A finite element approach to the simulation of hydraulic fractures with lag
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In this thesis, a finite-element-based algorithm is presented to simulate plane-strain hydraulic fractures in an impermeable elastic medium where the crack path is not known a priori. The algorithm accounts for the nonlinear coupling between the fluid pressure and the crack opening and separately tracks the evolution of the crack tip and the fluid front. It therefore allows the existence of a fluid lag. The fluid front is advanced explicitly in time, but the crack tip is determined implicitly by enforcing Griffith's criterion and maximum energy release rate. A spatial discretization is created that conforms to the crack path by perturbing the nodes of a background mesh. The coupling between the fluid and the rock is enforced by simultaneously solving for the fluid pressure and the crack opening at each time step. Verification of the algorithm is provided for straight hydraulic fractures by performing sample simulations and comparing them to two known similarity solutions. Also, sample simulations are carried out for the general case of curvilinear fractures for which the crack path is not known a priori.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2012 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Hunsweck, Michael Joshua |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Mechanical Engineering |
| Primary advisor | Lew, Adrian |
| Thesis advisor | Lew, Adrian |
| Thesis advisor | Kuhl, Ellen, 1971- |
| Thesis advisor | Pinsky, P |
| Advisor | Kuhl, Ellen, 1971- |
| Advisor | Pinsky, P |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Michael Joshua Hunsweck. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2012. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2012 by Michael Joshua Hunsweck
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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