Evaluating the stability and volumetric flowback rate of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures using the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method

The stability and mobility of proppant packs in hydraulic fractures during hydrocarbon production are numerically investigated by the lattice Boltzmann-discrete element coupling method(LB-DEM).This study starts with a preliminary proppant settling test,from which a solid volume fraction of 0.575 is calibrated for the proppant pack in the fracture.In the established workflow to investigate proppant flowback,a displacement is applied to the fracture surfaces to compact the generated proppant pack as well as further mimicking proppant embedment under closure stress.When a pressure gradient is applied to drive the fluid-particle flow,a critical aperture-to-diameter ratio of 4 is observed,above which the proppant pack would collapse.The results also show that the volumetric proppant flowback rate increases quadratically with the fracture aperture,while a linear variation between the particle flux and the pressure gradient is exhibited for a fixed fracture aperture.The research outcome contributes towards an improved understanding of proppant flowback in hydraulic fractures,which also supports an optimised proppant size selection for hydraulic fracturing operations.

Numerical Analysis of Perforation during Hydraulic Fracture Initiation Based on Continuous-Discontinuous Element Method

Perforation is a pivotal technique employed to establish main flow channels within the reservoir formation at the outset of hydraulic fracturing operations.Optimizing perforation designs is critical for augmenting the efficacy of hydraulic fracturing and boosting oil or gas production.In this study,we employ a hybrid finite-discrete element method,known as the continuous–discontinuous element method(CDEM),to simulate the initiation of post-perforation hydraulic fractures and to derive enhanced design parameters.The model incorporates the four most prevalent perforation geometries,as delineated in an engineering technical report.Real-world perforations deviate from the ideal cylindrical shape,exhibiting variable cross-sectional profiles that typically manifest as an initial constriction followed by an expansion,a feature consistent across all four perforation types.Our simulations take into account variations in perforation hole geometries,cross-sectional diameters,and perforation lengths.The findings show that perforations generated by the 39g DP3 HMX perforating bullet yield the lowest breakdown pressure,which inversely correlates with increases in sectional diameter and perforation length.Moreover,this study reveals the relationship between breakdown pressure and fracture degree,providing valuable insights for engineers and designers to refine perforation strategies.

Plugging behaviors of temporary plugging particles in hydraulic fractures

Using the visualized experimental device of temporary plugging in hydraulic fractures, the plugging behaviors of temporary plugging particles with different sizes and concentrations in hydraulic fractures were experimentally analyzed under the conditions of different carrier fluid displacements and viscosities. The results show that the greater the carrier fluid viscosity and displacement, the more difficult it is to form a plugging layer, and that the larger the size and concentration of the temporary plugging particle, the less difficult it is to form a plugging layer. When the ratio of particle size to fracture width is 0.45, the formation of the plugging layer is mainly controlled by the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle and the viscosity of the carrier fluid, and a stable plugging layer cannot form if the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle is less than 20 kg/m^(3)or the viscosity of the carrier fluid is greater than 3 mPa·s. When the ratio of particle size to fracture width is 0.60, the formation of the plugging layer is mainly controlled by the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle, and a stable plugging layer cannot form if the mass concentration of the temporary plugging particle is less than 10 kg/m^(3). When the ratio of particle size to fracture width is 0.75, the formation of the plugging layer is basically not affected by other parameters, and a stable plugging layer can form within the experimental conditions. The formation process of plugging layer includes two stages and four modes. The main controlling factors affecting the formation mode are the ratio of particle size to fracture width, carrier fluid displacement and carrier fluid viscosity.

Visualization of hydraulic fracture interacting with pre-existing fracture

Hydraulic fracturing is considered the main stimulation method to develop shale gas reservoirs. Due to its strong heterogeneity, the shale gas formation is typically embedded with geological discontinuities such as bedding planes and natural fractures. Many researchers realized that the interaction between natural fractures and hydraulic fractures plays a crucial role in generating a complex fracture network. In this paper, true tri-axial hydraulic fracturing tests were performed on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), on which pre-existing fracture was pre-manufactured to simulate natural fracture. A cohesive model has been developed to verify the results of the experimental tests. The key findings demonstrate that the experimental results agreed well with the numerical simulation outcomes where three main interaction modes were observed: crossing;being arrested by opening the pre-existing fracture;being arrested without dilating the pre-existing fracture. Crossing behavior is more likely to occur with the approaching angle, horizontal stress difference, and injection rate increase. Furthermore, the higher flow rate might assist in reactivating the natural fractures where both sides of the pre-existing fractures were reactivated as the injection rate increased from 5 to 20 mL/min. Additionally, hydraulic fractures show a tendency to extend vertically rather than along the direction of maximum horizontal stress when they are first terminated at the interface. This research may contribute to the field application of hydraulic fracturing in shale gas formation.

