DOI: 10.18503/1995-2732-2024-22-2-71-78
Abstract
Statement (Relevance). Environmental safety of uranium mining by in-situ leaching is determined by tightness of production strings of process wells both during construction and operation. The applied methods of geophysical surveys (current logging, flow measurement, induction logging) do not determine the true value of leaks of working fluids into annular space, since they are performed in modes that do not always correspond to the operating modes of wells during their operation. Objective. The research is aimed at considering the issues of quantitative determination of leaks due to break of tightness of production strings (mainly made of polymeric materials: pipes made of low-pressure polyethylene, HDPE, or unplasticized polyvinyl chloride, PVC), using various types of pressure testing agents: compressed air, liquid, liquid – compressed air systems. This article describes an applied method of analyzing hydraulic loads, acting on the production string, when performing various types of pressure tests with various types of agents. The author is the first to analyze in this paper various options for pressure testing of production strings of in-situ leaching process wells in relation to uranium mining. Result. The conducted studies result in providing a rationale for the options for pressure testing of wells, operating in the mode of injection of working fluids under excessive pressure. Practical Relevance. The performed analysis determines a rational option of pressure testing with the pressure parameters of the pressure testing agent, corresponding to the operating mode of operation of process wells. Based on the results of the analysis performed, the author made practical conclusions on the use of various methods for determining tightness of production strings.
Keywords
uranium, mining, process wells, production string, pressure testing, pressure testing agents, technical means, expansion packer
For citation
Ivanov A.G. Pressure Testing Methods for Production Strings of Process Wells of Uranium In-Situ Leaching. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University]. 2024, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 71-78. https://doi.org/10.18503/1995-2732-2024-22-2-71-78
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