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At least 541 records · Page 30
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Fracture behavior of irradiation induced nanocrystalline UO 2 studied by in-situ mechanical testing in transmission electron microscopy

Uranium Dioxide (UO 2 ) is widely used as a fuel in current light water reactors (LWRs). Upon accumulation of radiation damage, LWR UO 2 fuel pellets start to develop a different microstructure at the pellet periphery when fuel burnup exceeds 45–50 GWd/tHM. The resulting porous, nanocrystalline microstructure is one of the most prominent microstructural changes occurring in such fuel. Its fracture mechanisms, which causes fuel fine fragmentation, could impact safety limits when the cladding breaches. Direct measurements of these properties are challenging, therefore a surrogate obtained via ion irradiation can be used. In this study, multiple microcantilevers were fabricated by focused ion beam from both fresh UO 2 and UO 2 irradiated with 84 MeV Xe 26+ ions to a peak dose of 1357 displacements per atom (dpa). Further, the irradiation produced a pseudo high burnup structure approximately 2 µm below the surface. In-situ nano-mechanical bending tests were conducted to investigate the fracture behavior and the effect of the surrogate UO 2 high burnup structure on local fracture properties. Fresh UO 2 fuel was observed to fracture in transgranular mode without nucleation or movement of dislocations. However, the Xe-irradiated nanocrystalline microcantilevers fractured along the grain boundaries, with no influence from the pre-existing micro-cracks in the microcantilever. Fracture toughness for this type of surrogate high burnup UO 2 structure is reported for the first time in literature. Both the fracture stress and toughness show degradation for UO 2 as a result of Xe-irradiation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Statistical fracture behavior of doped UO 2 using a ball-on-ring equibiaxial flexure test method

Metal oxide dopants, such as titanium and chromium oxides, have garnered considerable attention for their potential to increase grain size (≥ 30 µm) in UO 2 fuel, purportedly enhancing fission gas retention during reactor operation. Fuel performance is significantly impacted by fuel fracture behavior, so it is important to understand the effects of enhanced grain size and dopant content on UO 2 fuel fracture. UO 2 pellets were doped with 0.1 wt% TiO 2 and 0.3 wt% Cr 2 O 3 to alter density and grain size. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy measured dopant levels pre- and post-sintering. X-ray diffraction revealed lattice changes and microstrain via Rietveld refinement. Field emission scanning electron microscopy determined grain sizes of approximately 30 µm for TiO 2 doping and 7 µm for Cr 2 O 3 doping. Transverse rupture strength tests were performed on over 30 samples per dataset to obtain characteristic strength and Weibull modulus. Results indicate no statistical difference in fracture strength between 0.1 wt% TiO 2 doped UO 2 and undoped UO 2 , while 0.3 wt% Cr 2 O 3 doped UO 2 exhibited a 20% decrease in fracture strength. Doped UO 2 samples also showed reduced Weibull modulus compared to undoped UO 2 , suggesting increased scatter in fracture strength. This study's findings suggest that titanium and chromium oxide doping in UO 2 , regardless of grain size, induce residual stresses, decreasing fracture strength and increasing variability in fracture behavior.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fabric controls on fracture surface roughness of an architected rock material

Fluid flow through fractures is intimately linked to the fracture surfaces that define the void geometry through which fluids flow. Thus, an understanding of what controls fracture surface roughness is essential to the development of models for predicting fluid transport through fractured rock. The difficulty in predicting surface roughness arises from the complexity of rock which is inherently heterogeneous and nonuniform in composition, fabric, and structural components, even when samples are acquired from the same rock mass. Here, a benchmarked-simulation approach motivated from geo-architected 3D printed synthetic gypsum rocks is used to provide insight into the competing contributions from fabric and layering on fracture roughness formation. Simulation results from a discrete element model (Particle Flow Code, Itasca Consulting Group, Inc.) clearly indicate that the relative orientation between mineral layers and in-layer mineral fabric, and the variability in mineral bonding strengths determine whether anisotropic corrugated surfaces or isotropic surfaces are formed. Weak mineral layers oriented perpendicular to the applied load resulted in strong roughness anisotropy. Peak failure loads were found to vary up to 30% depending on the strength of the mineral fabric at the location of fracture initiation, which provides insight into the observed high variability in strength values of natural rock. The uniqueness of induced fracture roughness and peak failure load is intimately linked to layering, mineral fabric, and their distribution in the rock. These findings have important implications for any architected material fabricated through serial printing of layers with local compositional heterogeneity.

