Abstract: The invention provides a membrane structure suitable for a sand production test of a rock sample provided with a hollow cylinder shape, the membrane structure comprising a main body with a housing configured to confine the rock sample within; a watertight outer wall adapted to withstand external hydrostatic pressure exerted by a first fluid; a permeable inner wall limiting the housing and configured to exert pressure on the rock sample and, to inject a second fluid into the outer surface of said rock sample; a plurality of internal hollow chambers located between the watertight outer wall and the permeable inner wall, wherein each one of the plurality of internal hollow chambers includes a plurality of rigid particles filling the inner space of each hollow chamber for transmitting the external pressure exerted from the outer wall to the inner wall.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of estimating the region of damage due to collapse in the wall of a well during the drilling operation, normally using drilling fluid, where said well can, for example, be intended either for the injection or else for the production of a gas or oil reservoir. Other uses can be found in mining and in civil engineering work. This method is characterized by a set of analytical steps that allow establishing, for example, optimal drilling parameters so as to allow the fastest possible drilling speed that is also safe enough to allow is charging the collapse material without jamming the drilling tool. This method likewise allows assessing both the width and depth of damage in the wall of the well.

Abstract: The invention provides a membrane structure suitable for a sand production test of a rock sample provided with a hollow cylinder shape, the membrane structure comprising a main body with a housing configured to confine the rock sample within; a watertight outer wall adapted to withstand external hydrostatic pressure exerted by a first fluid; a permeable inner wall limiting the housing and configured to exert pressure on the rock sample and, to inject a second fluid into the outer surface of said rock sample; a plurality of internal hollow chambers located between the watertight outer wall and the permeable inner wall, wherein each one of the plurality of internal hollow chambers includes a plurality of rigid particles filling the inner space of each hollow chamber for transmitting the external pressure exerted from the outer wall to the inner wall.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for manipulating a mesh for the discretization of a reservoir domain, the reservoir domain modeled by a geophysical model, a fluid model, or both models. The method includes the use of cells partitioning the reservoir domain wherein each cell includes a numerical mesh. The mesh of the reservoir domain is the union of the meshes located in the plurality of cells. The partitioning of the domain into a plurality of cells allows easy modification of specific regions of the domain wherein re-meshing requirements are limited to those cells housing modified elements and maybe some surrounding cells.

Abstract: A method of determining maximum stress in a well drilled in a reservoir, primarily a hydrocarbon reservoir, where there is at least one zone. Collapse regions are produced while drilling a well because the material of the wall of the well exceeds its maximum allowable stress, the material fractures and falls off, leaving a cavity. The caliper of the damaged zone is measured by devices that extend radially until coming into contact with the physical wall of the well. The disclosed method determines the maximum allowable stress based on the caliper measurements and other variables which are determinable.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for estimating the fractured volume in a reservoir domain, said fractured volume generated by injecting a high pressure fluid into the reservoir domain. The high pressure fluid generates new fractures allowing a more effective drainage of porous rocks, generally identified as geological material, containing oil or gas. As a result, the effective reservoir volume increases. According to embodiments of the invention, the method provides a dynamic estimation of the fractured volume taking into account the evolution of the rock and the fractures. In other embodiment, the evolution of the fractured volume is estimated by generating an envelope surrounding the induced fractures allowing a better estimation of the fractured volume.

Abstract: The present invention is related to a method for estimating the fractured volume in a reservoir domain, said fractured volume generated by injecting a high pressure fluid into the reservoir domain. The high pressure fluid generates new fractures allowing a more effective drainage of porous rocks, generally identified as geological material, containing oil or gas. As a result, the effective reservoir volume increases. According to embodiments of the invention, the method provides a dynamic estimation of the fractured volume taking into account the evolution of the rock and the fractures. In other embodiment, the evolution of the fractured volume is estimated by generating an envelope surrounding the induced fractures allowing a better estimation of the fractured volume.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a computer-implemented invention for numerical modeling of a geological structure. The present invention solves the problem providing a method for use in the numerical simulation of the in-situ stress in a geological structure represented by a domain ? located under its external ground surface S. The method comprises mainly two steps: determining a first state of in-situ stress in the domain ? by means of six stress components and a second step determining a correction of the first state of stress in order to satisfy the equilibrium equation.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of estimating the region of damage due to collapse in the wall of a well during the drilling operation, normally using drilling fluid, where said well can, for example, be intended either for the injection or else for the production of a gas or oil reservoir. Other uses can be found in mining and in civil engineering work. This method is characterized by a set of analytical steps that allow establishing, for example, optimal drilling parameters so as to allow the fastest possible drilling speed that is also safe enough to allow is charging the collapse material without jamming the drilling tool. This method likewise allows assessing both the width and depth of damage in the wall of the well.

Abstract: A method of determining maximum stress in a well drilled in a reservoir, primarily a hydrocarbon reservoir, where there is at least one zone. Collapse regions are produced while drilling a well because the material of the wall of the well exceeds its maximum allowable stress, the material fractures and falls off, leaving a cavity. The caliper of the damaged zone is measured by devices that extend radially until coming into contact with the physical wall of the well. The disclosed method determines the maximum allowable stress based on the caliper measurements and other variables which are determinable.

Abstract: The object of the invention is a method implemented in a computer for the numerical simulation of a porous medium that may comprise multiple interacting hydraulic fractures in continuous or naturally fractured medium. The method calculates numerically the propagation of a crack, or set of cracks, for instance under the fluid pressure imposed artificially through a well or perforation in a rock mass. This is accomplished by using the Finite Element Method and the special elements named zero-thickness interface or joint elements in the specialized literature, which are pre-inserted along all potential crack paths in the rock mass (pre-existing natural and artificial fractures plus main potential new fracture paths).

Abstract: The object of the invention is a method implemented in a computer for the numerical simulation of a porous medium that may comprise multiple interacting hydraulic fractures in continuous or naturally fractured medium. The method calculates numerically the propagation of a crack, or set of cracks, for instance under the fluid pressure imposed artificially through a well or perforation in a rock mass. This is accomplished by using the Finite Element Method and the special elements named zero-thickness interface or joint elements in the specialized literature, which are pre-inserted along all potential crack paths in the rock mass (pre-existing natural and artificial fractures plus main potential new fracture paths).

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a computer-implemented invention for numerical modeling of a geological structure. The present invention solves the problem providing a method for use in the numerical simulation of the in-situ stress in a geological structure represented by a domain ? located under its external ground surface S. The method comprises mainly two steps: determining a first state of in-situ stress in the domain ? by means of six stress components and a second step determining a correction of the first state of stress in order to satisfy the equilibrium equation.