Study of fracture mechanics in heterogeneous rocks, including crack initiation and propagation, has practical applications for geocontrol and identification of fracture zones in hydrocarbon well extraction. The features of microcrack zone formation depending on the type of rock heterogeneity under triaxial stress state conditions are considered. The research was conducted using an MTS 815 servo-hydraulic testing frame integrated with a Milne DAQ acoustic emission system (Itasca International Company, UK). The paper presents the fracture results of samples of various lithological types manufactured from cores of post-magmatic rocks. Fine-grained samples with gneissic and banded textures, as well as a coarse-grained sample with massive texture, were tested. During the tests, acoustic emission (AE) was recorded using 12 piezoceramic sensors. To describe the geometry of the fracture zone, the coordinates of AE event hypocenters were calculated, then the configuration of hypocenters distribution was analyzed using a tomography procedure (layer-by-layer construction of AE event density maps), and the angles β between the direction of the macrocrack and the axial stress σ1 were determined. To interpret the failure evolution, trends of the b-factor and AE activity were calculated, the intervals of critical behavior of which were correlated with the localization and tomography data. After testing the samples, the types of their deformation and the mechanism of destruction with the phenomenon of dilatation were revealed. It is established that for the considered types of sample inhomogeneities, various microcrack structures are formed under the same volumetric loading conditions. In fine-grained rock of gneissic texture, a linear distribution of AE hypocenters is formed, indicating the formation of microcracks along the direction of layering. For the fine-grained rock with banded texture, the hypocenter distribution is characterized by the formation of distinct clusters, reflecting areas of the most intensive fracturing. In the coarse-grained massive texture sample, a volumetric distribution of hypocenters is observed, manifesting dilatancy properties and the formation of an extensive microcrack network.
In order to study the mechanism of destruction of rocks of various genesis and the formation of fractured reservoirs at great depths, laboratory studies of rock samples in the loading conditions of comprehensive pressure with registration of acoustic emission (AE) and parameters of the process of changing the strength and deformation properties of samples were carried out. The spatial distributions of the hypocenters of AE events for each sample were investigated. By the nature of the distributions, the fracture geometry is described, then visually compared with the position of the formed macrofractures in the samples as a result of the tests. The time trends of the amplitude distribution b, set by the Guttenberg – Richter law, were calculated, which were compared with the loading curves and trends of the calculated AE activity. Based on the analysis of the AE process for three types of rocks – igneous (urtites), metamorphic (apatite-nepheline ores), and sedimentary (limestones) – parameterization of acoustic emission was carried out to determine the features of the deformation process and related dilatancy. As a result, three types of destruction of samples were identified, their geometry and changes in strength and seismic criteria were established.