3D printed rock↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fracture characteristics and heat treatment of laser powder bed fusion additively manufactured GRCop-84 copper

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) of Glenn Research Copper 84 (GRCop-84), a Cr 2 Nb (8 at. % Cr, 4 at. % Nb) precipitation hardened alloy, produces a fully dense high conductivity alloy with a yield strength of 500 MPa and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 740 MPa, superior to other competing copper alloys, and 20% elongation at fracture for material stressed perpendicular to the build direction. The high thermal stability of the Cr 2 Nb precipitate in the copper matrix reduces coarsening and maintains a 300 MPa yield, 520 MPa UTS and 26% elongation after a 900 °C, 5-h heat treatment, while a 3 h 450 °C heat treatment increases yield to 810 MPa, UTS to 970 MPa with 9% elongation at fracture, for samples stressed perpendicular to the build direction. Tensile strength anisotropy based on print direction was attributed to internal stress and columnar grain formation. Void nucleation during tensile fracture was initiated by brittle fracture of precipitate particles within the copper matrix. Fracture cusps contain matching precipitate fragment geometry on opposing sides located near the cusp center in at least 80% of fracture cusps. An optimal precipitate size of 100 nm is predicted for maximum tensile strength from precipitates on fracture surfaces, while tensile testing with varying heat treatments shows maximum strength with 100 nm and smaller precipitates. Cr2Nb precipitates are shown to transition between polycrystalline and monocrystalline structures at high temperature.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Stress-sensitivity of fracture conductivity of Tuscaloosa Marine Shale cores

Production decline from wells producing from shale rocks is typically quite rapid. One possible factor responsible for such decline is loss in fracture conductivity. This is true in the case of the Tuscaloosa Marine shale reservoir. In this work, the stress-dependent fracture conductivity of TMS core samples is investigated using five propped cores under varying stress conditions. In addition, the effects of static rock mechanical properties and rock mineralogy on conductivity decline are investigated. The mineralogy of each core sample was determined by X-ray Diffraction analysis. Fracture conductivity was measured using a Hassler-type pressure core holder with a pressure rating of 15,000 psi (103.42 MPa). Estimated rock mechanical properties showed that shale anisotropy could affect fracture conductivity. The time decline in conductivity revealed two possible decline trends, a) decline from the reduction in induced fracture width, and b) decline from the healing of developed micro-cracks. An exponential decline in fracture conductivity with increasing confinement pressure was observed with an average decline rate constant of 3.15 x 10 -10 mPa -1 . While rock mineralogy did not have any clear relationship with conductivity decline, the effects of rock mechanical properties were only important at 10.34 MPa confinement pressure and above. The observation showed that a high Young's modulus correlate to high conductivity, whereas a high Poisson's ratio correlate to low conductivity. This study provides useful observations for optimizing fracture design to enhance well productivity in the TMS.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2018

First-principles study of fracture toughness enhancement in transition metal nitrides

Due to its superior thermophysical properties, ZrN thin film has been studied as a diffusion barrier for a variety of applications. However, cracks and delamination of ZrN coating takes place because of its brittleness. To identify new diffusion barrier materials with improved fracture toughness, we systematically studied the mechanical properties, surface energies and fracture toughness of IVB, VB and VIB transition metal mononitrides using first-principles calculations. TiN and HfN show slightly better toughness than ZrN. To improve the toughness of ZrN, we investigated the fracture toughness of ZrN alloyed with 25% IVB, VB and VIB transition metal nitrides. TiN, HfN and TaN was found to be able to increase the fracture toughness of ZrN through alloying. Meanwhile, we predicted the interfacial fracture toughness of ZrN/TiN and ZrN/HfN interfaces to evaluate the fracture toughness of ZrN/TiN and ZrN/HfN multilayer structures. Both ZrN/TiN and ZrN/HfN films exhibit higher interfacial fracture toughness than that of ZrN single film. Furthermore, alloying and multilayer structures are promising approaches to enhance the toughness of brittle ZrN film.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Monitoring Fracture Saturation With Internal Seismic Sources and Twin Neural Networks

