Encapsulated Microenergetic Materials for Fracture Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting and mapping underground fractures created during hydrofracturing are limited by low resolution and inability to accurately determine the location, shape, and extent of fractures, as well as the distribution of proppant materials, which hinders optimal fracture network design and efficiency in gas and oil extraction.
Innovation Solution
The use of encapsulated microenergetic materials, encapsulated in polymer-coated spheres, which can be placed in fractures to extend or modify existing fracture systems, and serve as acoustic sources for precise mapping through controlled energy release, allowing for improved fracture network characterization and proppant emplacement assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If geophysical methods are used to image fractures, then fracture location can be detected, but the resolution is low (meters) compared to fracture dimensions (millimeters)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection system by placing multiple acoustic sources (encapsulated energetic materials) at specific locations within the fracture network. Each source acts as an independent acoustic emitter, and by combining signals from multiple segmented sources, high-resolution 3D mapping of the fracture network is achieved, overcoming the resolution limits of conventional geophysical methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces acoustic waves as an intermediary medium to bridge the gap between the fracture structure and the detection system. Acoustic sources embedded in the fracture generate sound waves that propagate through the rock, and acoustic sensors detect these waves to reconstruct the fracture geometry, achieving millimeter-scale resolution.
2Productivity
If encapsulated energetic materials are used to extend fractures, then fracture network efficiency is improved, but safety risks increase due to explosive material handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses flexible polymer shells to encapsulate the energetic materials, protecting them from premature activation and environmental degradation. The thin film encapsulation allows the materials to be safely transported and emplaced in the fracture network, then activated on-demand using acoustic or thermal triggers, thereby improving fracture network efficiency while maintaining safety during handling and storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent exploits parameter changes in the energetic materials under extreme conditions (high temperature and pressure deep in the Earth). The materials remain stable during emplacement but become sensitive and can be triggered when environmental parameters change, allowing safe handling at the surface and controlled activation in situ to extend fractures and improve productivity.
3Reliability
If proppant materials are emplaced in fractures, then fracture conductivity is improved, but the distribution and extent of proppant emplacement cannot be accurately determined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the proppant emplacement function with the acoustic mapping function by incorporating acoustic sources within or alongside the proppant materials. This combination allows the same system to both prop open the fractures for conductivity and simultaneously enable precise mapping of proppant distribution and fracture geometry through acoustic signal propagation, achieving both reliability and measurement precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise mapping and modification of fracture networks, enhances drilling and hydrofracturing efficiency by directing energy to specific areas, protecting the borehole, and ensuring optimal rock volume access, while maintaining safety due to the use of insensitive explosives that become sensitive only under high temperature and pressure conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The present invention provides high energy materials that can be placed in previously created fractures and activated in place in order to extend or change an existing fracture system
Implementation Method 2
The invention describes a method of locating the emplaced proppant material through acoustic emissions of emplaced encapsulated energetic microcapsules
Implementation Method 3
Hydraulic fracturing occurs when the effective stress is reduced sufficiently by an increase in the pressure of fluids within the rock, such that the minimum principal stress becomes tensile and exceeds the tensile stress of the material
Data Source
AI summary
Providing high energy materials that can be placed in previously created fractures and activating them in place to extend or change an existing fracture system. Also detecting the location of fractures or permeable pathways and a means to assess the extent and efficiency of proppant emplacement.