The in situ stress states associated with core discing estimated by analysis of principal tensile stress

Core discing occurs due to tensile stress induced by boring within or below a core stub when the minimum principal stress is nearly in the same direction as the core axis. To determine the effects of the core length on the magnitude and direction of tensile principal stress, a finite element analysis was carried out for an HQ core of different lengths for 77 in situ stress conditions. According to the minimum value and the mean inclination relative to the core axis for the maximum semi-axial tensile stresses', 30 in situ stress conditions were identified as being stress conditions under which core discing is likely to occur, and conditions necessary for in situ stress were proposed. The critical tensile stress, which is the tensile stress that can produce a tensile fracture that propagates throughout a cross-section, was analyzed for these stress conditions and a new criterion for core discing, which can be applied to a core of any length, was proposed. The stress conditions estimated by the criterion were consistent with previous experimental results for a long core and for thin discs. According to the criterion, the relationship between the core length and the in situ stress necessary for core discing was examined. Our analysis showed that the stress field can be divided into three regions and that core discing of short length mostly occurs at great depth. The average relationship between the core length and the disc thickness was determined by assuming that the position of a fracture is given by the mean position of the maximum semi-axial tensile stresses'. Our theoretical estimates reproduced previous experimental results regarding the effects of stress magnitude on the thickness of the disc. Thus, the present proposed criterion can be used to estimate the stress condition for core discing with a given disc thickness. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.