Seismic coda-wave analysis is a well-developed method for detecting subtle physical changes in complex media by measuring arrival times in the late-arriving energy from multiply scattered or reflected waves. However, a challenge arises when multiply scattered waves are not sufficiently separated in time from the direct arrivals to provide a clear coda wave train. Additional complications for monitoring changes in fracture systems arise when the signals originate from unsynchronized internal sources, such as natural or induced seismicity, from acoustic emission, or from transportable intra-fracture sources (chattering dust), that generate uncontrolled signals that vary in arrival time, amplitude and frequency content. Here, we use a twin neural network (TNN also known as a Siamese neural network) for dimensionality reduction to analyze signals from chattering dust to classify the fluid saturation state of a synthetic fracture system. The TNN with shared weights generates a low-dimensional representation of the data input by minimizing contrastive loss, serving as the input to a multiclass classifier that accurately classifies whether multiple fractures in a fracture system are fully saturated or partially saturated, or whether a change in saturation has occurred in different fractures in the system. Furthermore, these results show that information buried in unresolved codas from uncontrolled sources can be extracted using machine learning to monitor the evolution of fracture systems caused by physical and chemical processes even when the scattered and direct wave fields overlap.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Simulating the Fracture of Notched Mortar Beams through Extended Finite-Element Method and Peridynamics

This paper simulates fracture in notched mortar beams under three-point bending using extended finite element method (XFEM) and peridynamics. A three-phase microstructure (i.e., cement paste, aggregates, and paste-aggregate interface) is used for constitutive modeling of the mortar to obtain the elastic properties for simulation. In the XFEM approach, the simulated homogenized elastic modulus is used along with the total fracture energy of the cement mortar in a damage model to predict the fracture response of the mortar including crack propagation and its fracture parameters (Mode I stress intensity factor, K IC and critical crack tip opening displacement, CTOD C ). The damage model incorporates a maximum principal stress-based damage initiation criteria and a traction-separation law for damage evolution. In the peridynamics approach, a bond-based model involving a prototype microelastic brittle (PMB) material model is used. The elastic properties and fracture energy release rates are used as inputs in the PMB model, along with the choice of peridynamic horizon size. Comparison with experimental fracture properties ( K IC , CTOD C ) as well as crack propagation paths from digital image correlation show that both the approaches yield satisfactory results, particularly for K IC and crack extension. Furthermore, both these methods can be adopted for fracture simulation of cement-based materials.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Influence of Pore Water on the Fracture of Silica Sand at Particle Scale

The fracture of particles has a significant influence on the engineering behavior of granular materials. There are no reported conclusive answers in the literature to explain the influence of pore water on the fracture of sand, gravel, railroad ballast rock, aggregates, rockfill, and so on. Here, in this paper, two novel techniques were adopted to investigate the influence of pore water on the fracture of natural silica sand at the particle scale. The three-dimensional (3D) synchrotron microcomputed tomography (SMT) imaging technique was used to acquire and analyze multiple 3D images of specimens composed of wetted silica sand that were subjected to confined one-dimensional (1D) compression loading up to the fracture stage. A few representative particles were identified and digitally separated from the liquid water and gas phases. The 3D SMT images offer clear experimental evidence of the phase transition of water from liquid to gas within the opening cracks. In addition, a computational fluid dynamics numerical simulation framework for water flow into an opening crack was adopted and the results show that the fast opening of the crack induced cavitation, water phase transition, and water hammer effects. The results of the numerical simulations agree with the confined 1D compression experiments where the onset of the bubbles (gas phase) within the crack is mainly generated during the secondary cavitation stage, and the generated bubble near the crack mouth opening resulted from the primary cavitation, which was directly caused by the crack expansion. The results reported in this paper present a new cavitation phenomenon that occurs during particle fracture, which offers a physics-based explanation of why water-wetted sand fractures at smaller stresses than dry and can pave the way for more in-depth future studies on the fracture of water-wetted sand.

