Abstract
The initiation and propagation process of a fluid-driven fracture in granular materials is inherently a hydro-mechanical coupling problem. The bonded-particle method (BPM) was utilised to simulate the hydraulic fracturing process in granular materials, and different failure mechanisms were evaluated by analysing the formation of microcracks. Hydraulic conductivity is determined by pore size and connectivity in the direction of flow. A strain-dependent formulation was presented to highlight the inherent link between hydraulic conductivity and pore size. The results show that the BPM is capable of realistically predicting fluid-driven fractures in granular material. Using the BPM, the numbers of fluid-driven fractures induced by different failure modes can be determined. It is concluded that for consolidated formations, the initiation and propagation of fluid-driven fractures are dominated by tensile failure, which has been recognised in the field of geology and geomechanics. However, for unconsolidated formations, shear failure seems to be more important during the hydraulic fracturing process. As described in this article, the number of shear failure cracks is twice that of tension failure cracks, which has not been widely recognised. Overall, the simulation results of the fluid-driven fracture are in accordance with the experimental data observed by other researchers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adachi J, Detournay E (2008) Plane strain propagation of a hydraulic fracture in a permeable rock. Eng Fract Mech 75:4666–4694
Adachi J, Siebritsb E, Peircec A, Desroches J (2007) Computer simulation of hydraulic fractures. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 44:739–757
Alfaro MC, Wong RCK (2001) Laboratory studies on fracturing of low-permeability soils. Can Geotech J 38:303–315
Berumen S, Tiab D, Rodriguez F (2000) Constant rate solutions for a fractured well with an asymmetric fracture. J Petrol Sci Eng 25:49–58
Bruno MS (2002) Geomechanical and Decision Analyses for Mitigating Compaction-Related Casing Damage. SPE Drill Completion 17:179–188
Chang H (2004) Hydraulic fracturing in particulate materials: [Dissertation]. Georgia Institute of Technology, GA
Clifton RJ (1989) Three-dimensional fracture-propagation models. In: Gidley SA, Holditch DE, Nierode RW (eds) Proceeding of Recent Advances in Hydraulic Fracturing - SPE Monographs, vol 12. Veatch Society of Petroleum Engineers, Denver, pp 95–108
Clifton RJ, Abou-Sayed AS (1979) On the computation of the three dimensional geometry of hydraulic fractures. In: Richardson TX (ed) Proceeding of SPE Symposium On Low Permeability Gas Reservoirs. Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE 7943), Denver, pp 307–313
Fredrich JT, Arguello JC, Deitrick GL, De Rouffignac EP (2000) Geomechanical modeling of reservoir compaction, surface subsidence, and casing damage at the Belridge Diatomite field. SPE Reserv Evalu Eng 3:348–359
Güllü H (2012) Prediction of peak ground acceleration by genetic expression programming and regression: a comparison using likelihood-based measure. Eng Geol 141–142:92–113
Güllü H (2014) A factorial experimental approach for effective dosage rate of stabilizer: an application for fine-grained soil treated with bottom ash. Soils Found 54(3):462–477
Güllü H, Girişken S (2013) Performance of fine-grained soil treated with industrial wastewater sludge. Environ Earth Sci 70:777–788
Gullu H, Hazirbaba K (2010) Unconfined compressive strength and post-freeze–thaw behavior of fine-grained soils treated with geofiber and synthetic fluid. Cold Reg Sci Technol 62(2–3):142–150
Guo T, Zhang S, Qu Z, Zhou T, Gao J (2014) Experimental study of hydraulic fracturing for shale by stimulated reservoir volume. Fuel 128:373–380
Hazirbaba K, Gullu H (2010) California bearing ratio improvement and freeze-thaw performance of fine-grained soils treated with geofiber and synthetic fluid. Cold Reg Sci Technol 63(1–2):50–60
Huang N, Szewczyk A, Li Y (1990) Self-similar solution in problems of hydraulic fracturing. ASME J Appl Mech 57:877–881
Itasca Consulting Group Inc. (2008). PFC3D-Particle Flow Code in 3 Dimensions, Version 4.0. Minneapolis
Dianne Rahm (2011) Regulating hydraulic fracturing in shale gas plays: the case of Texas. Energy Policy 39(5):2974–2981
Lambe TW (1991) Soil testing for engineers. Bitech Publishers Ltd, Canada, p 165
Lecampion B, Detournay E (2007) An implicit algorithm for the propagation of a hydraulic fracture with a fluid lag. Comput Methods Appl Mech Engrg 196:4863–4880
