Modeling Simultaneous Multiple Fracturing Using the Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method

Modeling Simultaneous Multiple Fracturing Using the Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method

Blog Article

Simultaneous multiple fracturing is a key technology to facilitate the production of shale oil/gas.When multiple hydraulic fractures propagate simultaneously, there is an interaction effect among these propagating hydraulic fractures, known as the stress-shadow effect, which has a significant impact on the fracture geometry.Understanding and controlling the propagation of simultaneous multiple hydraulic fractures and the interaction effects between multiple fractures are critical to optimizing oil/gas production.

In this paper, the FDEM simulator and a fluid valhalla axys simulator are linked, named FDEM-Fluid, to handle hydromechanical-fracture coupling problems and investigate the simultaneous multiple hydraulic fracturing mechanism.The fractures propagation and the deformation of solid phase are solved by FDEM; meanwhile the fluid flow in the fractures is modeled using the principle of parallel-plate flow model.Several tests are carried out to validate the application of FDEM-Fluid in hydraulic fracturing simulation.

Then, this FDEM-Fluid click here is used to investigate simultaneous multiple fractures treatment.Fractures repel each other when multiple fractures propagate from a single horizontal well, while the nearby fractures in different horizontal wells attract each other when multiple fractures propagate from multiple parallel horizontal wells.The in situ stress also has a significant impact on the fracture geometry.