Phase-field modeling of hydraulic fracture network propagation in poroelastic rocks



Ni, Lin, Zhang, Xue ORCID: 0000-0002-0892-3665, Zou, Liangchao and Huang, Jinsong
(2020) Phase-field modeling of hydraulic fracture network propagation in poroelastic rocks. Computational Geosciences: modeling, simulation and data analysis, 24 (5). pp. 1767-1782.

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Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Modeling of hydraulic fracturing processes is of great importance in computational geosciences. In this paper, a phase-field model is developed and applied for investigating the hydraulic fracturing propagation in saturated poroelastic rocks with pre-existing fractures. The phase-field model replaces discrete, discontinuous fractures by continuous diffused damage field, and thus is capable of simulating complex cracking phenomena such as crack branching and coalescence. Specifically, hydraulic fracturing propagation in a rock sample of a single pre-existing natural fracture or natural fracture networks is simulated using the proposed model. It is shown that distance between fractures plays a significant role in the determination of propagation direction of hydraulic fracture. While the rock permeability has a limited influence on the final crack topology induced by hydraulic fracturing, it considerably impacts the distribution of the fluid pressure in rocks. The propagation of hydraulic fractures driven by the injected fluid increases the connectivity of the natural fracture networks, which consequently enhances the effective permeability of the rocks.</jats:p>

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Phase-field model, Poroelasticity, Hydraulic fracturing, Fracture network
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 14 May 2020 10:32
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 23:51
DOI: 10.1007/s10596-020-09955-4
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3087275