Extended finite element-based cohesive zone method for modeling simultaneous hydraulic fracture height growth in layered reservoirs

In this study,a fully coupled hydromechanical model within the extended finite element method(XFEM)-based cohesive zone method(CZM)is employed to investigate the simultaneous height growth behavior of multi-cluster hydraulic fractures in layered porous reservoirs with modulus contrast.The coupled hydromechanical model is first verified against an analytical solution and a laboratory experiment.Then,the fracture geometry(e.g.height,aperture,and area)and fluid pressure evolutions of multiple hydraulic fractures placed in a porous reservoir interbedded with alternating stiff and soft layers are investigated using the model.The stress and pore pressure distributions within the layered reservoir during fluid injection are also presented.The simulation results reveal that stress umbrellas are easily to form among multiple hydraulic fractures’tips when propagating in soft layers,which impedes the simultaneous height growth.It is also observed that the impediment effect of soft layer is much more significant in the fractures suppressed by the preferential growth of adjoining fractures.After that,the combined effect of in situ stress ratio and fracturing spacing on the multi-fracture height growth is presented,and the results elucidate the influence of in situ stress ratio on the height growth behavior depending on the fracture spacing.Finally,it is found that the inclusion of soft layers changes the aperture distribution of outmost and interior hydraulic fractures.The results obtained from this study may provide some insights on the understanding of hydraulic fracture height containment observed in filed.

A phase-field model for simulating the propagation behavior of mixed-mode cracks during the hydraulic fracturing process in fractured reservoirs

A novel phase-field model for the propagation of mixed-mode hydraulic fractures,characterized by the formation of mixed-mode fractures due to the interactions between fluids and solids,is proposed.In this model,the driving force for the phase field consists of both tensile and shear components,with the fluid contribution primarily manifesting in the tension driving force.The displacement and pressure are solved simultaneously by an implicit method.The numerical solution's iterative format is established by the finite element discretization and Newton-Raphson(NR)iterative methods.The correctness of the model is verified through the uniaxial compression physical experiments on fluid-pressurized rocks,and the limitations of the hydraulic fracture expansion phase-field model,which only considers mode I fractures,are revealed.In addition,the influence of matrix mode II fracture toughness value,natural fracture mode II toughness value,and fracturing fluid injection rate on the hydraulic fracture propagation in porous media with natural fractures is studied.

Effect mechanism of seepage force on the hydraulic fracture propagation

The flow of fluid through the porous matrix of a reservoir rock applies a seepage force to the solid rock matrix.Although the seepage force exerted by fluid flow through the porous matrix of a reservoir rock has a notable influence on rock deformation and failure,its effect on hydraulic fracture(HF)propagation remains ambiguous.Therefore,in this study,we improved a traditional fluid–solid coupling method by incorporating the role of seepage force during the fracturing fluid seepage,using the discrete element method.First,we validated the simulation results of the improved method by comparing them with an analytical solution of the seepage force and published experimental results.Next,we conducted numerical simulations in both homogeneous and heterogeneous sandstone formations to investigate the influence of seepage force on HF propagation.Our results indicate that fluid viscosity has a greater impact on the magnitude and extent of seepage force compared to injection rate,and that lower viscosity and injection rate correspond to shorter hydraulic fracture lengths.Furthermore,seepage force influences the direction of HF propagation,causing HFs to deflect towards the side of the reservoir with weaker cementation and higher permeability.

Influence of High-Density Bedding Plane Characteristics on Hydraulic Fracture Propagation in Shale Oil Reservoir

The existence of high-density bedding planes is a typical characteristic of shale oil reservoirs.Understanding the behavior of hydraulic fracturing in high-density laminated rocks is significant for promoting shale oil production.In this study,a hydraulic fracturing model considering tensile failure and frictional slip of the bedding planes is established within the framework of the unified pipe-interface element method(UP-IEM).The model developed for simulating the interaction between the hydraulic fracture and the bedding plane is validated by comparison with experimental results.The hydraulic fracturing patterns in sealed and unsealed bedding planes are compared.Additionally,the effects of differential stress,bedding plane permeability,spacing,and the friction coefficient of the bedding plane are investigated.The results showed that a single main fracture crossing the bedding planes is more likely to form in sealed bedding planes under high differential stress.The decrease in bedding plane permeability and the increase in the friction coefficient also promote the fracture propagating perpendicular to the bedding planes.Shale with high-density bedding planes has a poorer fracturing effect than that with low-density bedding planes,as the hydraulic fracture is prone to initiate and propagate along the bedding planes.Moreover,higher injection pressure is needed to maintain fracture propagation along the bedding.An increase in bedding density will lead to a smaller fracturing area.Fracturing fluid seepage into the bedding planes slows shale fracturing.It is recommended that increasing the injection flow rate,selecting alternative fracturing fluids,and employing multi-well/multi-cluster fracturing may be efficient methods to improve energy production in shale oil reservoirs.

