Imperial College London
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Professor of Rock Mechanics

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

Chair in Rock Mechanics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7412r.w.zimmerman

 
 
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Location

 

2.38DRoyal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Salimzadeh:2017:10.1016/j.ijrmms.2017.09.001,
author = {Salimzadeh, S and Usui, T and Paluszny, A and Zimmerman, RW},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijrmms.2017.09.001},
journal = {International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences},
pages = {9--20},
title = {Finite element simulations of interactions between multiple hydraulic fractures in a poroelastic rock},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2017.09.001},
volume = {99},
year = {2017}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - A fully coupled three-dimensional finite-element model for hydraulic fracturing in permeable rocks is utilised to investigate the interaction between multiple simultaneous and sequential hydraulic fractures. Fractures are modelled as surface discontinuities within a three-dimensional matrix. This model simultaneously accounts for laminar flow within the fracture, Darcy flow within the rock matrix, poroelastic deformation of the rock, and the propagation of fractures using a linear elastic fracture mechanics framework. The leakoff of fracturing fluid into the surrounding rocks is defined as a function of the pressure gradient at the fracture surface, the fluid viscosity, and the matrix permeability. The coupled equations are solved numerically using the finite element method. Quadratic tetrahedral and triangle elements are used for spatial discretisation of volumes and surfaces, respectively. The model is validated against various analytical solutions for plane-strain and penny-shaped hydraulic fractures. Several cases of simultaneous fracturing of multiple hydraulic fractures are simulated in which the effects of the various parameters (the in situ stresses, the distance between fractures, the permeability of the matrix, the Biot poroelastic coefficient, and the number of the fractures in a group) are investigated. The results show that the stress induced by the opening of the fractures, and the stress induced by the fluid leakoff, each have the effect of locally altering the magnitudes and orientations of the principal stresses, hence altering the propagation direction of the fractures. Opening of a fracture induces excessive compression (also known as the “stress shadow”) that causes adjacent fractures to curve away from each other. This excessive compression competes against the differential in situ stresses, which tend to cause the fracture to grow in the plane normal to the minimum in situ stress. The stress shadow effect is reduced by increasing th
AU  - Salimzadeh,S
AU  - Usui,T
AU  - Paluszny,A
AU  - Zimmerman,RW
DO  - 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2017.09.001
EP  - 20
PY  - 2017///
SN  - 0020-7624
SP  - 9
TI  - Finite element simulations of interactions between multiple hydraulic fractures in a poroelastic rock
T2  - International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2017.09.001
UR  - http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000415594900002&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1365160917303532
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/64163
VL  - 99
ER  -
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