The paper presents a novel hydraulic fracturing model for the characterization and simulation of the complex fracture network in shale gas reservoirs. We go beyond the existing method that uses planar or orthogonal conjugate fractures for representing the ‘‘complexity’’ of the network. Bifurcation of fractures is performed utilizing the Lindenmayer system based on fractal geometry to describe t...

Hydraulic fracturing is one of the most common methods of well stimulation for reservoirs with low permeability. Hydraulic fracturing increases the flow capacity, alters flow geometry, bypasses damage and improves recovery factor. The pressure of most of Iranian oil reservoirs is declined and consequently the production is reduced. It is necessary to improve the production by using new stimulat...

in this paper, a finite element model is developed for the fully hydro-mechanical analysis of hydraulic fracturing in partially saturated porous media. the model is derived from the framework of generalized biot theory. the fracture propagation is governed by a cohesive fracture model. the flow within the fracture zone is modeled by the lubrication equation. the displacement of solid phase, and...

The response of deformable fractures to changes in fluid pressure controls phenomena ranging from the flow of fluids near wells to the propagation of hydraulic fractures. We developed an analysis designed to simulate fluid flows in the vicinity of asperity-supported fractures at rest, or fully open fractures that might be propagating. Transitions between at-rest and propagating fractures can al...

We investigate transport on regular fracture networks that are characterized by heterogeneity in hydraulic conductivity. We discuss the impact of conductivity heterogeneity and mixing within fracture intersections on particle spreading. We show the emergence of non-Fickian transport due to the interplay between the network conductivity heterogeneity and the degree of mixing at nodes. Specifical...

In a series of field experiments, we evaluate the influence of a small water pressure change on fracture aperture during a hydraulic test. An experimental borehole is instrumented at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) Underground Research Tunnel (KURT). The target fracture for testing was found from the analyses of borehole logging and hydraulic tests. A double packer system was...

In this paper the Discrete Element Model (DEM) ‘ESyS_Particle’, previously used to model fracture of brittle rocks and earthquake processes, is further developed to be able to be applied to the hydraulic fracturing process in Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS). The advantage of DEM is that large deformations and dynamic process can be modelled easily. ESyS_Particle has been used to successfull...

Natural fractured media are characterized by their diversity of structures and organization. Numerous studies in the past decades have evidenced the existence of characteristic structures at multiple scales [1]. At fracture scale, the aperture distribution is widely correlated and heterogeneous. Fractures themselves have widely varying sizes with no obvious dominating or characteristic scale. A...