Physical and numerical investigations of target stratum selection for ground hydraulic fracturing of multiple hard roofs

Ground hydraulic fracturing plays a crucial role in controlling the far-field hard roof,making it imperative to identify the most suitable target stratum for effective control.Physical experiments are conducted based on engineering properties to simulate the gradual collapse of the roof during longwall top coal caving(LTCC).A numerical model is established using the material point method(MPM)and the strain-softening damage constitutive model according to the structure of the physical model.Numerical simulations are conducted to analyze the LTCC process under different hard roofs for ground hydraulic fracturing.The results show that ground hydraulic fracturing releases the energy and stress of the target stratum,resulting in a substantial lag in the fracturing of the overburden before collapse occurs in the hydraulic fracturing stratum.Ground hydraulic fracturing of a low hard roof reduces the lag effect of hydraulic fractures,dissipates the energy consumed by the fracture of the hard roof,and reduces the abutment stress.Therefore,it is advisable to prioritize the selection of the lower hard roof as the target stratum.

An Efficient Reliability-Based Optimization Method Utilizing High-Dimensional Model Representation and Weight-Point Estimation Method

The objective of reliability-based design optimization(RBDO)is to minimize the optimization objective while satisfying the corresponding reliability requirements.However,the nested loop characteristic reduces the efficiency of RBDO algorithm,which hinders their application to high-dimensional engineering problems.To address these issues,this paper proposes an efficient decoupled RBDO method combining high dimensional model representation(HDMR)and the weight-point estimation method(WPEM).First,we decouple the RBDO model using HDMR and WPEM.Second,Lagrange interpolation is used to approximate a univariate function.Finally,based on the results of the first two steps,the original nested loop reliability optimization model is completely transformed into a deterministic design optimization model that can be solved by a series of mature constrained optimization methods without any additional calculations.Two numerical examples of a planar 10-bar structure and an aviation hydraulic piping system with 28 design variables are analyzed to illustrate the performance and practicability of the proposed method.

Hydraulics Management Model of Response Function Solved by Laplace Transform Boundary Element Method

In solving a response function by the boundary element method, the use of the singular valued method and the Laplace transform in a time domain makes the solving process be simplified and the result be accurate. The restricted condition matrix formed by the response matrix method is much smaller than that by embedding method. In addition, the response function may realize directly the management decision making. So it is efficient for establishing and solving hydraulics management models.

Hydraulic Design Method of Wave Dissipating Structure with Partially Perforated Front Wall

Based on the matching conditions of different fluid regions, the eigenfunction expansion method is used to develop a theoretical formula for wave reflection in front of the perforated structure with a partially slit front wall. The accuracy of the solution is verified by comparing the numerical results with experimental data. In addition, a new hydraulic design method is developed by derivation of the theoretical formula with respect to the porosity of the slit wall, and the results of this design method is drafted for harbour engineers to use.

Hydraulic model with roughness coefficient updating method based on Kalman filter for channel flood forecast

A real-time channel flood forecast model was developed to simulate channel flow in plain rivers based on the dynamic wave theory. Taking into consideration channel shape differences along the channel, a roughness updating technique was developed using the Kalman filter method to update Manning＇s roughness coefficient at each time step of the calculation processes. Channel shapes were simplified as rectangles, triangles, and parabolas, and the relationships between hydraulic radius and water depth were developed for plain rivers. Based on the relationship between the Froude number and the inertia terms of the momentum equation in the Saint-Venant equations, the relationship between Manning＇s roughness coefficient and water depth was obtained. Using the channel of the Huaihe River from Wangjiaba to Lutaizi stations as a case, to test the performance and rationality of the present flood routing model, the original hydraulic model was compared with the developed model. Results show that the stage hydrographs calculated by the developed flood routing model with the updated Manning＇s roughness coefficient have a good agreement with the observed stage hydrographs. This model performs better than the original hydraulic model.

