Course Description

This course covers the assessment of rock strength and the mechanical criteria used to predict and analyze rock failure. Rock is an inherently flawed material, from the scale of individual mineral grains to the large-scale boundaries between tectonic plates. These flaws impact greatly on failure characteristics and associated deformation. In order to understand how brittle failure occurs, it is necessary to describe the mechanical laws that enable us to quantify deformation occurring in rock under the influence of applied stresses.

It therefore introduces the concept of the tensor quantity stress and its consequences for rock deformation. This approach requires an examination of elasticity theory, which commonly provides a good approximation to the mechanical behavior of rock in the crust. A thorough overview of continuum mechanics applied to rock deformation will segue into the concepts and mathematical theory of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), which is used to address how cracks in rocks enable brittle failure. LEFM theory can be used to quantify the stress, strain, and displacement fields around cracks subject to external loads, and subsequent failure characteristics.

Course Goal

To enhance the participants’ knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for understanding and intuition of the mechanics of deformation in the Earth, highlighting the importance and usefulness of quantitative analyses of rock failure using the concepts of fracture mechanics.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, participant will be able to:

• Define geomechanics and rock fracture mechanics. 
• Understand the importance of geomechanics and rock fracture studies. 
• Identify the types of fractures in the Earth and their importance. 
• Be familiar with the terminologies for natural fracture systems. 
• Understand and apply the methodologies for geomechanical analyses. 
• Understand the deformation criteria.  
• Measure the stress in the Earth. 
• Understand the fundamentals of elasticity 
• Explain rock mechanics. 
• Understand the failure in a continuum. 
• Understand griffith criteria for failure. 
• Determine stress tensors. 
• Understand elasticity theory 
• Explain stress functions. 
• Identify displacement fields around cracks. 
• Identify stress fields around cracks.
• Understand the propagation of fractures. 

Who Can Benefit

All persons associated in any way with the oil industry, specially Mud Loggers, well site geologists, pressure engineers, Mud engineers and Drilling engineers.