cavitation↗
DOE OSTI2019

Reactive Transport Simulation of Fracture Channelization and Transmissivity Evolution

Underground fractures serve as flow conduits, and they may produce unwanted migration of water and other fluids in the subsurface. An example is the migration and leakage of greenhouse gases in the context of geologic carbon sequestration. This study has generated new understanding about how acids erode carbonate fracture surfaces and the positive feedback between reaction and flow. A two-dimensional reactive transport model was developed and used to investigate the extent to which geochemical factors influence fracture permeability and transmissivity evolution in carbonate rocks. The only mineral modeled as reactive is calcite, a fast-reacting mineral that is abundant in subsurface formations. The X-ray computed tomography dataset from a previous experimental study of fractured cores exposed to carbonic acid served as a testbed to benchmark the model simulation results. The model was able to capture not only erosion of fracture surfaces but also the specific phenomenon of channelization, which produces accelerating transmissivity increase. Results corroborated experimental findings that higher reactivity of the influent solution leads to strong channelization without substantial mineral dissolution. Simulations using mineral maps of calcite in a specimen of Amherstburg limestone demonstrated that mineral heterogeneity can either facilitate or suppress the development of flow channels depending on the spatial patterns of reactive mineral. In these cases, fracture transmissivity may increase rapidly, increase slowly, or stay constant, and for all these possibilities, the calcite mineral continues to dissolve. Collectively, these results illustrate that fluid chemistry and mineral spatial patterns need to be considered in predictions of reaction-induced fracture alteration and risks of fluid migration.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Potential seal bypass and caprock storage produced by deformation-band-to-opening-mode-fracture transition at the reservoir/caprock interface

Here, we examined the potential impact on CO 2 transport of zones of deformation bands in reservoir rock that transition to opening-mode fractures within overlying caprock. Sedimentological and petrophysical measurements were collected along an approximately 5 m × 5 m outcrop of the Slick Rock and Earthy Members of the Entrada Sandstone on the eastern flank of the San Rafael Swell, Utah, USA. Measured deformation band permeability (2 mD) within the reservoir facies is about three orders of magnitude lower than the host sandstone. Average permeability of the caprock facies (0.0005 mD) is about seven orders of magnitude lower than the host sandstone. Aperture-based permeability estimates of the opening-mode caprock fractures are high (3.3 × 10 7 mD). High-resolution CO 2 –H 2 O transport models incorporate these permeability data at the millimeter scale. We then varied fault properties at the reservoir/caprock interface between open fractures and deformation bands as part of a sensitivity study. Numerical modeling results suggest that zones of deformation bands within the reservoir strongly compartmentalize reservoir pressures largely blocking lateral, cross-fault flow of supercritical CO 2 . Significant vertical CO 2 transport into the caprock occurred in some scenarios along opening-mode fractures. The magnitude of this vertical CO 2 transport depends on the small-scale geometry of the contact between the opening-mode fracture and the zone of deformation bands, as well as the degree to which fractures penetrate caprock. Finally, the presence of relatively permeable units within the caprock allows storage of significant volumes of CO 2 , particularly when the fracture network does not extend all the way through the caprock.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fracture Sustainability Test, Pre- and Post-Test Photomicrographs

The primary objective of this research is to understand how different rock types, mineral and fluid compositions, and fracture surface textures determine the longevity of fracture apertures, so that selection of reservoir rock can be economically optimized to reduce future refracturing. We are performing laboratory tests to study this in a custom apparatus at conditions relevant to EGS, with temperatures up to 250 degrees C (design maximum 300 degrees C). Our approach is to perform a number of long term (up to several months) laboratory experiments using relevant rock samples with different mineralogies to explore fracture sustainability under EGS conditions. We use an apparatus that allows direct application of a normal force on the fracture faces of a single fracture in a sample having a sheared, tensile fracture. We flow brine of a specified composition through the aperture, and simultaneously measure the fracture permeability and closure. We collect the effluent water for chemical and isotopic analysis. We are numerically modeling our tests and comparing experimental and numerical results. This submission includes photomicrographs of pre-test (unreacted) and post-test (reacted) samples from Brady well BCH-03 at various depths, Desert Peak well DP 35-13, and samples of Stripa granite. The photomicrographs are provided using uncrossed and crossed polarized light (xpl). UN is uncrossed nicols, CN and xpl are crossed nicols (crossed polars). The magnification listed is just referring to the objective lens that was used, not the total magnification of the images. With a 5x objective, the bottom dimension of an image is 1.75 mm. With 10x the bottom dimension of an image is 0.875 mm, and with 2x the bottom dimension of an image is 4.375 mm.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Numerical Analysis of the Source of Excessive Na + and Cl – Species in Flowback Water From Hydraulically Fractured Shale Formations