Force Control Compensation Method with Variable Load Stiffness and Damping of the Hydraulic Drive Unit Force Control System

Each joint of hydraulic drive quadruped robot is driven by the hydraulic drive unit（HDU）, and the contacting between the robot foot end and the ground is complex and variable, which increases the difficulty of force control inevitably. In the recent years, although many scholars researched some control methods such as disturbance rejection control, parameter self-adaptive control, impedance control and so on, to improve the force control performance of HDU, the robustness of the force control still needs improving. Therefore, how to simulate the complex and variable load characteristics of the environment structure and how to ensure HDU having excellent force control performance with the complex and variable load characteristics are key issues to be solved in this paper. The force control system mathematic model of HDU is established by the mechanism modeling method, and the theoretical models of a novel force control compensation method and a load characteristics simulation method under different environment structures are derived, considering the dynamic characteristics of the load stiffness and the load damping under different environment structures. Then, simulation effects of the variable load stiffness and load damping under the step and sinusoidal load force are analyzed experimentally on the HDU force control performance test platform, which provides the foundation for the force control compensation experiment research. In addition, the optimized PID control parameters are designed to make the HDU have better force control performance with suitable load stiffness and load damping, under which the force control compensation method is introduced, and the robustness of the force control system with several constant load characteristics and the variable load characteristics respectively are comparatively analyzed by experiment. The research results indicate that if the load characteristics are known, the force control compensation method presented in this paper has positive compensation effects on the load characteristics variation, i.e., this method decreases the effects of the load characteristics variation on the force control performance and enhances the force control system robustness with the constant PID parameters, thereby, the online PID parameters tuning control method which is complex needs not be adopted. All the above research provides theoretical and experimental foundation for the force control method of the quadruped robot joints with high robustness.

Numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing and associated microseismicity using finite-discrete element method

Hydraulic fracturing （HF） technique has been extensively used for the exploitation of unconventional oiland gas reservoirs. HF enhances the connectivity of less permeable oil and gas-bearing rock formationsby fluid injection, which creates an interconnected fracture network and increases the hydrocarbonproduction. Meanwhile, microseismic （MS） monitoring is one of the most effective approaches to evaluatesuch stimulation process. In this paper, the combined finite-discrete element method （FDEM） isadopted to numerically simulate HF and associated MS. Several post-processing tools, includingfrequency-magnitude distribution （b-value）, fractal dimension （D-value）, and seismic events clustering,are utilized to interpret numerical results. A non-parametric clustering algorithm designed specificallyfor FDEM is used to reduce the mesh dependency and extract more realistic seismic information.Simulation results indicated that at the local scale, the HF process tends to propagate following the rockmass discontinuities; while at the reservoir scale, it tends to develop in the direction parallel to themaximum in-situ stress. 2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recursion Least Square Method to Study the Fault Diagnosis and Its Model of Hydraulic Equipment

In this paper establishing model of the fault diagnosis of hydraulic equipment isdescribed in details. It also studies the advantage of the recursion least square method. When theLSM is used in compuring the fault of hydraulic equipment, not only does it save the computerCPU-time and memory, but it also has a high computation speed and,makes it easy to identifythe estimation parameters.

A Short Review on Computational Hydraulics in the Context of Water Resources Engineering

The term “hydraulics” is concerned with the conveyance of water that can consist of very simple processes to complex physical processes, such as flow in open rivers, flow in pipes, the flow of nutrients/sediments, the flow of groundwater to sea waves. The study of hydraulics is primarily a mixture of theory and experiments. Computational hydraulics is very helpful to quantify and predict flow nature and behavior. The mathematical model is the backbone of the computational hydraulics that consists of simple to complex mathematical equations with linear and/or non-linear terms and ordinary or partial differential equations. Analytical solution to these mathematical equations is not feasible in the majority of cases. In these consequences, mathematical models are solved using different numerical techniques and associated schemes. In this manuscript, we aim to review hydraulic principles along with their mathematical equations. Then we aim to learn some commonly used numerical techniques to solve different types of differential equations related to hydraulics. Among them, the Finite Difference Method (FDM), Finite Element Method (FEM) and Finite Volume Method (FVM) have been discussed along with their use in real-life applications in the context of water resources engineering.

A method to determine relevant geomechanical parameters for evaluating the hydraulic erodibility of rock

