IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v9y2016i3p169-d65213.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Behaviour of Fracture Growth in Sedimentary Rocks: A Numerical Study Based on Hydraulic Fracturing Processes

Author

Listed:
  • Lianchong Li

    (School of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Yingjie Xia

    (State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)

  • Bo Huang

    (Oil Production Technology Research Institute, Shengli Oilfield Branch Company, Dongying 257000, China)

  • Liaoyuan Zhang

    (Oil Production Technology Research Institute, Shengli Oilfield Branch Company, Dongying 257000, China)

  • Ming Li

    (Oil Production Technology Research Institute, Shengli Oilfield Branch Company, Dongying 257000, China)

  • Aishan Li

    (Oil Production Technology Research Institute, Shengli Oilfield Branch Company, Dongying 257000, China)

Abstract

To capture the hydraulic fractures in heterogeneous and layered rocks, a numerical code that can consider the coupled effects of fluid flow, damage, and stress field in rocks is presented. Based on the characteristics of a typical thin and inter-bedded sedimentary reservoir, China, a series of simulations on the hydraulic fracturing are performed. In the simulations, three points, i.e. , (1) confining stresses, representing the effect of in situ stresses, (2) strength of the interfaces, and (3) material properties of the layers on either side of the interface, are crucial in fracturing across interfaces between two adjacent rock layers. Numerical results show that the hydrofracture propagation within a layered sequence of sedimentary rocks is controlled by changing in situ stresses, interface properties, and lithologies. The path of the hydraulic fracture is characterized by numerous deflections, branchings, and terminations. Four types of potential interaction, i.e. , penetration, arrest, T-shaped branching, and offset, between a hydrofracture and an interface within the layered rocks are formed. Discontinuous composite fracture segments resulting from out-of-plane growth of fractures provide a less permeable path for fluids, gas, and oil than a continuous planar composite fracture, which are one of the sources of the high treating pressures and reduced fracture volume.

Suggested Citation

  • Lianchong Li & Yingjie Xia & Bo Huang & Liaoyuan Zhang & Ming Li & Aishan Li, 2016. "The Behaviour of Fracture Growth in Sedimentary Rocks: A Numerical Study Based on Hydraulic Fracturing Processes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-28, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:9:y:2016:i:3:p:169-:d:65213
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/9/3/169/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/9/3/169/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhaobin Zhang & Xiao Li & Jianming He & Yanfang Wu & Bo Zhang, 2015. "Numerical Analysis on the Stability of Hydraulic Fracture Propagation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Zhaobin Zhang & Xiao Li & Weina Yuan & Jianming He & Guanfang Li & Yusong Wu, 2015. "Numerical Analysis on the Optimization of Hydraulic Fracture Networks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-19, October.
    3. David Healy & Richard R. Jones & Robert E. Holdsworth, 2006. "Three-dimensional brittle shear fracturing by tensile crack interaction," Nature, Nature, vol. 439(7072), pages 64-67, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. José Reinoso & Percy Durand & Pattabhi Ramaiah Budarapu & Marco Paggi, 2019. "Crack Patterns in Heterogenous Rocks Using a Combined Phase Field-Cohesive Interface Modeling Approach: A Numerical Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-28, March.
    2. Lianchong Li & Mingyang Zhai & Liaoyuan Zhang & Zilin Zhang & Bo Huang & Aishan Li & Jiaqiang Zuo & Quansheng Zhang, 2019. "Brittleness Evaluation of Glutenite Based On Energy Balance and Damage Evolution," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-28, September.
    3. Yingjie Xia & Chuanqing Zhang & Hui Zhou & Chunsheng Zhang & Wangbing Hong, 2019. "Mechanical Anisotropy and Failure Characteristics of Columnar Jointed Rock Masses (CJRM) in Baihetan Hydropower Station: Structural Considerations Based on Digital Image Processing Technology," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-24, September.
    4. Xin Chang & Yintong Guo & Jun Zhou & Xuehang Song & Chunhe Yang, 2018. "Numerical and Experimental Investigations of the Interactions between Hydraulic and Natural Fractures in Shale Formations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-27, September.
    5. Yue Li & Jianye Mou & Shicheng Zhang & Xinfang Ma & Cong Xiao & Haoqing Fang, 2022. "Numerical Investigation of Interaction Mechanism between Hydraulic Fracture and Natural Karst Cave Based on Seepage-Stress-Damage Coupled Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-17, July.
    6. Kun Ai & Longchen Duan & Hui Gao & Guangliang Jia, 2018. "Hydraulic Fracturing Treatment Optimization for Low Permeability Reservoirs Based on Unified Fracture Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Tianjiao Li & Chun’an Tang & Jonny Rutqvist & Mengsu Hu & Lianchong Li & Liaoyuan Zhang & Bo Huang, 2020. "The Influence of an Interlayer on Dual Hydraulic Fractures Propagation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-29, January.
    8. Yiyu Lu & Yugang Cheng & Zhaolong Ge & Liang Cheng & Shaojie Zuo & Jianyu Zhong, 2016. "Determination of Fracture Initiation Locations during Cross-Measure Drilling for Hydraulic Fracturing of Coal Seams," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-13, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhaobin Zhang & Xiao Li, 2016. "Numerical Study on the Formation of Shear Fracture Network," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-16, April.
    2. Yanfang Wu & Xiao Li, 2016. "Numerical Simulation of the Propagation of Hydraulic and Natural Fracture Using Dijkstra’s Algorithm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Kun Ai & Longchen Duan & Hui Gao & Guangliang Jia, 2018. "Hydraulic Fracturing Treatment Optimization for Low Permeability Reservoirs Based on Unified Fracture Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-23, July.
    4. Yiyu Lu & Yugang Cheng & Zhaolong Ge & Liang Cheng & Shaojie Zuo & Jianyu Zhong, 2016. "Determination of Fracture Initiation Locations during Cross-Measure Drilling for Hydraulic Fracturing of Coal Seams," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-13, May.
    5. Hui Gao & Yule Hu & Longchen Duan & Kun Ai, 2019. "An Analytical Solution of the Pseudosteady State Productivity Index for the Fracture Geometry Optimization of Fractured Wells," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, January.
    6. Zhaobin Zhang & Xiao Li & Weina Yuan & Jianming He & Guanfang Li & Yusong Wu, 2015. "Numerical Analysis on the Optimization of Hydraulic Fracture Networks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-19, October.
    7. Wan Cheng & Chunhua Lu & Bo Xiao, 2021. "Perforation Optimization of Intensive-Stage Fracturing in a Horizontal Well Using a Coupled 3D-DDM Fracture Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    8. Jianming He & Zhaobin Zhang & Xiao Li, 2017. "Numerical Analysis on the Formation of Fracture Network during the Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale with Pre-Existing Fractures," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-10, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:9:y:2016:i:3:p:169-:d:65213. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.