A Novel Methodology to Investigate Critical Depth for Ductile-to-Brittle Transition During Scratch Testing
Authors: Khan Mohammad Rasheed , Glatz Guenther , Gwaba Devon Chikonga , Aidagulov Gallyam 
Published: December 2021

More than two decades have passed since the introduction of the scratch testing method for rock strength determination. The test method typically involves dragging a rigid-shaped cutter across the rock surface at a fixed cutting depth. This depth determines the failure mechanism of the rock, ductile for shallow depths and brittle for deeper. In the ductile mode, intrinsic specific energy is primarily a measure of the unconfined-compressive-strength (UCS), which is pivotal for rate of penetration (ROP) during drilling and for borehole stability analysis. On the contrary, brittle failure can lead to permanent core damage and is usually not desired as it impacts interpretation of the scratch testing results. Consequently, it is imperative to identify the critical depth, and at which transition from ductile to brittle failure occurs which will help optimize rock testing and tool designs. In this study, a novel methodology is proposed utilizing micro-computed tomography (CT) imaging to determine critical depth through morphological analysis of scratch test cuttings.

Scratch tests are carried out on Indiana limestone core samples with the cutter-rock interaction geometry characterized by a cutter width of 10mm and a back-rake angle of 15°. The sample is scratched in the range of 0.05mm to 0.40mm with increments of 0.05mm. Scratch powder is carefully collected after each scratch increment and stored for further analysis. This powder is then loaded into slim rubber tubes and imaged at a high resolution of 1 µm with a helical micro-CT scanner. The scans are then reconstructed using a computer program to initiate the visualization of individual grains from each cutter depth including evaluation of grain morphologies. Finally, the results from this morphological analysis are corroborated and compared with three other methods: force response analysis, force inflection point analysis, and the size effect law (SEL).

Based on shape analysis, it was found that the transition from ductile to brittle regime occurs at a depth of 0.25mm. Elongation and appearance of the enhanced degree of angularity of the grains as the depth of cut (DOC) increases past 0.25mm was observed. Moreover, large grain sizes were detected and are representative of formation of chips (typical brittle regime response). Furthermore, it is illustrated that the image analysis helps eliminate the ambiguity of force signal analysis and in combination can aid in the critical depth of cut determination. The other methods involving force alone and the SEL are not able to pin-point onset of brittle regime. Using a similar methodology, creation of a database for various rock types is recommended to develop a guide for the depth of cut selection during scratch testing.

This novel methodology utilizing micro-CT analysis and comparative study with other techniques will put in place an accurate strategy to determine the critical depth of cut when designing rock scratch testing programs.