Development of a General-Purpose Numerical Program to Simulate Hydraulic Fracturing in Brittle (Including Porous) Media. Annual Report, October 1, 1977--September 30, 1978

摘要

Research into the problem of a pressurized crack approaching and crossing an interface is reported. Conclusions are reported about the possibilities for containment of such hydraulic fractures in a pay formation. A novel incorporation of the equations for frac fluid flow into the methodology for simulation of deformation around fractures is presented. The present goal is to completely resolve the issue of cracks moving guasi-statically near interfaces: particularly, the roles of elastic compatibility, slippage, blunting, branching and re-initiation can be readily characterized. (ERA citation 04:017218)