Numerical simulation of hydraulic fracturing: a hybrid FEM based algorithm

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hybrid FEM-based algorithm for simulating hydraulic fractures, capable of handling complex material properties and fluid rheologies with verified accuracy and efficiency.

Contribution

A novel FEM-based computational scheme for hydraulic fracture simulation that accommodates advanced material and fluid models.

Findings

Algorithm verified against analytical benchmarks.

Capable of modeling complex geological settings.

Handles poroelasticity, plasticity, and variable properties.

Abstract

In this paper a problem of numerical simulation of hydraulic fractures is considered. An efficient algorithm of solution is proposed for the plain strain model of hydraulic fracturing. The algorithm utilizes a FEM based subroutine to compute deformation of the fractured material. The flow of generalized Newtonian fluid in the fracture is modelled in the framework of lubrication theory. In this way, the architecture of the computational scheme is relatively simple and enables one to deal with advanced cases of the fractured material properties and configurations as well as various rheological models of fluid. In particular, the problems of poroelasticity, plasticity and spatially varying properties of the fractured material can be analyzed. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm are verified against analytical benchmark solutions. The algorithm capabilities are demonstrated using the example of the hydraulic fracture propagating in complex geological settings.