Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to report on the outcome of a continuous long-term flow-through experiment conducted on a fractured pure quartz sandstone (Fontainebleau) at 60 °C. Changes in effective pressure (1, 17, and 29 MPa) and pore fluid composition (deionized water and Si-rich solution) were sequentially imposed to investigate their respective effect on time-dependent fracture closure. Hydraulic fracture aperture, as derived from permeability measurements, showed to decrease substantially by about 50% within the 120 days of the experiment. Based on complementary analyses of the effluent Si concentration and microstructural investigations, it is suggested that, mechanistically, pressure solution, stress corrosion cracking, and free face dissolution contribute to the overall aperture decrease. However, as the fracture morphology evolves with time, the deformation mechanisms that are driven by diffusion and/or stress (i.e., pressure solution and stress corrosion cracking) may deactivate, yielding a significant decrease in the fracture closure rate. The study suggests follow-up experiments to quantitatively decipher the relative importance of the complex and coupled processes affecting fracture aperture and permeability.
Language: English
Subfield: Fuel Technology
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,050
OpenAlex ID: W7225106712