Development and innovative concepts of water pressure test technology

Abstract:

Under the backdrop of global energy restructuring and the exploration and development of unconventional resources such as shale gas， the water pressure test serves as a key in-situ testing technology for evaluating rock mass permeability， and its technological advancement is of great significance for ensuring energy and resource security. This paper systematically reviews the development history of the water pressure test from empirical qualitative analysis to digitalization and intelligence， and analyzes the co-evolution of its technical theories and testing equipment. Addressing the limitations of traditional techniques， such as frequent tripping， low efficiency， and data interpretation relying on inference， three innovative technical concepts are proposed： the non-tripping water pressure test system， the multifunctional integrated probe， and the multi-packer water pressure test device. Their working principles， technological processes， and technical advantages are elaborated. These concepts integrate core technologies including wireline coring， borehole imaging detection， and synchronous multi-packer isolation testing， aiming to achieve a leap towards "high efficiency， high precision， and visualization." This study provides a pathway reference for the evolution of water pressure testing from single-parameter testing to an integrated "geological-hydrological-engineering" diagnosis platform， offering technical support for energy resource exploration and major engineering construction in China.