A Numerical Investigation of Fault Slip Triggered by Hydraulic Fracturing

Zangeneh, N.; Eberhardt, E.; Bustin, R. Marc; Bustin, A.M.M.

doi:10.5772/56191

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Zangeneh et al (2012) further demonstrated the potential value of UDEC for simulating hydraulic fracturing, comparing different injection schedules from adjacent wellbores (e.g., zipperfrac, simulfrac), and showed that stress and pore pressure perturbations from multiple hydraulic fractures may impact wellbore spacing and injection optimization. Zangeneh et al (2013) applied this approach to model fault slip and was able to use UDEC to estimate the energy release associated with induced seismicity.…”

Section: Hydraulic Fracture Modeling and Shale Gas Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the influence of natural fractures and in situ stress on hydraulic fracture propagation using a distinct-element approach

2015

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Hydraulic fracturing is the primary means for enhancing rock mass permeability and improving well productivity in tight reservoir rocks. Significant advances have been made in hydraulic fracturing theory and the development of design simulators; however, these generally rely on continuum treatments of the rock mass. In situ, the geological conditions are much more complex, complicated by the presence of natural fractures and planes of weakness such as bedding planes, joints, and faults. Further complexity arises from the influence of the in situ stress field, which has its own heterogeneity. Together, these factors may either enhance or diminish the effectiveness of the hydraulic fracturing treatment and subsequent hydrocarbon production. Results are presented here from a series of two-dimensional (2-D) numerical experiments investigating the influence of natural fractures on the modeling of hydraulic fracture propagation. Distinct-element techniques applying a transient, coupled hydromechanical solution are evaluated with respect to their ability to account for both tensile rupture of intact rock in response to fluid injection and shear and dilation along existing joints. A Voronoi tessellation scheme is used to add the necessary degrees of freedom to model the propagation path of a hydraulically driven fracture. The analysis is carried out for several geometrical variants related to hypothetical geological scenarios simulating a naturally fractured shale gas reservoir. The results show that key interactions develop with the natural fractures that influence the size, orientation, and path of the hydraulic fracture as well as the stimulated volume. These interactions may also decrease the size and effectiveness of the stimulation by diverting the injected fluid and proppant and by limiting the extent of the hydraulic fracture.

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Section: Hydraulic Fracture Modeling and Shale Gas Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the influence of natural fractures and in situ stress on hydraulic fracture propagation using a distinct-element approach

2015

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“…Zhang and Jeffrey [6] simulated the fracturing process under two injection types and found that constant rate injection is better than constant pressure injection in creating fracture network. Zangeneh et al [7] investigated the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and triggering of fracture slip of a rock mass with pre-existing fractures. Aside from the works listed above, fracture propagation behaviors during the hydraulic fracturing treatment have also been investigated by many other researchers [8][9][10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Analysis on the Formation of Fracture Network during the Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale with Pre-Existing Fractures

Zhang

2017

Energies

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In this paper, configurations of pre-existing fractures in cubic rock blocks were investigated and reconstructed for the modeling of experimental hydraulic fracturing. The fluid-rock coupling process of hydraulic fracturing was simulated based on the displacement discontinuities method. The numerical model was validated against the related laboratory experiments. The stimulated fracture configurations under different conditions can be clearly shown using the validated numerical model. First, a dominated fracture along the maximum principle stress direction is always formed when the stress difference is large enough. Second, there are less reopened pre-existing fractures, more newly formed fractures and less shear fractures with the increase of the cohesion value of pre-existing fractures. Third, the length of the stimulated shear fracture decreases rapidly with the increase of the friction coefficient, while the length of the tensile fracture has no correlation to the fiction coefficient. Finally, the increase of the fluid injection rate is favorable to the formation of a fracture network. The unfavorable effects of the large stress difference and the large cohesion of pre-existing fractures can be partly suppressed by an increase of the injection rate in the hydraulic fracturing treatment. The results of this paper are useful for understanding fracture propagation behaviors during the hydraulic fracturing of shale reservoirs with pre-existing fractures.

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“…Zangeneh et al [27] further demonstrated the potential of UDEC for simulating hydraulic fracturing, compared different injection schedules from adjacent wellbores, and their results showed that stress and pore pressure perturbations caused by multiple hydraulic fractures are needed to be considered in the process of wellbore spacing and injection optimization. Zangeneh et al [28] applied this approach to model fault slip and they were able to use UDEC to estimate the energy release associated with induced seismicity. Zangeneh et al [29] studied the influence of the orientation of the fracture network relative to that of the ground in situ stress regime with respect to the extent and symmetry of hydraulic fracture propagation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Modeling and Investigation of Fluid-Driven Fracture Propagation in Reservoirs Based on a Modified Fluid-Mechanically Coupled Model in Two-Dimensional Particle Flow Code

et al. 2016

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Hydraulic fracturing is a useful tool for enhancing rock mass permeability for shale gas development, enhanced geothermal systems, and geological carbon sequestration by the high-pressure injection of a fracturing fluid into tight reservoir rocks. Although significant advances have been made in hydraulic fracturing theory, experiments, and numerical modeling, when it comes to the complexity of geological conditions knowledge is still limited. Mechanisms of fluid injection-induced fracture initiation and propagation should be better understood to take full advantage of hydraulic fracturing. This paper presents the development and application of discrete particle modeling based on two-dimensional particle flow code (PFC 2D ). Firstly, it is shown that the modeled value of the breakdown pressure for the hydraulic fracturing process is approximately equal to analytically calculated values under varied in situ stress conditions. Furthermore, a series of simulations for hydraulic fracturing in competent rock was performed to examine the influence of the in situ stress ratio, fluid injection rate, and fluid viscosity on the borehole pressure history, the geometry of hydraulic fractures, and the pore-pressure field, respectively. It was found that the hydraulic fractures in an isotropic medium always propagate parallel to the orientation of the maximum principal stress. When a high fluid injection rate is used, higher breakdown pressure is needed for fracture propagation and complex geometries of fractures can develop. When a low viscosity fluid is used, fluid can more easily penetrate from the borehole into the surrounding rock, which causes a reduction of the effective stress and leads to a lower breakdown pressure. Moreover, the geometry of the fractures is not particularly sensitive to the fluid viscosity in the approximate isotropic model.

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A Numerical Investigation of Fault Slip Triggered by Hydraulic Fracturing

Cited by 16 publications

References 21 publications

Investigation of the influence of natural fractures and in situ stress on hydraulic fracture propagation using a distinct-element approach

Investigation of the influence of natural fractures and in situ stress on hydraulic fracture propagation using a distinct-element approach

Numerical Analysis on the Formation of Fracture Network during the Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale with Pre-Existing Fractures

Numerical Modeling and Investigation of Fluid-Driven Fracture Propagation in Reservoirs Based on a Modified Fluid-Mechanically Coupled Model in Two-Dimensional Particle Flow Code

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