Experimental study of the temporary plugging capability of diverters to block hydraulic fractures in high-temperature geothermal reservoirs

The effective plugging of artificial fractures is key to the success of temporary plugging and diverting fracturing technology,which is one of the most promising ways to improve the heat recovery efficiency of hot dry rock.At present,how temporary plugging agents plug artificial fractures under high temperature remains unclear.In this paper,by establishing an improved experimental system for the evaluation of temporary plugging performance at high temperature,we clarified the effects of high temperature,injection rate,and fracture width on the pressure response and plugging efficiency of the fracture.The results revealed that the temporary plugging process of artificial fractures in hot dry rock can be divided into four main stages:the initial stage of temporary plugging,the bridging stage of the particles,the plugging formation stage,and the high-pressure dense plugging stage.As the temperature increases,the distribution distance of the temporary plugging agent,the number of pressure fluctuations,and the time required for crack plugging increases.Particularly,when the temperature increases by 100℃,the complete plugging time increases by 90.7%.

COHESIVE ZONE FINITE ELEMENT-BASED MODELING OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURES

Hydraulic fracturing is a powerful technology used to stimulate fluid production from reservoirs. The fully 3-D numerical simulation of the hydraulic fracturing process is of great importance to the efficient application of this technology, but is also a great challenge because of the strong nonlinear coupling between the viscous flow of fluid and fracture propagation. By taking advantage of a cohesive zone method to simulate the fracture process, a finite element model based on the existing pore pressure cohesive finite elements has been established to investigate the propagation of a penny-shaped hydraulic fracture in an infinite elastic medium. The effect of cohesive material parameters and fluid viscosity on the hydraulic fracture behaviour has been investigated. Excellent agreement between the finite element results and analytical solutions for the limiting case where the fracture process is dominated by rock fracture toughness demonstrates the ability of the cohesive zone finite element model in simulating the hydraulic fracture growth for this case.

Numerical investigation on the effect of depletion-induced stress reorientation on infill well hydraulic fracture propagation

Depletion-induced stress change causes the redistribution of stress field in reservoirs,which can lead to the reorientation of principal stresses.Stress reorientation has a direct impact on fracture propagation of infill wells.To understand the effect of stress reorientation on the propagation of infill well’s fractures,an integrated simulation workflow that combines the reservoir flow calculation and the infill well hydraulic fracturing modeling is adopted.The reservoir simulation is computed to examine the relationship between the extent of stress reversal region and reservoir properties.Then,the hydraulic fracturing model considering the altered stress field for production is built to characterize the stress evolution of secondary fracturing.Numerical simulations show that stress reorientation may occur due to the decreasing of the horizontal stresses in an elliptical region around the parent well.Also,the initial stress difference is the driving factor for stress reorientation.However,the bottom hole pressure,permeability and other properties connected with fluid flow control timing of the stress reorientation.The decrease of the horizontal stresses around the parent well lead to asymmetrical propagation of a hydraulic fracture of the infill well.The study provides insights on understanding the influence of stress reorientation to the infill well fracturing treatment and interference between parent and infill wells.

Fixed-length roof cutting with vertical hydraulic fracture based on the stress shadow effect:A case study

Pre-driven longwall retracement roadway(PLRR)is commonly used in large mine shaft.The support crushing disasters occur frequently during the retracement,and roof management is necessary.Taking the 31107 panel as research background,the roof breaking structure of PLRR is analyzed.It is concluded that the roof cutting with vertical hydraulic fracture(HF)at a specified position,that is,fixed-length roof cutting,can reduce support load and keep immediate roof intact.The extended finite element method(XFEM)is applied to simulate hydraulic fracturing.The results show that both the axial and transverse hydraulic fracturing cannot effectively create vertical HFs.Therefore,a novel construction method of vertical HF based on the stress shadow effect(SSE)is proposed.The stress reversal region and HF orientation caused by the prefabricated hydraulic fracture(PF)are verified in simulation.The sub-vertical HFs are obtained between two PFs,the vertical extension range of which is much larger than that of directional hydraulic fracturing.The new construction method was used to determine the field plan for fixed-length roof cutting.The roof formed a stable suspended structure and deformation of the main PLRR was improved after hydraulic fracturing.

