Characteristics of hydraulic fracture surface based on 3D scanning technology

摘要

The surface characteristics of fractured specimens are important in hydraulic fracturing laboratory experiments. In this paper we present a three-dimensional (3D) scanning device assembled to study these surface characteristics. Cube-shaped coal rock specimens were produced in the laboratory and subjected to triaxial loading until the specimen split in two in a hydraulic fracturing experiment. Each fractured specimen was placed on a rotating platform and scanned to produce 3D surface coordinates of the surface of the fractured coal specimen. The scanned data was processed to produce high-precision digital images of the fractured model, a surface contour map, and accurate values of the surface area and specimen volume. The images produced by processing the 3D scanner data provided detailed information on the morphology of the fractured surface and the mechanism of fracture propagation. High-precision 3D mapping of the fractured surfaces is essential for quantitative analysis of fractured specimens. The 3D scanning technology presented here is an important tool for the study of fracture characteristics in hydraulic fracturing experiments.