Fracture fluid comprises fresh water, proppant, and a small percentage of other additives, which support the hydraulic fracturing process. Excluding situations in which flowback water is recycled and reused, total dissolve solids in fracture fluid is limited to the fluid additives, such as potassium chloride (1-7 weight percent KCL), which is used as a clay stabilizer to minimize clay swelling, and clay particle migration. However, the composition of recovered fluid, especially as it relates to the total dissolve solids (TDS), is always substantially different than the injected fracture fluid. The ability to predict flowback water volume and composition is useful when planning for the management or reuse of this aqueous byproduct stream. In this work, an ion transport and halite dissolution model was coupled with a fully implicit, dual porosity, numerical simulator, to study the source of the excess solutes in flowback water, and to predict the concentration of both Na+ and Cl- species seen in recovered water. The results showed that mixing alone, between the injected fracture fluid and concentrated in situ formation brine, could not account for the substantial rise in TDS seen in flowback water. Instead, the results proved that halite dissolution is a major contributor to the change in TDS seen in fracture fluid during injection and recovery. Halite dissolution can account for as much as 81% of Cl- and 86.5% of Na+ species seen in 90-day flowback water; mixing, between the injected fracture fluid and in situ concentrated brine, accounts for approximately 19% Cl- and 13% Na+.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Investigation of Gravity-Driven Infiltration Instabilities in Smooth and Rough Fractures Using a Pairwise-Force Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Model

In this work, we use a three-dimensional multiphase pairwise-force smoothed particle hydrodynamics (PF-SPH) method to simulate infiltration dynamics in smooth and rough fractures. We investigate the influence of roughness and injection rate on the fluid flow profile and flow velocity. Three types of fractures are considered with different degrees of roughness, including a smooth fracture. Both the rough and smooth fractures exhibit flow instability, fingering, and intermittent flow regimes for low infiltration rates. A stable fluid profile only is achieved for high fluxes when fractures are fully saturated. In all considered fractures, the mean flow velocity exponentially increases with increasing infiltration rate. To characterize the flow instability, we calculate standard deviations of the velocity in different sections of the fracture relative to the mean flow velocity. For the considered infiltration rates, we find that roughness decreases the flow velocity and increases the velocity standard deviations. Hence, we observe that the likelihood of discontinuities in flow regimes increases with the degree of roughness.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Enhancements to Engineering-scale Reactor Pressure Vessel Fracture Capabilities in Grizzly

The Grizzly code is being developed to model the effect of aging in nuclear power plant systems, components, and structures. A significant part of this effort has been to develop capabilites to model the effects of embrittlement in reactor pressure vessels on their integrity. This includes both modeling of microstructure and engineering property evolution, and engineering-scale probabilistic fracture mechanics analysis. This report documents recent advances to the engineering-scale fracture mechanics capability for evaluation of RPV integrity under transient loading in Grizzly. These developments are in three areas: probabilistic fracture mechanics, general reduced order models for fracture a flaw locations, and improvments to the XFEM capability used in Grizzly for fracture mechanics analysis. The combination of these developments brings Grizzly closer to a state where it can be applied in production as a general tool for engineering-scale fracture mechanics analysis. The probabilistic fracture mechanics capabilities are included in the 1.5 testing version of Grizzly, and will be further refined in preparation for production use in the 2.0 released planned for fiscal year 2018.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Discrete Fracture Network Modeling to Estimate Upscaled Parameters for the Topopah Spring, Lava Flow, and Tiva Canyon Aquifers at Pahute Mesa, Nevada National Security Site