Experimental study of multi-timescale crack blunting in hydraulic fracture

Hydraulic fracture is important in unconventional oil and gas exploration.During the propagation of the hydraulic fracture,the crack tip is blunted due to the development of the process zone in the near-tip area.In this study,the blunting of the hydraulic fracture in polymethyl methacrylate specimens due to multi-timescale stress concentration is investigated.The ratio of the initiation toughness to the arrest toughness of the blunted hydraulic fracture is measured using both the dynamic and the static methods.Results show that a hydraulic fracture can be blunted with the time span of stress concentration from 1 ms to 600 s.It is also shown that the blunting of hydraulic fracture is a highly localized process.The morphology of the blunted crack depends on the stress distribution in the vicinity of the crack tip.

Drained rock volume around hydraulic fractures in porous media:planar fractures versus fractal networks

This study applies the Lindenmayer system based on fractal theory to generate synthetic fracture networks in hydraulically fractured wells.The applied flow model is based on complex analysis methods,which can quantify the flow near the fractures,and being gridless,is computationally faster than traditional discrete volume simulations.The representation of hydraulic fractures as fractals is a more realistic representation than planar bi-wing fractures used in most reservoir models.Fluid withdrawal from the reservoir with evenly spaced hydraulic fractures may leave dead zones between planar fractures.Complex fractal networks will drain the reservoir matrix more effectively,due to the mitigation of stagnation flow zones.The flow velocities,pressure response,and drained rock volume(DRV)are visualized for a variety of fractal fracture networks in a single-fracture treatment stage.The major advancement of this study is the improved representation of hydraulic fractures as complex fractals rather than restricting to planar fracture geometries.Our models indicate that when the complexity of hydraulic fracture networks increases,this will suppress the occurrence of dead flow zones.In order to increase the DRV and improve ultimate recovery,our flow models suggest that fracture treatment programs must find ways to create more complex fracture networks.

Experiments and Analysis of the Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Behaviors of the Granite with Structural Planes in the Gonghe Basin

Hydraulic fracture(HF) propagation behavior is significant when building enhanced geothermal systems(EGS). HF geometry is closely related to the structural planes(SPs) in hot dry rock(HDR), such as natural fractures(NFs), quartz veins(QVs) and lithologic interfaces(LIs). However, the HF behaviors in HDR have not been well understood, especially the influence of multiple SPs on the HF geometry. To clarify this mechanism, several groups of physical simulation experiments of hydraulic fracturing were conducted to investigate the intersection relationship between the HFs and the SPs. Results show that the HF geometry shows great differences when intersecting with different SPs. In summary, the HF geometry displays four basic patterns, namely, propagation along the SPs, branching, capture, penetration/non-dilation. The fluctuation degree of the pressure-time curve and the HF complexity show a positive correlation. The cementing strength of the SP and their different mechanical properties from rock matrix influence the HF behaviors significantly. Therefore, the HF shows diverse geometries when intersecting with the NFs and LIs, while propagating along the QV when intersecting with it. For the complex networks, it is favorable for the HF to penetrate through and dilate several SPs, rather than simply cross or propagate along the SP.

A new model for predicting hydraulic fracture penetration or termination at an orthogonal interface between dissimilar formations

Vertical height growth of hydraulic fractures(HFs)can unexpectedly penetrate a stratigraphic interface and propagate into neighboring layers,thereby resulting in low gas-production efficiency and high risk of groundwater contamination or fault reactivation.Understanding of hydraulic fracture behavior at the interface is of pivotal importance for the successful development of layered reservoirs.In this paper,a twodimensional analytical model was developed to examine HF penetration and termination behavior at an orthogonal interface between two dissimilar materials.This model involves changes in the stress singularity ahead of the HF tip,which may alter at the formation interface due to material heterogeneity.Three critical stress conditions were considered to assess possible fracture behavior(i.e.,crossing,slippage,and opening)at the interface.Then,this model was verified by comparing its theoretical predictions to numerical simulations and three independent experiments.Good agreement with the simulation results and experimental data was observed,which shows the validity and reliability of this model.Finally,a parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of key formation parameters(elastic modulus,Poisson’s ratio,and fracture toughness)between adjacent layers.These results indicate that the variation in the introduced parameters can limit or promote vertical HF growth by redistributing the induced normal and shear stresses at the interface.Among the three studied parameters,Poisson’s ratio has the least influence on the formation interface.When the fracture toughness and elastic modulus of the bounding layer are larger than those of the pay zone layer,the influence of fracture toughness will dominate the HF behavior at the interface;otherwise,the HF behavior will more likely be influenced by elastic modulus.

