The objective of the present study is to predict how changes in the fracture treatment design parameters will affect the production performance of new gas wells in a target zone of the Marcellus shale. A recently developed analytical flow-cell model can estimate future production for new wells with different completion designs. The flow-cell model predictions were benchmarked using historic data of 11 wells and 6 different completion designs. First, a type well was generated and used with the flow-cell model to predict the performance of the later infill wells—with variable completion designs—based off the performance of earlier wells. The flow-cell model takes into account known hyperbolic forecast parameters (qi, Di, and b-factor) and fracture parameters (height, half-length, and spacing) of a type well. Next, the flow-cell model generates the hyperbolic decline parameters for an offset well based on the selected changes in the fracture treatment design parameters. Using a numerical simulator, the flow-cell model was verified as an accurate modeling technique for forecasting the production performance of horizontal, multi-fractured, gas wells.

As corrosion is a common problem in steel reinforced concrete (RC), fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) reinforcement, that is corrosion resistant, has gained the attention of structural engineers. When overloaded, structural components must behave in a ductile fashion to provide adequate warning of imminent failure but due to the brittle nature of FRP materials, it has been difficult to incorporate ductility into FRP RC beams. However, previous research has revealed that placing FRP reinforcement in both the compression and the tensile zones of a beam section can result in a ductile failure mechanism, as the compressive FRP affects the ductile plateau of the moment-curvature sectional response. This paper quantifies minimum ductility requirements for the redistribution of bending moment in continuous FRP RC beams. Validation of ductility models by experimental testing allowed for the development of design rules to ensure that a beam incorporating FRP reinforcement will behave in a ductile fashion.