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Discrete Element Modeling of the Role of In Situ Stress on the Interactions Between Hydraulic and Natural Fractures

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New Frontiers in Oil and Gas Exploration

Abstract

The interaction between HF (hydrofractures) and NF (natural fractures) is a complex-coupled process which involves several physical parameters. Despite numerous previous works, the respective role of in situ stress, natural fracture properties, and orientations is still difficult to assess. In this chapter, a fully hydromechanical coupled numerical model has been used to simulate different three-dimensional configurations. These configurations provide insight into how a natural fracture is mechanically or hydraulically activated depending on well-defined parameters. It has been shown that the natural fracture can be either activated hydraulically without any shear displacement or mechanically activated while not loaded hydraulically. These configurations are controlled at a first-order level by the combination of the in situ differential stress state and the natural fracture orientation.

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Acknowledgment

This work is supported by TOTAL SA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Grenoble Alpes, Laboratoire 3SR, Grenoble, France

    Riccardo Rorato, Frédéric-Victor Donzé & Alexandra Tsopela

  2. TOTAL S.A., Pau, France

    Hamid Pourpak & Atef Onaisi

Authors
  1. Riccardo Rorato
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  2. Frédéric-Victor Donzé
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  3. Alexandra Tsopela
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  4. Hamid Pourpak
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  5. Atef Onaisi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frédéric-Victor Donzé .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Binghamton Department of Mechanical Engineering, Binghamton, New York, USA

    Congrui Jin

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Gianluca Cusatis

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Rorato, R., Donzé, FV., Tsopela, A., Pourpak, H., Onaisi, A. (2016). Discrete Element Modeling of the Role of In Situ Stress on the Interactions Between Hydraulic and Natural Fractures. In: Jin, C., Cusatis, G. (eds) New Frontiers in Oil and Gas Exploration. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40124-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40124-9_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40122-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40124-9

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