Numerical analysis of the hydraulic fracture communication modes in fracture-cavity reservoirs

The fracture-cavity carbonate reservoirs in the Tahe Oilfield in China are mainly exploited by fracturing.We need the hydraulic fractures to communicate with caves to create a flow channel.However,due to the existence of the fracture-cavity systems,the hydraulic fracture propagation morphology is complicated,while the propagation characteristics are not clear.To analyze the hydraulic fracture propagation in fracture-cavity carbonate formations,based on the discontinuous discrete fracture model,we developed a solid-seepage-freeflow coupled fracturing model for fracture-cavity formations,which can simulate the complex interaction behavior of fractures and caves.Based on the simulation results,we found the interaction rule between hydraulic fractures and fracture-cavity systems:the stress concentration around caves is the main factor that determines the fracture propagation path.Deflection due to stress concentration is usually not conducive to communication,while natural fractures distributed around caves could break the rejection action.Increasing the hydraulic energy in the hydraulic fracture can make fracture propagate directly and reduce the influence of deflection.The steering fracture formed by temporary plugging is beneficial to the communication of fracture-cavity systems in the non-principal stress direction.According to the simulation results of different fracture-cavity characteristics,we raised four optimization communication modes for fracture-cavity carbonate formation to provide references for fracturing optimization design and parameter optimization.

Dynamic fluid transport property of hydraulic fractures and its evaluation using acoustic logging

The existing acoustic logging methods for evaluating the hydraulic fracturing effectiveness usually use the fracture density to evaluate the fracture volume, and the results often cannot accurately reflect the actual productivity. This paper studies the dynamic fluid flow through hydraulic fractures and its effect on borehole acoustic waves. Firstly, based on the fractal characteristics of fractures observed in hydraulic fracturing experiments, a permeability model of complex fracture network is established. Combining the dynamic fluid flow response of the model with the Biot-Rosenbaum theory that describes the acoustic wave propagation in permeable formations, the influence of hydraulic fractures on the velocity dispersion of borehole Stoneley-wave is then calculated and analyzed, whereby a novel hydraulic fracture fluid transport property evaluation method is proposed. The results show that the Stoneley-wave velocity dispersion characteristics caused by complex fractures can be equivalent to those of the plane fracture model, provided that the average permeability of the complex fracture model is equal to the permeability of the plane fracture. In addition, for fractures under high-permeability(fracture width 10~100 μm, permeability ~100 μm^(2)) and reduced permeability(1~10 μm, ~10 μm^(2), as in fracture closure) conditions, the Stoneley-wave velocity dispersion characteristics are significantly different. The field application shows that this fluid transport property evaluation method is practical to assess the permeability and the connectivity of hydraulic fractures.

Morphology and Propagation of Hydraulic Fractures for CBM Wells

Objective As the most widely used and effective technique in reservoir reconstruction of unconventional natural gas,hydraulic fracturing has been achieved good effect in CBM development.It is important to note that coal seam is both source rock and reservoir,

Hydraulic fracture initiation theory for a horizontal well in a coal seam

A series of experiments were pertbrmed to determine rock mechanical parameters related to hydraulic fracturing of coal. The effect of confining pressure and pore pressure on the strength of coal was stt, died. Experimental results show that the coal seam in the study areas has a relatively low elastic modulus, high Poisson＇s ratio, high fragility and is easily broken and compressed. The coal seam is considered as a transversely isotropic medium, since the physical properties in the direction of bedding plane and orthogonal to the bedding plane vary markedly. Based on the generalized plane strain model, stress distribution for an arbitrarily orientated wellbore in the coal seam was determined. In a horizontal well, hydraulic fracturing was lbund to initiate in the coal seam mass due to tensile failure, or from cleats due to shear or tensile failure. For those coal seams with abundant natural cleats, hydraulic fracture initiation can be induced by any of these mechanisms. In this study, hydraulic fracture initiation criteria tbr a horizontal well in a coal seam were established.

The impact of cleats on hydraulic fracture initiation and propagation in coal seams

Cleats are systematic, natural fractures in coal seams. They account for most of the permeability and much of the porosity of coalbed methane reservoirs and can have a significant effect on the success of hydraulic fracturing stimulation. Laboratory hydraulic fracturing experiments were conducted on coal blocks under true tri-axial stress to simulate fracturing stimulation of coal seams. Fractures were initiated by injecting a water gel with luminous yellow fluorescent dye into an open hole section of a wellbore. The impact of cleats on initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures in coal seams is discussed. Three types of hydraulic fracture initiation and propagation pattern were observed in this study： 1） The hydraulic fracture initiated and then grew along the cleat. 2） The hydraulic fracture initiated along a butt cleat or a fracture （natural or induced by drilling） oriented roughly in the minimum horizontal stress direction, then turned to propagate along the first face cleat that it encountered or gradually turned towards the maximum horizontal stress direction. 3） The hydraulic fracture initiated perpendicular to the minimum stress and, when it encountered a face cleat, tended to propagate along the cleats if the extension direction does not deviate greatly （〈20° as determined in this paper） from the maximum horizontal stress direction. When a coal seam is hydraulically fractured, the resulting fracture network is controlled by the combined effect of several factors： cleats determine the initiation and extension path of the fracture, the in-situ stress state dominates the main direction of the fracture zone and bedding planes impede fracture height growth.