Among the methods used for evaluating the potential hydraulic erodibility of rock,the most common methods are those based on the correlation between the force of flowing water and the capacity of a rock to resist erosion,such as Annandale’s and Pells’methods.The capacity of a rock to resist erosion is evaluated based on erodibility indices that are determined from specific geomechanical parameters of a rock mass.These indices include unconfined compressive strength(UCS)of rock,rock block size,joint shear strength,a block’s shape and orientation relative to the direction of flow,joint openings,and the nature of the surface to be potentially eroded.However,it is difficult to determine the relevant geomechanical parameters for evaluating the hydraulic erodibility of rock.The assessment of eroded unlined spillways of dams has shown that the capacity of a rock to resist erosion is not accurately evaluated.Using more than 100 case studies,we develop a method to determine the relevant geomechanical parameters for evaluating the hydraulic erodibility of rock in unlined spillways.The UCS of rock is found not to be a relevant parameter for evaluating the hydraulic erodibility of rock.On the other hand,we find that the use of three-dimensional(3D)block volume measurements,instead of the block size factor used in Annandale’s method,improves the rock block size estimation.Furthermore,the parameter representing the effect of a rock block’s shape and orientation relative to the direction of flow,as considered in Pells’method,is more accurate than the parameter adopted by Annandale’s method.

DOUBLE METHOD OF CHARACTERISTICS TO ANALYZE HYDRAULIC-THERMAL TRANSIENTS OF PIPELINE FLOW

The hydraulic and thermal transients in pipeline flow were studied. The method of characteristics for hydraulic transient analysis of batch transport of pipeline flow had been improved. The thermal transient equation, in which the term with v 3 was involved, had been inferred, while the corresponding method of characteristics was constructed. The double method of characteristics, which can be used to study the coherent hydraulic-thermal transients of batch transport of pipeline flow, was developed.

Adjacent mode resonance of a hydraulic pipe system consisting of parallel pipes coupled at middle points

The coupling vibration of a hydraulic pipe system consisting of two pipes is studied.The pipes are installed in parallel and fixed at their ends,and are restrained by clips to one bracket at their middle points.The pipe subjected to the basement excitation at the left end is named as the active pipe,while the pipe without excitation is called the passive pipe.The clips between the two pipes are the bridge for the vibration energy.The adjacent natural frequencies will enhance the vibration coupling.The governing equation of the coupled system is deduced by the generalized Hamilton principle,and is discretized to the modal space.The modal correction is used during the discretization.The investigation on the natural characters indicates that the adjacent natural frequencies can be adjusted by the stiffness of the two clips and bracket.The harmonic balance method(HBM)is used to study the responses in the adjacent natural frequency region.The results show that the vibration energy transmits from the active pipe to the passive pipe swimmingly via the clips together with a flexible bracket,while the locations of them are not node points.The adjacent natural frequencies may arouse wide resonance curves with two peaks for both pipes.The stiffness of the clip and bracket can release the vibration coupling.It is suggested that the stiffness of the clip on the passive pipe should be weak and the bracket should be strong enough.In this way,the vibration energy is reflected by the almost rigid bracket,and is hard to transfer to the passive pipe via a soft clip.The best choice is to set the clips at the pipe node points.The current work gives some suggestions for weakening the coupled vibration during the dynamic design of a coupled hydraulic pipe system.

Using Augerhole Method to Determine the Hydraulic Conductivity of Soil

A kind of international rapid field measurement methods of hydraulic conductivity and it's applications in Sanjiang Plain have been introduced in the paper.

Using Inversed Augerhole Method to Determine the Hydraulic Conductivity of Soil

A kind of international rapid field measurement methods of hydraulic conductivity and it's applications in Sanjiang Plain have been introduced in the paper.

Reliability Analysis of Heavy-Duty CNC Machine Hydraulic System Based on Fuzzy Goal Oriented Method

There is a common sense that heavy-duty CNC machine strongly depends on its foundation and can be easily affected by many factors.Hydraulic system,the most important part in CNC machine,is a complex and multi-loop system.In order to make up for the shortcomings of traditional fault tree analysis method and traditional GO method,the most effective method named fuzzy GO method is proposed to analyze the reliability of hydraulic system.And then some ideas are provided for system reliability assessment,fault diagnosis and maintenance by qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Subsystem model-based close-loop grey-box identification method for hydraulic stewart platform

In order to solve the problem of difficult modeling and identification caused by time-variable parameters,multiple inputs and outputs and unstable open loop,a subsystem model-based close-loop grey-box identification method was put forward when consider the main coupling effects of hydraulic Stewart platform.Firstly,the whole system is divided into three TITO(Two Input Two Output) subsystems according to the characteristics of the pseudo-mass matrix,hence transfer function matrix model of the subsystem can also be found.Secondly,since the Stewart platform is unstable,the close-loop transfer model of the subsystem is derived under the proportional controllers.The inverse M serial is adopted as the identification signal to get the experimental data.All parameters of the subsystem are determined in close-loop indirect identification by PEM(Prediction Error Method).Finally,a case study validates the correctness and effectiveness of the subsystem model-based close-loop grey-box identification method for hydraulic Stewart platform.