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A fully implicit single phase T-H-M fracture model for modelling hydraulic fracturing in oil sands

Pak, A ; Sharif University of Technology | 2004

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  1. Type of Document: Article
  2. DOI: 10.2118/04-06-01
  3. Publisher: Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) , 2004
  4. Abstract:
  5. Enhancing oil extraction from oil sands with a hydraulic fracturing technique has been widely used in practice. Due to the complexity of the actual process, modelling of hydraulic fracturing is far behind its application. Reproducing the effects of high pore pressure and high temperature, combined with, complex stress changes in the oil sand reservoir, requires a comprehensive numerical model which is capable of simulating the fracturing phenomenon. To capture all of these aspects in the problem, three partial differential equations, i.e., equilibrium, flow, and heat transfer, should be solved simultaneously in a fully implicit (coupled) manner. A fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical fracture finite element model is developed to incorporate all bf the above features. The model is capable of analyzing hydraulic fracture problems in axisymmetric or plane strain conditions with any desired boundary conditions, e.g., constant rate of fluid Injection, pressure, temperature, and fluid flow/thermal flux. Fractures can be initiated either by excessive tensile stress or shear stress. The fracture process is simulated using a node-splitting technique. Once a fracture is formed, special fracture elements are introduced to provide in-plane transmissivtty of fluid. Effectiveness of the model is evaluated by solving several examples and comparing the numerical results with analytical solutions. The model is also used to simulate large-scale laboratory hydraulic fracturing experiments
  6. Keywords:
  7. Thermal method ; Artificial Intelligence ; Reservoir Characterization ; Complex reservoir ; Flow in porous media ; Steam-assisted gravity drainage ; Oil sand ; SAGD ; Enhanced recovery ; Fluid modeling
  8. Source: Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology ; Volume 43, Issue 6 , 2004 , Pages 35-44 ; 00219487 (ISSN)
  9. URL: https://onepetro.org/JCPT/article-abstract/doi/10.2118/04-06-01/31225/A-Fully-Implicit-Single-Phase-T-H-M-Fracture-Model?redirectedFrom=fulltext