Failure Patterns and Mechanisms of Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Behavior in the Presence of Naturally Cemented Fractures

In this study,we use the extended finite element method(XFEM)with a consideration of junction enrichment functions to investigate the mechanics of hydraulic fractures related to naturally cemented fractures.In the proposed numerical model,the lubrication equation is adopted to describe the fluid flow within fractures.The fluid-solid coupling systems of the hydraulic fracturing problem are solved using the Newton-Raphson method.The energy release rate criterion is used to determine the cross/arrest behavior between a hydraulic fracture(HF)and a cemented natural fracture(NF).The failure patterns and mechanisms of crack propagation at the intersection of natural fractures are discussed.Simulation results show that after crossing an NF,the failure mode along the cemented NF path may change from the tensile regime to the shear or mixed-mode regime.When an advancing HF kinks back toward the matrix,the failure mode may gradually switch back to the tensile-dominated regime.Key factors,including the length of the upper/lower portion of the cemented NF,horizontal stress anisotropy,and the intersection angle of the crack propagation are investigated in detail.An uncemented or partially cemented NF will form a more complex fracture network than a cemented NF.This study provides insight into the formation mechanism of fracture networks in formations that contain cemented NF.

Propagation and aperture of staged hydraulic fractures in unconventional resources in toughness-dominated regimes

Simultaneous multistage hydraulic fracturing of unconventional gas shale in parallel multilateral wells is an effective technique to raise the connectivity of the reservoir to the wellbore and improve reservoir permeability for an economical production. However, this technique should be accompanied with some optimization procedures to obtain an efficiently fractured reservoir with the highest production and the lowest cost. In unconventional hydraulic fracturing, fracture deviation/collapse and trapping are familiar phenomena which occur when a non-optimized fracturing pattern is used. These problems occur respectively when stress shadow size has not been considered in optimization and fracturing pressure is higher than the available pressure in the sealed section. Therefore, in an optimized hydraulic fracturing,having straight fractures with no deviation or collapse needs consideration of stress shadow effect(SSE).Apart from that, having efficiently propagated fractures to the extent of the reservoir without any fracture trap requires consideration of stress intensity factor(SIF) and aperture. SSE was studied and published by the authors in 2014. For the case of SIF, investigating any change in mode I SIF and aperture with different influencing variables such as fracture geometry and pattern are studied in the current research work. Three different fracturing techniques are assumed as multistage fracturing, simultaneous single-stage fracturing, and simultaneous multistage fracturing techniques. Since obtaining SIF for threedimensional fractures is a challenging issue, a stress ratio technique is used for calculation of SIF ratios of different fracturing scenarios compared to the case of a single fracture. Therefore, changes of SIF for different fracturing schemes are estimated and analyzed to understand whether or not a fracturing scheme is efficient and all the spaced perforations are activated and change to hydraulic fractures.

Numerical Modelling of Proppant Transport in Hydraulic Fractures

The distribution of proppant injected in hydraulic fractures significantly affects the fracture conductivity and well performance.The proppant transport in thin fracturing fluid used during hydraulic fracturing in the unconventional reservoirs is considerably different from fracturing fluids in the conventional reservoir due to the very low viscosity and quick deposition of the proppants.This paper presents the development of a three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)modelling technique for the prediction of proppant-fluid multiphase flow in hydraulic fractures.The proposed model also simulates the fluid leak-off behaviour from the fracture wall.The Euler-Granular and CFD-Discrete Element Method(CFD-DEM)multiphase modelling approach has been applied,and the equations defining the fluid-proppant and inter-proppant interaction have been solved using the finite volume technique.The proppant transport in hydraulic fractures has been studied comprehensively,and the computational modelling results of proppant distribution and other flow properties are in good agreement with the published experimental study.The parametric study is performed to investigate the effect of variation in proppant size,fluid viscosity and fracture width on the proppant transport.Smaller proppants can be injected early,followed by larger proppants to maintain high propping efficiency.This study has enhanced the understanding of the complex flow phenomenon between proppant and fracturing fluid and can play a vital role in hydraulic fracturing design.