The FRACLAB Hydraulic Fracture Test System warrants hydraulic fracture experiments with micro-seismic activity monitoring under various triaxial stress states and elevated temperatures. The device comprises a deviatoric triaxial cell equipped with an acoustic emission monitoring system. Four servo-controlled syringe pumps are utilized to control confining, axial, pore and fracturing fluid pressures. A lifting mechanism facilitates specimen setup. The apparatus determines specimen breakdown pressure at given confining and pore pressures, after which the tensile strength and frac-coefficient are computed. The acoustic emission (AE) monitoring system allows the characterization of fracture growth during geotechnical studies, e.g. hydraulic fracturing. Useful AE characteristic parameters, including hit counts, energy, amplitude, event duration and AE hypocenter localization are determined. Moreover, precise in-vessel deformation sensors measure diametral and axial strains during the test.
Specifications
| Maximum axial stress | 424 Mpa |
|---|---|
| Maximum confining pressure | 70 MPa |
| Maximum pore pressure | 70 MPa |
| Temperature range | ambient to 150°C (300F) |
| Specimen diameter | 54.7 mm (other upon request) |
| Specimen length | twice the diameter |
| Injection flow rate range | 0.0001 to 80 cc/min |
| Wetted parts | Stainless steel |
| Power supply | 110-220VAC, 50/60Hz |