Li L, Holt RM (2002a) Development of discrete particle modeling towards a numerical laboratory. In: Konietzky H (ed) Numerical modeling in micromechanics via particle methods. Balkema Publishers, A.A, pp 19–27
Li LM, Holt RM (2002b) Particle scale reservoir mechanics. Oil Gas Sci Technol 57(5):525–538
Li LC, Tang CA, Li G, Wang SY (2012) Numerical simulation of 3d hydraulic fracturing based on an improved flow-stress-damage model and a parallel fem technique. Rock Mech Rock Eng 45(5):801–818
Li LC, Meng QM, Li G, Wang SY (2013) A numerical investigation of the hydraulic fracturing behavior of conglomerate in Glutenite formation. Acta Geotech. doi:10.1007/s11440-013-0209-8
Liu X L (2008) Research on theory and application of water-rock coupled processes and the multi-scale behavior. Dissertation, Tsinghua University
Maury V, Sauzay JM (1987) Borehole stability: case histories, rock mechanics approach and results, SPE paper 16051. Proc SPE/IADC Conf, New Orleans
Murdoch LC, Slack WW (2002) Forms of hydraulic fractures in shallow fine grained formations. J Geotech Geoenviron 128:479–487
Nilson RH (1981) Gas driven fracture propagation. ASME J Appl Mech 48:757–762
Potyondy DO, Cundall PA (2004) A bonded-particle model for rock. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 41:1329–1364
Priest SD (1993) Discontinuity analysis for rock engineering. Chapman Hall, London, p 473
Raaen AM, Skomedal E, Kjorholt H, Markestad P, Okland D (2001) Stress determination from hydraulic fracturing tests: the system stiffness approach. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 38:529–541
Ren QW, Dong YW, Yu TT (2009) Numerical modeling of concrete hydraulic fracturing with extended finite element method. Sci China Ser E-Tech Sci 52:559–565
Savitski AA, Detournay E (2002) Propagation of a fluid-driven penny-shaped fracture in an impermeable rock: asymptotic solutions. Int J Solids Struct 39:6311–6337
Schutjens PMTM, Fens TW, Smits RMM (1995) Experimental observations of the uniaxial compaction of quartz-rich reservoir rock at stresses up to 80 MPa. In: Barends FBJ, Brouwer FJJ, der Schro FH (eds) Land Subsidence. Balkema, New York
Shimizu H, Murata S, Ishida T (2011) The distinct element analysis for hydraulic fracturing in hard rock considering fluid viscosity and particle size distribution. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 48:712–727
Shin H, Santamarina JC (2010) Fluid-driven fractures in uncemented sediments: underlying particle-level processes. Earth Planet Sci Lett 299:180–189
Smart BGD, Somerville JM, MacGregor KJ (1991) The prediction of yield zone development around a borehole and its effect on drilling and production. In: Roegiers JC (ed) Proc 32nd US Symp Rock Mech. Balkema, Rotterdam, pp 961–969
Soga K, Gafar KO, Ng MYA, Au SKA (2006) Macro and micro behaviour of soil fracturing. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Geomechanics and Geotechnics of Particulate Media. Balkema, Taylor and Francis, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan, pp 421–427
Spence DA, Sharp PW (1985) Self-similar solution for elastohydrodynamic cavity flow. Proc R Soc Lond Ser A 400:289–313
Yoon JS (2007) Application of experimental design and optimization to PFC model calibration in uniaxial compression simulations. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 44:871–889
Yoon JS, Zang A, Stephansson O (2012) Simulating fracture and friction of Aue granite under confined asymmetric compressive test using clumped particle model. Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 49:68–83
Yu W, Luo Z, Javadpour F, Varavei A, Sepehrnoori K (2013) Sensitivity analysis of hydraulic fracture geometry in shale gas reservoirs. J Petrol Sci Eng 113:1–7
Zhang X, Koutsabeloulis N, Heffer K (2007) Hydromechanical modeling of critically stressed and faulted reservoirs. AAPG Bulletin 91:31–50
Zhao HF, Chen H, Liu GH, Li YW, Shi J, Ren P (2013) New insight into mechanisms of fracture network generation in shale gas reservoir. J Petrol Sci Eng 110:193–198
Acknowledgments
The financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant No. 51009079, 51479094, 51379104), National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2011CB013500, 2013CB035902) and Open Research Fund Program of the State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering (grant No. 2013-KY-6 and 2012-KY-1) are gratefullly acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, X., Wang, S., Wang, S. et al. Fluid-driven fractures in granular materials. Bull Eng Geol Environ 74, 621–636 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-014-0712-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-014-0712-7