DOI: 10.18503/1995-2732-2025-23-3-26-33
Abstract
Problem statement (Relevance). Uranium mining by in-situ leaching (ISL) requires the use of polymer casing pipes, the service life of which determines the efficiency of technological wells. The high cost of well construction (40-70% of the cost of extracted uranium) makes the choice of their design critical. However, polymer pipes are subject to accelerated aging and have a high coefficient of linear expansion, which causes risks of their destruction. Objectives. To substantiate the factors influencing the reliability and durability of polymer casing pipes used in the construction of technological wells for uranium mining by in-situ leaching, and to develop recommendations to minimize the risks of their destruction to ensure trouble-free operation of wells during the design period. Methods Applied. The factors in-fluencing the reliability of polymer pipes were analyzed: storage conditions, annular stress in the pipe wall caused by hydraulic pressure, freezing of water in the borehole space and use of expanding plugging materials. Classification of loads and types of pipe failures and dependence of their long-term strength on the time of storage and operation are determined. Originality. The complex of factors influencing reliability and durability of casing pipes for downhole in-situ leaching is determined, and also dependences of their long-term durability on duration of time of separate stages of production cycle are established. Results. It is established that the annular stress in pipes decreases with time, and long-term storage (more than 6 months at open sites) significantly deteriorates their strength. Examples of failures are given: vertical cracks, punctures and buckling of pipes under the action of external loads. It is shown that observance of the condition (annular stress ≤ long-term strength) guarantees accident-free operation of wells during the design period. Practical Relevance. We have established that in order to ensure the reliability of wells it is necessary to use pipes that comply with standards, with control of their quality through certified laboratories.
Keywords
technological wells, polymer casing pipes, annular strength of polymer materials, storage and operation terms of polymer pipes, well design calculation, critical stress, in-situ uranium leaching, unplasticized PVC, integrity violations of the production string, increase of accident-free operation term of wells
For citation
Ivanov A.G., Arsentiev Yu.A., Vilmis A.L., Salakhova K.N., Orekhov D.D. Influence of Time Factor on Failure-Free Service Life of Technological Wells of In-Situ Uranium Leaching. Vestnik Magnitogorskogo Gosudarstvennogo Tekhnicheskogo Universiteta im. G.I. Nosova [Vestnik of Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University]. 2025, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 26-33. https://doi.org/10.18503/1995-2732-2025-23-3-26-33
1. Arsentiev Yu.A., Nazarov A.P., Zabaikin Yu.V., Ivanov A.G. On the calculation of production strings from polymeric materials for the conditions of permafrost rocks. Aktualnye problemy i perspektivy razvitiya ekonomiki. Rossiyskiy i zarubezhniy opyt. Nauchnoe obozrenie [Current issues and prospects of economic development. Russian and foreign experience. Scientific Review], 2019:27-32. (In Russ.)
2. Solodov I.N., Kamnev E.N. Geotekhnologiya urana (rossiyskiy opyt): monografiya [Uranium geotechnology (Russian experience). Monograph]. Moscow: KDU, University Book, 2017, 576 p. (In Russ.)
3. Ma Q., Feng Z.G., Liu P., Lin X.K., Li Z.G., Chen M.S. Uranium speciation and in situ leaching of a sandstone-type deposit from China. Journal of Radioanalitycal and Nuclear Chem-istry. 2017;311:2129-2134.
4. Dokhani V., Shahri P., Karimi M., Saeed S. Evaluation of Annular Pressure Losses while Casing Drilling. Paper presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. (2013). https://doi.org/10.2118/166103-MS
5. API Standard 13B-2. Recommended Practice for Cementing of Oil and Gas Wells. 2019. 134 p.
6. Solodova I.N. Dobycha urana podzemnym vyshchelachivaniem v kriolitozone [Uranium mining by in-situ leaching in cryolithozone]. Moscow: ZetaPrint, 2022, 183 p. (In Russ.)
7. Zhi W., Yu S., Huijin J., Shuangyang L., Guoyu L., Yonghong N. Thermal elasto-plastic computation model for a buried oil pipeline in frozen ground. Cold Regions Science and Technology. 2010;64(3):248-255.
8. Ivanov A.G. Analysis of expediency of application of polymer casing pipes from different polymer materials for equipment of technological wells of uranium in-situ leaching. Vestnik Zabaikalskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of Transbaikal State University], 2024;30(4):71-79. (In Russ.)
9. ISO 13628-11. Petroleum and Natural Gas Industries - Design and Operation of Subsea Production Systems. 2020. 15 p.
10. Wenjun H., Deli G., A theoretical study of the critical external pressure for casing col-lapse. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering. 2015;27(1):290-297.
