<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="elementToProof">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br>
</div>
<div lang="EN-US">
<div class="x_WordSection1">
<p class="x_xmsonormal" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">
<span class="x_xdefaultfonthxmailstyle" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"> </span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center; line-height:21.0pt">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><img width="600" height="171" id="x__x0000_i1025" alt="Dissertation Defense Announcement at the Cullen College of Engineering" src="https://www.egr.uh.edu/sites/www.egr.uh.edu/files/enews/2022/images/dissertation1.png"></span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center; line-height:21.0pt">
<b><span style="font-size:18.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; color:#C8102E"> </span></b></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center; line-height:21.0pt">
<b><span style="font-size:18.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; color:#C8102E">The Petroleum Engineering Department Presents</span></b></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center; line-height:21.0pt">
<b><span style="font-size:18.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; color:#C8102E"> </span></b></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center; line-height:21.0pt">
<b><span style="font-size:18.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; color:#C8102E">Anisotropic Fracture Toughness Characterization of
</span></b></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center; line-height:21.0pt">
<b><span style="font-size:18.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; color:#C8102E">Shale Formation from Drill Cuttings</span></b></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center; line-height:15.0pt">
<strong><span style="font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Erica Esatyana</span></strong></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;text-align:center; line-height:16.5pt">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">April 21, 2022; 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (CST)<br>
Location: RM 124, Technology Bridge, Department of Petroleum Engineering</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;text-align:center; line-height:16.5pt">
<strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Committee Chair:</span></strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><br>
Ahmad Sakhaee-Pour, Ph.D.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;text-align:center">
<strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Committee Members:</span></strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><br>
S.M. Farouq Ali, Ph.D. | Christine Ehlig-Economides, Ph.D. | </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;text-align:center">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">George K. Wong, Ph.D. | Kamy Sepehrnoori, Ph.D.</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" align="center" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:center">
<span class="x_xdefaultfonthxmailstyle" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"> </span></p>
<div align="center">
<table class="x_MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="background:white">
<tbody>
<tr style="height:377.1pt">
<td width="640" style="width:481.5pt; padding:0in 15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt; height:377.1pt">
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;line-height:16.5pt">
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; color:#C8102E">Abstract</span></strong></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:justify; line-height:115%">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; color:black">Shale is a sedimentary rock composed of clay minerals and silt-sized particles. Its pore throat sizes are as small as 10 nm in its matrix, which leads to ultralow
permeability. It has become economically viable for hydrocarbon recovery because of hydraulic fracturing, in which the required energy is defined by fracture toughness. Shale is mechanically unstable and retrieving a suitable core size for common tests is
costly and time-consuming. Thus, there is a need to develop new methods applicable to small pieces such as drill cuttings, which are often the only sources available in real-time conditions.</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:justify; line-height:115%">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:justify; line-height:115%">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; color:black">This study proposes two methods for the geomechanical characterization of shale at the core scale based on the interpretation of small-scale measurements. Both rely
on nanoindentations. The proposed conceptual models have applications in characterizing formation heterogeneity in the petroleum industry. The first determines Young’s moduli from cuttings, and the results are compared with those of the core plugs from the
Wolfcamp Formation. The sensitivity of the results to sample preparation is also discussed.
</span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:justify; line-height:115%">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="x_xmsonormal" style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;text-align:justify; line-height:115%">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; color:black">The second method characterizes the fracture toughness of shale based on the conceptual model proposed in accordance with the effective medium theory. The proposed
model sheds light on the complexities of the induced fracture patterns in shale that differ from those observed in homogeneous materials, such as fused silica and aluminum. The conceptual model is realistic for shale because it captures the sample heterogeneity.
The second method is tested at a small scale using different tip geometries. The interpreted fracture toughness values from the cube-corner and Berkovich tips are close, with less than 18% difference, which provides a partial validation for the conceptual
model. </span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;text-align:justify; line-height:115%">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt; line-height:115%; font-family:"Arial",sans-serif; color:black">The proposed model is also tested against independent data obtained from the cracked chevron notched Brazilian disc (CCNBD) test. The difference between predicted
fracture toughness values from nanoindentation and the CCNBD test is less than 13%, and this good agreement validates the proposed model. The proposed model has applications in characterizing the mechanical properties of shale using small samples from unconventional
resources.</span><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;text-align:justify; line-height:115%">
<span style="color:black"><img width="600" height="82" id="x__x0000_i1026" alt="Engineered For What's Next" src="https://www.egr.uh.edu/sites/www.egr.uh.edu/files/enews/2022/images/dissertation2.png"></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">
<span class="x_DefaultFontHxMailStyle" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;margin-right: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">
<span class="x_DefaultFontHxMailStyle" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; color: windowtext; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal;"> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>