Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing is commonly used to enhance the production of hydrocarbon reservoirs, particularly that of unconventional reservoirs. Field data from hydraulic fracturing treatments is scarce and often difficult to interpret. Thus, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations play a key role in understanding hydraulic fracturing mechanisms. This paper describes the experimental and numerical work done at Khalifa University on hydraulic fracturing. It describes the laboratory hydraulic fracturing experiments that are being conducted at the Geomechanics Laboratory of Khalifa University using a recently developed hydrofracking system capable of simulating reservoir conditions of pressure and temperature. Numerical simulations using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) code, UDEC, are also being done to reproduce the hydraulic fracturing KU tests in reservoir rocks and to investigate the effect of different boundary conditions to provide feedback to the experimental program. Specifically, in this paper we focus on studying the effect of beddings and their orientation on the propagation of hydraulically induced fractures. For this purpose, we built a model recreating the laboratory experimental conditions, where the natural beddings and potential fractures are represented by a Voronoi tessellation in the continuum rock media. The bedding planes are considered to have different mechanical properties from that of the rock sample. The model is first used to reproduce the lab tests without beddings. Then, the effect of the beddings is studied. The results of the simulations are used to provide feedback to the laboratory experimental program.
Original language | English |
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State | Published - 2019 |
Event | 53rd U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium - Brooklyn, United States Duration: 23 Jun 2019 → 26 Jun 2019 |
Conference
Conference | 53rd U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Brooklyn |
Period | 23/06/19 → 26/06/19 |