Fracture Propagation and Formation Disturbance during Injection and Frac-Pack Operations in Soft Compacting Rocks

Abou-Sayed, Ahmed; Zaki, Karim; Meng, F.; Sarfare, Manoj Dnyandeo

doi:10.2118/90656-ms

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The unconsolidated nature of the material means that if an opening is created, the tip of the opening cannot sustain large stress contrast, and plastic yielding is expected. Influence of plasticity in hydraulic fracturing has been examined for both cohesive and cohesionless materials [Papanastasiou and Thiercelin, 1993;van Dam et al, 2002;Abou-Sayed et al, 2004;Papanastasiou and Atkinson, 2006;Wu, 2006]. In general, one-dimensional leakoff model [Carter, 1957] is assumed for fluid flow from the fracture faces to the matrix in conventional LEFM-based models.…”

Section: Background and Experimental Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupled discrete element modeling of fluid injection into dense granular media

2013

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[1] The coupled displacement process of fluid injection into a dense granular medium is investigated numerically using a discrete element method (DEM) code PFC2D r coupled with a pore network fluid flow scheme. How a dense granular medium behaves in response to fluid injection is a subject of fundamental and applied research interests to better understand subsurface processes such as fluid or gas migration and formation of intrusive features as well as engineering applications such as hydraulic fracturing and geological storage in unconsolidated formations. The numerical analysis is performed with DEM executing the mechanical calculation and the network model solving the Hagen-Poiseuille equation between the pore spaces enclosed by chains of particles and contacts. Hydromechanical coupling is realized by data exchanging at predetermined time steps. The numerical results show that increase in the injection rate and the invading fluid viscosity and decrease in the modulus and permeability of the medium result in fluid flow behaviors displaying a transition from infiltration-governed to infiltration-limited and the granular medium responses evolving from that of a rigid porous medium to localized failure leading to the development of preferential paths. The transition in the fluid flow and granular medium behaviors is governed by the ratio between the characteristic times associated with fluid injection and hydromechanical coupling. The peak pressures at large injection rates when fluid leakoff is limited compare well with those from the injection experiments in triaxial cells in the literature. The numerical analysis also reveals intriguing tip kinematics field for the growth of a fluid channel, which may shed light on the occurrence of the apical inverted-conical features in sandstone and magma intrusion in unconsolidated formations.Citation: Zhang, F., B. Damjanac, and H. Huang (2013), Coupled discrete element modeling of fluid injection into dense granular media,

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Section: Background and Experimental Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coupled discrete element modeling of fluid injection into dense granular media

2013

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“…Finally, the porous medium was modeled as a continuous Hershel‐Bulkley‐Quemada plastic (Appendix ) with yield stress τ 0 = 16.02 m 2 /s 2 (Quemada, 1977). Plasticity was used as the preferred mode of solid rheology due to its ability to account for the compressive and irreversible effects caused by fracturing within these experiments (Ahmed et al., 2007; van Dam et al., 2002).…”

Section: Model Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fourth, a fracture is initiated and propagates; the wellbore pressure slowly decreases. Fifth, injection stops, fracture propagation stops, and wellbore pressure rapidly dissipates (Abass et al., 2007; Ahmed et al., 2007; Huang et al., 2012a; Papanastasiou, 2000; Santillán et al., 2017).…”

Section: Model Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Multiphase Flow Within and Around Deformable Porous Materials: A Darcy‐Brinkman‐Biot Approach

Carrillo

Bourg

2021

Water Resources Research

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We present a new computational fluid dynamics approach for simulating two‐phase flow in hybrid systems containing solid‐free regions and deformable porous matrices. Our approach is based on the derivation of a unique set of volume‐averaged partial differential equations that asymptotically approach the Navier‐Stokes Volume‐of‐Fluid equations in solid‐free regions and multiphase Biot Theory in porous regions. The resulting equations extend our recently developed Darcy‐Brinkman‐Biot framework to multiphase flow. Through careful consideration of interfacial dynamics (relative permeability and capillary effects) and extensive benchmarking, we show that the resulting model accurately captures the strong two‐way coupling that is often exhibited between multiple fluids and deformable porous media. Thus, it can be used to represent flow‐induced material deformation (swelling, compression) and failure (cracking, fracturing). The model's open‐source numerical implementation, hybridBiotInterFoam, effectively marks the extension of computational fluid mechanics into modeling multiscale multiphase flow in deformable porous systems. The versatility of the solver is illustrated through applications related to material failure in poroelastic coastal barriers and surface deformation due to fluid injection in poro‐visco‐plastic systems.

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“…2000;Bedrikovetsky et al 2001). Abou-Sayed et al (2004) and Tran and Abousleiman (2010) have used the Mohr-Coulomb criterion to predict fracture propagation. The Mohr-Coulomb criterion is essentially a criterion for shear failure in the intact rock or along a pre-existing joint; it is not a criterion for fracture propagation.…”

Section: Channelizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of publications in the last 2 decades have indicated issues including rapid injectivity decline, out-of-zone injection, and limited longevity of injection wells in the deepwater GOM that have plagued many of these developments (Sharma et al 2000;Stein et al 2005). Al-Kindi et al (2008) reported difficulties with water injectors in the Ursa and Princess fields in the GOM. Injection at high rate is required for economic waterflooding projects; however, loss of injectivity is a quite common problem in unconsolidated-sand formations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Modeling of Channel Formation During Fluid Injection Into Unconsolidated Formations

Ameen

Taleghani

2015

SPE Journal

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Injectivity loss is a common problem in unconsolidated-sand formations. Injection of water into a poorly cemented granular medium may lead to internal erosion, and consequently formation of preferential flow paths within the medium because of channelization. Channelization in the porous medium might occur when fluid-induced stresses become locally larger than a critical threshold and small grains are dislodged and carried away; hence, porosity and permeability of the medium will evolve along the induced flow paths. Vice versa, flowback during shut-in might carry particles back to the well and cause sand accumulation inside the well, and subsequently loss of injectivity. In most cases, to maintain the injection rate, operators will increase injection pressure and pumping power. The increased injection pressure results in stress changes and possibly further changes in channel patterns around the wellbore. Experimental laboratory studies have confirmed the presence of the transition from uniform Darcy flow to a fingered-pattern flow. To predict these phenomena, a model is needed to fill this gap by predicting the formation of preferential flow paths and their evolution. A model based on the multiphasevolume-fraction concept is used to decompose porosity into mobile and immobile porosities where phases may change spatially, evolve over time, and lead to development of erosional channels depending on injection rates, viscosity, and rock properties. This model will account for both particle release and suspension deposition. By use of this model, a methodology is proposed to derive model parameters from routine injection tests by inverse analysis. The proposed model presents the characteristic behavior of unconsolidated formation during fluid injection and the possible effect of injection parameters on downhole-permeability evolution.

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Fracture Propagation and Formation Disturbance during Injection and Frac-Pack Operations in Soft Compacting Rocks

Cited by 13 publications

References 2 publications

Coupled discrete element modeling of fluid injection into dense granular media

Coupled discrete element modeling of fluid injection into dense granular media

Modeling Multiphase Flow Within and Around Deformable Porous Materials: A Darcy‐Brinkman‐Biot Approach

Dynamic Modeling of Channel Formation During Fluid Injection Into Unconsolidated Formations

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