
erally, these properties are not toodifferent fromthose of Boise
sandstone. The only major differences are in the concentration
of quartz grains and grain bonding.
All previous drilling experiments in granite, limestone, and
arkosic sandstone, yielded V-shaped or dog-eared breakouts,
irrespective of the micromechanism of failure. Drilling into
quartz-rich sandstones, represented here by the St. Meinrad,
brought about breakouts that looked drastically different: slot-
shaped, narrow, tabular and extending over long distances
from the borehole wall (Fig. 4). The breakout in Figure 4
resembles an open fracture, which, counterintuitively initiated
and grew perpendicular to
H
direction (along the
h
spring-
line). A distinct characteristic of these slot breakouts is that
they maintain an approximately constant width (around 10
grain diameters) regardless of the far-field stress applied. The
onlydimensionthat grows withincrease in(
H

h
) differen-
tial is the length of the breakout. Slot breakouts in St. Meinrad
sandstone are particularly spectacular because of the small
grain size, which increases the aspect ratio of the breakout.
The micromechanics leading to the unexpected breakout
shape was studied through electron backscatter images of the
breakout tip zones in selected sections of tested specimens.
Just ahead of the breakout tip a localized band of cracked
and crushed grains is observed. The band is approximately
as wide as the breakout (Fig. 5b). The absence of significant
grain breakage on either side of the narrowbreakout and of the
damaged grain band reinforces the observation that slot break-
outs are the result of a localized failure along the
h
springline,
where the maximum stress concentration occurs. The length
of the grain damage band was found to be proportional to the
(
H

h
) differential.
The far end of the crushed-grain belt gradually morphs
into another zone within the same narrow width consisting
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Figure 5. (a) Photograph od a borehole cross section of St. Meinrad sandstone that has been subjected to far-field principal stresses:

h
/
v
/
H
=40/50/80 MPa. The electron backscatter image of the tip of the slot breakout on the right (marked by white rectangle) is depicted
in (b). Also shown in (b) are three zones marked by white rectangles. Rectangle A encompasses the localized band of shattered and crushed
grains immediately in front of the breakout tip, having the same width as the breakout. Rectangle B is the band just behind A, in which grains
are debonded, but not otherwise damaged. The measured 2-D porosity of B was 19%. Rectangle C is a zone outside of the influence of the
breakout. The 2-D porosity there is 24%. (The dotted circle below rectangle B demarks a suspected missing grain. Any such black areas of
comparable dimensions could indicate similar missing grains, removed inadvertently during section polishing).
of debonded, yet primarily intact, grains. The prevailing com-
pressive stress concentration in this area, farther away from
the breakout tip along the
h
springline (equation 1), is not
sufficient to fracture the quartz grains, but high enough to
break the weak suture contacts, thus loosening the grains and
enabling grain compaction. This zone ends where intact grains
have mostly undamaged grain contacts(Fig.5b).
The slot breakout develops when fragments of grains in
the damage zone start falling into the borehole, aided by the
circulating drilling fluid. As the narrow breakout forms, the
high stress concentration along the
h
springline shifts for-
ward ahead of the advancing breakout tip and the damage zone
lengthens. The breakout continues to grow until grains cease
to dislodge from the breakout tip, either because of the devel-
opment of a stable arch by grain fragments, or because the
circulating fluid does not reach the breakout tip when breakout
length becomes sufficiently great.
Mollema & Antonellini (1996) identified a new geologic
structure in the Navajo sandstone, known as compaction band,
a long and narrow tabular deformation zone, extending per-
pendicular to the maximum compressive principal stress,
characterized by pure grain compaction and reduced poros-
ity with no signs of shear offset. Olsson (1999) suggested
that slot breakouts like the one shown in Figure 4 are emp-
tied compaction bands. Klaetsch &Haimson (2002) supported
Olssons suggestion by discovering that in St. Peter sandstone
a narrow band develops ahead of the breakout tip the porosity
of which is substantially reduced, typical of a compaction
band.
Using a commercial imaging software, the 2D porosity
of the zone just behind the crushed grains in St. Meinrad
sandstone was determined to be 19% (Fig. 5b). The zone of
damaged grains was not used for porosity assessment because
some fragments of an already fine-grain rock had been dis-
lodged during specimen polishing, precluding the ability to
obtain a correct measurement. For comparison, a similar
area in the undamaged rock matrix away from the breakout
tip yielded a 2D porosity of 24% (Fig.5b). This is a 21%
drop in porosity, reinforcing the claim that the tabular zone
ahead of the breakout is a compaction band. This observa-
tion strongly supports previous findings in other quartz-rich
sandstones (Lee, 2005) that tabular breakouts form from the
removal of debonded and shattered grains developed within
a localized compacted band straddling the h springline as a
result of the high compressive stress that concentrates there
(equation 1).
7 CONCLUSIONS
Grain scale mechanics leading to borehole instability and
breakouts can differ depending on rock type, mineral com-
position and grain cementation. The paper demonstrates that,
based on extensive laboratory drilling experiments, shear
rupturing initiating at the borehole wall along the
h
spring-
line brings about V-shaped breakouts in soft, weak porous
limestones like the Austin chalk.
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Sandstones rich in feldspar (2550%), are typically well
cemented, and develop clusters of extensile microcracks par-
allel to the borehole wall along the
h
springline. These
microcracks extend laterally away from the springline, and
bend toward the borehole, releasing thin layers of grains into
the borehole. Subsequent layers are shorter thanprevious ones,
leading to V-shaped breakouts.
The most unusual, and unexpected breakouts occur in
quartz-rich sandstones (90100%), in which grains are weakly
bonded. Excessive in situ stresses lead to localized debonding
of grains along a narrow band straddling the
h
springline.
Loosened grains are free to compact reducing the porosity in
the band, thus creating compaction bands. Loose grains at the
borehole wall are dislodged from the host rock and into the
borehole, initiating and extending the breakout, which takes
the formof the compaction band, i.e. tabular with very narrow
width and considerable length, resembling a slot or an open
fracture.
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