This report describes the results of Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) simulations for the Topopah Spring Aquifer (TSA), Lava Flow Aquifer, and Tiva Canyon Aquifer (TCA), at Pahute Mesa on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), formerly the Nevada Test Site. The research focuses on calculating upscaled groundwater flow and contaminant transport parameters using DFNs generated according to fracture characteristics observed in the TSA, LFA and TCA at Pahute Mesa. The highly fractured and heterogeneous nature of these aquifers makes them candidates for stochastic DFN modeling of radionuclide transport on a small scale with subsequent upscaling. One hundred independent DFN realizations are generated for each aquifer, and the upscaled parameters for continuum simulations of subsurface flow and transport in fractured media at Pahute Mesa are calculated. Our goal is to implement a modeling approach that can translate parameters to larger-scale models that account for local-scale flow and transport processes, such as channelization of flow and transport along a few well connected, large fractures. Additionally, to simulate advective and advective-diffusive transport through the fracture networks, the Time Domain Random Walk (TDRW) approach is applied to account for matrix diffusion into a finite half-space. Moreover, a novel approach to calculate dynamic (active) fracture surface area to reflect flow channeling is implemented. This work will improve the representation of radionuclide transport processes in largescale, regulatory-focused models by providing estimates of hard-to-measure flow and contaminant transport parameters at large scales. In this report, we (1) show recent results of flow and transport simulations on multiple DFN realizations of the TSA, LFA, TCA; (2) discuss the resulting distributions of estimated upscaled parameters; (3) describe the estimation of upscaled parameters for an equivalent parallel-plate continuum model and (4) present a comparison between simulated transport from the equivalent continuum model and an actual DFN.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Sealing Mechanisms of a Fracture in Opalinus Clay as Revealed by in situ Synchrotron X-Ray Micro-Tomography

The detailed mechanisms of the sealing of a single fracture, from hydration to almost complete closure by increase of confining pressure, as monitored from in situ synchrotron X-ray microtomography during the flow of carbonated water, is here shown for the first time. Different mechanisms play the key role at different stages in the evolution of the fracture. Hydration mechanically weakens the surfaces of the fracture and induces a first closure due to microcracking at the asperity contacts, increasing their size and creating choke points. Increase in confining stress promptly hydraulically seals the fracture by closing the main choke point, with a relative small deformation of the sample. Finally, the more pervasive mechanical deformation observed at higher stresses almost completely seals the whole fracture. The evolution of the sample has been described and quantified using 4D image processing, focusing on the evolution of aperture and digital volume correlation. Hydraulic properties of the sample at different stages have been modeled via Stokes flow simulation, and the results compared to the morphometric analysis, finding positive correlations with the average fracture aperture variation along the flowpath in function of confining pressure. Opalinus Clay is found to be a rock markedly prone to sealing in case of flow with carbonated water; this behavior is the result of the large fraction of clays and of its microstructure, lacking both cementing phases and large stiff particles. CO2 in this sample has no evident role in the evolution of the fracture; chemically induced weathering on the surface has not been detected, in contrast with the behavior observed in samples with carbonates as cementing phase.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

The role of stress and fluid saturation on the acoustic response of fractured rock

Standard rock physics models are formulated to describe the behavior of porous sedimentary reservoirs, with clean sandstones being the archetypal system; however, many situations demand geophysical monitoring of rocks with significantly different structures, such as low porosity, fractured reservoirs. Conventional models also suggest that these “stiff” reservoirs can be challenging to monitor seismically due to small fluid substitution effects, but the presence of fractures leads to stress dependence which may be leveraged for remote monitoring purposes. Using samples from the Duperow Formation (dolostone) obtained from the Danielson test well in Kevin Dome, MT, we conducted ultrasonic and multi-scale structural (profilometry, synchrotron micro-tomography, pressure sensitive film) measurements on naturally fractured core in order to characterize the effects of fluid substitution and effective stress on the acoustic response of fractured reservoir rock with a focus in particular on the textural and seismic characteristics of natural fractures. We find that changes in effective stress can yield changes in velocity of up to 20% and changes in attenuation up to 200%. Measured fluid substitution effects are resolvable, but stress effects dominate. These measurements provide insight into the physical processes controlling acoustic response of fractured rocks in general and can also be used to inform monitoring efforts in fractured reservoirs.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