Abstract
The initial pore pressure gradient along the borehole radial direction affects the initiation and instability of a hydraulic crack tip and its propagation. An innovative experimental system with fluid seepage and hydraulic fracturing capabilities is used to conduct a hydraulic fracturing experiment that considers the borehole radial pore pressure gradient effects. The experimental results indicate that the typical characteristic of the pumping-pressure curve considering the influence of borehole radial pore pressure gradient is that the crack propagation pressure is significantly higher than the initiation pressure. The pore pressure inside the sample rock increased the porous media system stability and the overall strength against damage. The water pressure required for fracture propagation increased, and the fracture propagation range decreased. Therefore, there are more ruptures in the specimen during the hydraulic crack propagation, and the elastic energy generated by each rupture is large. Reflected in the acoustic emission (AE) characteristics, the specimens with an initial borehole radial pore pressure exhibit smaller crack opening displacements but a higher occurrence of AE events and energy. When considering the influence of the initial borehole radial pore pressure gradient, a higher pumping pressure is needed to overcome the high pore pressure ahead of the hydraulic crack tip during crack propagation. As the initial pore pressure gradient along the borehole radial direction increased, the pore pressure ahead of the hydraulic crack tip increased. However, when the water pressure inside the crack remains the same, the pore pressure gradient ahead of the crack tip is low. Therefore, the water pressure required to destabilize and propagate the fracture is high.
Article Highlights
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1.
Experimental principle of initial borehole radial pore pressure gradient was designed.
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Hydraulic fracturing experiment under radial pore pressure gradient was performed.
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Borehole radial pore pressure gradient effect on hydraulic fracturing was revealed.
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4.
Pore pressure gradient increased the resistance to hydraulic fracture propagation.
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Acknowledgements
Financial support for this work, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52374142, 52004269) and Young Talent Support Project of Jiangsu Association for Science and Technology (JSTU-2022-066), is gratefully acknowledged.
Funding
This work was supported the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52374142, 52004269), Xinglong Zhao; Young Talent Support Project of Jiangsu Association for Science and Technology (JSTU-2022-066), Xinglong Zhao.
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All authors contributed to the experimental program design. Experiment, numerical, data collection and analysis were performed by XZ, ZW, YH and XH. The first draft of the manuscript was written by XZ and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Zhao, X., Huang, B., Wu, Z. et al. Effect of Borehole Radial Pore Pressure Gradient on the Initiation and Propagation of Sandstone Hydraulic Fractures. Transp Porous Med 150, 653–674 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-023-02027-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-023-02027-y