11. Arens V.J., Boguslavskiy E.I., Gridin O.M., Kreinin E.V., Nebera V.P., Ryspanov N.B., Fazlullin M.I., Khrulev A.S., Hcheyan G.H., Shumilova L.V. Fiziko-khimicheskaya geotekhnologiya [Physico-chemical geotechnology]. Moscow: Gornaya Kniga, 2021, 816 p. (In Russ.)
12. Sergienko I.A., Mosev A.F., Bochko E.A., Pimenov M.K. Burenie i oborudovanie geotekhnologicheskih skvazhin [Drilling and equipment of geotechnological wells]. Moscow: Nedra, 1984, 224 p. (In Russ.)
13. Alimi L., Chaoui K., Ghabeche W., Chaoui W. Short-term HDPE pipe degradation upon exposure to aggressive environments. Matériaux & Techniques. 2013;101 7:701.
14. Schouwenaars R., Jacobo V., Ramos E., Ortiz A. Slow crack growth and failure induced by manufacturing defects in HDPE-tubes. Engineering Failure Analysi. 2007;14(6):1124-1134.
15. Sashchenko A.V. Evolyutsiya soedineniy urana na mestorozhdeniyah bazalnyh paleodolin i osobennosti ih izvlecheniya sposobom SPV: avtoreferat dis... kand. geol.-mineral. nauk [Evolution of uranium compounds on deposits of basal paleodolines and peculiarities of their ex-traction by the SPV method. Extended abstract of Ph.D. dissertation]. Moscow, 2024, 23 p.
16. Souhila R., Wafia K., Mounia K., Chaoui K. Mechanical behaviour of machined polyethylene filaments subjected to aggressive chemical environments. Mechanika. 2018;77:40-46.
17. Sabigatulin A.A. Comparative analysis of temperature changes in productive solutions during in-situ leaching of uranium at the deposit “Khiagda”. Fiziko-khimicheskaya geotekhnologiya: innovatsii i tendentsii razvitiya: sbornik materialov mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy kon-ferentsii [Physical and chemical geotechnology: innovations and development trends. Proceedings of the international scientific and practical conference]. Chita: ZabGU, 2021, pp. 34-37. (In Russ.)
18. Zheleznyak I.I., Stetyukha V.A. Calculation of polymer pipe under external load in a borehole in a mass of perennially frozen rocks. Izvestiya Uralskogo gosudarstvennogo gornogo universiteta [News of the Ural State Mining University], 2018;(3):121-125. (In Russ.)
19. Otstavnov A.A. About the high-performance pressure pipes from PVC of the last generation. Sanitarnaya tekhnika, otoplenie, kanalizatsiya [Sanitary equipment, heating, sewerage], 2019;(2):16-21. (In Russ.)
20. Sushko S. M., Asanov N. S., Karmanov T. D. Method of waterproofing of the annular space in the construction of geotechnological wells for in-situ leaching of the productive horizon. Mezhdunarodniy zhurnal eksperimentalnogo obrazovaniya [International Journal of Experimental Education], 2013;(11):118-122. (In Russ.)
21. Paila P., Kirby C., Diaz N., Aboulkhair A., Mfhmoud D., Al Kindi R., Kasem Y., Benygzerm M., Moreira R., Gesettim M. Singh Integrated Drilling Optimization Approach Delivers Rxelent Resurs to Improve Drilling Efficiency in Remote Artificial Island. Abu Dhabi International Petro-leum Exhibition conference. 2018:70-75.
22. Akutin M.S., Tikhonov N.N., Platonov M.P. New composite materials with improved strength and stable characteristics during operation. XIV Mendeleevskiy sezd po obshchey i prikladnoy khimii [XIV Mendeleev Congress on General and Applied Chemistry]. Moscow: Nauka, 1989, vol. 2, pp. 7-14. (In Russ.)
23. Zubarev A.B. Usloviya raboty, obosnovanie konstruktsii i tekhnologiya primeneniya polietilenovyh obsadnyh kolonn dlya krepleniya tekhnologicheskih skvazhin podzemnogo vyshchelachivaniya metallov: avtoref. dis. … kand. tekhn. nauk [Working conditions, design substantiation and technology of polyethylene casing strings application for fastening of technological wells of the in-situ metal leaching. Extended abstract of Ph.D. dissertation]. Moscow, 1983, 24 p.
24. Sergienko I.A., Mosev A.F., Bochko E.A., Pimenov M.K. Burenie i oborudovanie geotekhnologicheskih skvazhin [Drilling and equipment of geotechnological wells]. Moscow: Nedra, 1984, 224 p. (In Russ.)
25. Shalbaev Zh.S. Development of methodology of application of alternative material for waterproofing of annular space during well construction. Razvitie uranovoy i redkometallnoy promyshlennosti: materialy XI Mezhdunar. nauch.-prakt. konf [Development of uranium and rare-metal industry. Proceedings of XI International scientific and practical conference]. Almaty, 2024, pp. 72-74. (In Russ.)