The vapor extraction (VAPEX) process, a solvent-based enhanced oil recovery process has been found promising for some heavy oil reservoirs. In this work, the VAPEX process is studied using a compositional simulator on a number of single-block and multiple block fractured systems. PVT data of one of an Iranian heavy oil reservoir are used to tune the equation of state. Effects of fracture sp...

Various structural discontinuities, which form a discrete fracture network, play a significant role in the failure conditions and stability of the rock masses around underground excavations. Several continuum numerical methods have been used to study the stability of underground excavations in jointed rock masses but only few of them can take into account the influence of the pre-existing natur...

The recently developed Unconventional Fracture Model (UFM*) simulates complex hydraulic fracture network propagation in a formation with pre-existing closed natural fractures, and explicitly models hydraulic injection into a fracture network with multiple propagating branches [1]. The model predicts whether a hydraulic fracture front crosses or is arrested by a natural fracture it encounters, w...

Fractures in geologic media are known to provide preferential pathways for fluid flow and transport of contaminants. Computations of flow and transport in fracture networks are usually performed using either a discrete fracture network (DFN) modeling approach or a continuum based approach. The DFN approach explicitly model individual elements of a network and thus is considered to provide accur...

the mathematical modeling of fracture networks is critical for the exploration and development ofnatural resources. fractures can help the production of petroleum, water, and geothermal energy. theyalso greatly influence the drainage and production of methane gas from coal beds. orientation andspatial distribution of fractures in rocks are important factors in controlling fluid flow. the object...

The shearing of natural fractures is important in the permeability enhancement of shale gas reservoirs during hydraulic fracturing treatment. In this work, the shearing mechanisms of natural fractures are analyzed using a newly proposed numerical model based on the displacement discontinuities method. The fluid-rock coupling system of the model is carefully designed to calculate the shearing of...

In this paper, we introduce an L-system based on the fractal geometry to study complex fracture networks. Comparing with other simulation models, the fractal fracture could not only maintain the bifurcation of the fracture geometry but also represent the multi-level feature of the complex fracture networks according to its fractal characteristics. Since the fractal geometry is always connected ...

As a new modeling procedure of geothermal energy extraction systems, the authors present two dimensional and three dimensional modeling techniques of subsurface fracture network, based on fractal geometry. Fluid flow in fractured rock occurs primarily through a connected network of discrete fractures. The fracture network approach, therefore, seeks to model fluid flow and heat transfer through ...

Double network (DN) gels, consisting of a brittle first and flexible second network, have been known to be extremely tough and functional hydrogels. In a DN gel subjected to force, the brittle first network breaks prior to the fracture of the flexible network. This process, referred to as internal fracture, dissipates energy and increases the energy required to completely fracture DN gels. Such...