Simulation of proppant transport with gravitational settling and fracture closure in a three-dimensional hydraulic fracturing simulator

Hydraulic Fracturing Simulation for Fracture Networks

The term ‘Unconventional Reservoirs’ is used in the oil and gas industry for hydrocarbon reservoirs that have very low permeability in the magnitude of microdarcy (μd) and therefore rely on artificially introducing pathways for fluids and gases, commonly by using hydraulic fracturing techniques, to enable economic production. This approach of using fracturing stimulation campaigns is also incre...

New Insight on Deformation of Walnut/Ceramic Proppant Pack under Closure Stress in Hydraulic Fracture: Numerical Investigation

This study is an attempt to investigate the mechanical behavior of proppant packs deforming under compression loading. A generalized confined compression test (CCT) was simulated in the present study to investigate the deformation of walnut/ceramic proppants against compression. In this way, the CCT was simulated using ABAQUS explicit code. Unlike ordinary CCT, we obtained permeability of compr...

Coupled 3-D numerical simulation of proppant distribution and hydraulic fracturing performance optimization in Marcellus shale reservoirs

A variational hydraulic fracturing model coupled to a reservoir simulator

A variational fracture model coupled to an external reservoir simulator through variable exchange is presented. While convergence is not optimal without Jacobian matrices with which fully coupling can provide, the presented coupling scheme is versatile enough that the reservoir simulator could be easily replaced with any other simulator. A variational approach to fracture is introduced first by...

A Review of Numerical Simulation Strategies for Hydraulic Fracturing, Natural Fracture Reactivation and Induced Microseismicity Prediction

Hydraulic fracturing, natural fracture reactivation and resulting induced microseismicity are interconnected phenomena involved in shale gas exploitation. Due to their multi-physics and their complexity, deep understanding of these phenomena as well as their mutual interaction require the adoption of coupled mechanical and fluid flow approaches. Modeling these systems is a challenging procedure...