The transition from elastic to inelastic deformation occurs at the yield point in a stress-strain diagram. This yield point expresses the moment when a material undergoes permanent deformation and is marked by the onset of fracturing in the brittle field at relatively low pressures and temperatures or the onset of dislocation and/or diffusional creep processes in the ductile field at higher temperatures and pressures. Detection of this transition in materials under stress using an indirect measurement technique is crucial to predict imminent failure, loss of material integrity, or of approaching release of energy by seismic rupture. Here we use a pulse transmission method at ultrasonic frequencies to record the change in acoustic wave form across the transition from elastic to inelastic deformation in a rock-fracturing experiment. In particular, we measure both the acoustic wave velocity and attenuation with increasing strain from the elastic regime all the way to macroscopic failure. Our results show that the transition from elastic to inelastic deformation coincides with a minimum in attenuation. Below this minimum, pre-existing microfractures close, leading to a reduction of attenuation. Above this minimum, formation of new microfractures occurs and attenuation increases until peak stress conditions, at which larger fractures are formed and the rock starts to lose its strength and integrity. At the same time, the acoustic wave velocity continues to increase across the transition from elastic to inelastic deformation; hence the acoustic velocity is not a valid indicator for this elastic to inelastic transition. We propose that analysis of attenuation, not velocity, of acoustic waves through stressed materials may thus be used, for example, to detect imminent failure in materials, onset of crack formation in pipes or the cement casing in boreholes, or onset of fracturing in the near wellbore area. On a larger scale, attenuation monitoring may help predict the imminent release of energy by seismic rupture. @en

The formation of a fracture network in rocks has a crucial control on the flow behaviour of fluids. In addition, an existing network of fractures , influences the propagation of new fractures during e.g. hydraulic fracturing or during a seismic event. Understanding of the type and characteristics of the fracture network that will be formed during e.g. hydraulic fracturing is thus crucial to better predict the outcome of a hydraulic fracturing job. For this, knowledge of the rock properties is crucial. The brittleness index is often used as a rock property that can be used to predict the fracturing behaviour of a rock for e.g. hydraulic fracturing of shales. Various terminologies of the brittleness index (BI1, BI2 and BI3) exist based on mineralogy, elastic constants and stress-strain behaviour (Jin et al., 2014, Jarvie et al., 2007 and Holt et al., 2011). A maximum brittleness index of 1 predicts very good and efficient fracturing behaviour while a minimum brittleness index of 0 predicts a much more ductile shale behaviour. Here, we have performed systematic petrophysical, acoustic and geomechanical analyses on a set of shale samples from Whitby (UK) and we have determined the three different brittleness indices on each sample by performing all the analyses on each of the samples. We show that each of the three brittleness indices are very different for the same sample and as such it can be concluded that the brittleness index is not a good predictor of the fracturing behaviour of shales. The brittleness index based on the acoustic data (BI1) all lie around values of 0.5, while the brittleness index based on the stress strain data (BI2) give an average brittleness index around 0.75, whereas the mineralogy brittleness index (BI3) predict values below 0.2. This shows that by using different estimates of the brittleness index different decisions can be made for hydraulic fracturing. If we would rely on the mineralogy (BI3), the Whitby mudstone is not a suitable candidate for hydraulic fracturing while if we would rely on stress-strain data (BI2) the Whitby mudstone would be a very good candidate. We are aiming to perform these kind of measurements on a wide variety of shales with varying compositions and origins etc. and compare all results and come up with a better brittleness index, as well as link the brittleness indices to the fracturing behaviour seen in the samples. @en