Modeling Method for Heterogeneous Rock Material and Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Base on PHF-LSM Approach

Ming Li, Northeastern University
Li Liang, Northeastern University
Yunyun Fan, Northeastern University
Shiyi Liu, Northeastern University
 
Hydraulic fracturing is one of the most important technical method for oil or gas production and the heterogeneity of rock material gives great contribution to the characteristics of hydraulic fracture. In this paper, modeling method for the two-dimensional rock material is studied. Firstly, the level set method is introduced for modeling the spatial distribution of heterogeneous rock material properties to use the same finite element mesh for different rock sample. The characteristics of rock material distribution and equivalent elastic modulus is studied for different homogeneity coefficient (shape parameter) in Weibull distribution. Secondly, for modeling the hydraulic fracture in heterogeneous rock material, the Permeability-based Hydraulic Fracture (PHF) model is coupled to the level set method. The PHF model is a kind of smeared crack method, which is based on the fully coupled elasto-plastic Biot consolidation theory. Finally, the propagations of hydraulic fracture are studied when the homogeneity coefficient varies from 1.5 to 200. The breakdown pressure and crack zone features are also provided. Simulation results indicate that the PHF-LSM method is good to use for modeling the heterogeneous rock material with Weibull distribution, simulating the development of hydraulic fracture and characteristics of breakdown pressure.