1. Petrophysical Controls on Fault Damage Zone Width and Character: As Important as Displacement? Laurel B. Goodwin and Harold Tobin, University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI 53706
Fault damage zones can significantly impact fluid flow in sandstones. Open fracture networks enhance permeability; shear deformation bands reduce permeability and slow production. Although damage zone width demonstrably increases with total displacement, there is no universal relationship between displacement and width, indicating displacement is not the sole variable controlling damage zone development. We are testing the hypothesis that grain contact strength is a primary control on damage zone width and structural character.
fracture
deformation
band
Variation in damage zone structure with cementation, Teapot Dome, Wyoming