ABSTRACT:

In this paper, we present a hydraulic fracture model that integrates 3D Displacement Discontinuity Method for computing the induced 3D stress field around the propagating hydraulic fractures and incorporates the changes in induced stress into the fracture height calculations and propagation criterion. Examples show that for parallel fractures, the height growth may be promoted or suppressed depending on the relative fracture height. For fractures initiated from different formation layers, the fracture growth into the layer occupied by the other fractures is reduced due to the vertical stress shadowing effect.

Keywords:
reservoir geomechanics, calculation, discontinuity, Reservoir Characterization, stress shadow effect, DD element, shear stress, Upstream Oil & Gas, displacement discontinuity method, analytical solution
Subjects:
Hydraulic Fracturing, Reservoir Characterization, Reservoir geomechanics
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2017. American Rock Mechanics Association
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