A Simple Model for Deviations from the Cubic Law for a Fracture Undergoing Dilation or Closure

Sisavath, Sourith; Al-Yaaruby, A.; Pain, Christopher C.; Zimmerman, Robert W.

doi:10.1007/pl00012558

Cited by 97 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…That approach requires the effects of tortuosity and variations in effective crack width arising from the irregular arrangement of contact points that bear the contact loads across the crack to be incorporated (e.g., Cappa & Rutqvist, 2011;Chivers, 2002;Dimadis et al, 2014;Elsworth & Goodman, 1986;Neuzil & Tracy, 1981;Pyrak-Nolte & Morris, 2000;Renshaw, 1995;Sisavath et al, 2003;Witherspoon et al, 1980;review by Zimmerman & Bodvarsson, 1996).…”

Section: Fluid Flow In a Crack And The Measurement Of Hydraulic Transmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Normal and Shear Stress on the Hydraulic Transmissivity of Thin Cracks in a Tight Quartz Sandstone, a Granite, and a Shale

Rutter

Mecklenburgh

2018

JGR Solid Earth

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Transmissivity of fluids along fractures in rocks is reduced by increasing normal stress acting across them, demonstrated here through gas flow experiments on Bowland shale, and oil flow experiments on Pennant sandstone and Westerly granite. Additionally, the effect of imposing shear stress at constant normal stress was determined, until frictional sliding started. In all cases, increasing shear stress causes an accelerating reduction of transmissivity by 1 to 3 orders of magnitude as slip initiated, as a result of the formation of wear products that block fluid pathways. Only in the case of granite, and to a lesser extent in the sandstone, was there a minor amount of initial increase of transmissivity prior to the onset of slip. These results cast into doubt the commonly applied presumption that cracks with high resolved shear stresses are the most conductive. In the shale, crack transmissivity is commensurate with matrix permeability, such that shales are expected always to be good seals. For the sandstone and granite, unsheared crack transmissivity was respectively 2 and 2.5 orders of magnitude greater than matrix permeability. For these rocks crack transmissivity can dominate fluid flow in the upper crust, potentially enough to permit maintenance of a hydrostatic fluid pressure gradient in a normal (extensional) faulting regime.

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Section: Fluid Flow In a Crack And The Measurement Of Hydraulic Transmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Normal and Shear Stress on the Hydraulic Transmissivity of Thin Cracks in a Tight Quartz Sandstone, a Granite, and a Shale

Rutter

Mecklenburgh

2018

JGR Solid Earth

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“…Table 1. The relative effect of incremental permeability increases for smooth and rough Poiseuille flow and for granularity percolation flow for empirics (I)-(III) [37][38][39].…”

Section: Crustal Deformation Energetics For Spatially-correlated Crusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If fracture surface roughness is included within the flow conduit, exponents for the effective Poiseuille flow factor ∆ m are modelled to increase from 3 to~5-10 [38,39]. The increased exponent heightens the effect of increments in defect population on fluid flow in tight rock.…”

Section: Flow Geometrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospects for Assessing Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Basement Rock Flow Stimulation by Wellbore Temperature Data

Leary¹,

Malin²,

Saarno³

et al. 2017

Energies

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Abstract:We use Matlab 3D finite element fluid flow/transport modelling to simulate localized wellbore temperature events of order 0.05-0.1 • C logged in Fennoscandia basement rock at~1.5 km depths. The temperature events are approximated as steady-state heat transport due to fluid draining from the crust into the wellbore via naturally occurring fracture-connectivity structures. Flow simulation is based on the empirics of spatially-correlated fracture-connectivity fluid flow widely attested by well-log, well-core, and well-production data. Matching model wellbore-centric radial temperature profiles to a 2D analytic expression for steady-state radial heat transport with Peclet number P e ≡ r 0 φv 0 /D (r 0 = wellbore radius, v 0 = Darcy velocity at r 0 , φ = ambient porosity, D = rock-water thermal diffusivity), gives P e~1 0-15 for fracture-connectivity flow intersecting the well, and P e~0 for ambient crust. Darcy flow for model P e~1 0 at radius~10 m from the wellbore gives permeability estimate κ~0.02 Darcy for flow driven by differential fluid pressure between least principal crustal stress pore pressure and hydrostatic wellbore pressure. Model temperature event flow permeability κ m~0 .02 Darcy is related to well-core ambient permeability κ~1 µDarcy by empirical poroperm relation κ m~κ exp(α m φ) for φ~0.01 and α m~1 000. Our modelling of OTN1 wellbore temperature events helps assess the prospect of reactivating fossilized fracture-connectivity flow for EGS permeability stimulation of basement rock.

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“…The derivation of the cubic law begins by assuming that the fracture walls can be represented by two smooth, parallel plates with infinite dimensions, separated by an aperture w. However, the real fractures have finite sizes, rough walls and variable apertures. It was shown that the parallel plate model is inadequate to describe the flow in natural fractures (Sisavath et al 2003).…”

Section: Fracture Permeability Coefficientmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling of cohesive crack growth in partially saturated porous media; a study on the permeability of cohesive fracture

2010

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Modeling the water flow in cohesive fracture is a fundamental issue in the crack growth simulation of cracked concrete gravity dams and hydraulic fracture problems. In this paper, a mathematical model is presented for the analysis of fracture propagation in the semi-saturated porous media. The solid behavior incorporates a discrete cohesive fracture model, coupled with the flow in porous media through the fracture network. The double-nodded zero-thickness cohesive interface element is employed for the mixed mode fracture behavior in tension and contact behavior in compression. The modified crack permeability is applied in fracture propagation based on the data obtained from experimental results to implement the roughness of fracture walls.

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A Simple Model for Deviations from the Cubic Law for a Fracture Undergoing Dilation or Closure

Cited by 97 publications

References 19 publications

Influence of Normal and Shear Stress on the Hydraulic Transmissivity of Thin Cracks in a Tight Quartz Sandstone, a Granite, and a Shale

Influence of Normal and Shear Stress on the Hydraulic Transmissivity of Thin Cracks in a Tight Quartz Sandstone, a Granite, and a Shale

Prospects for Assessing Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Basement Rock Flow Stimulation by Wellbore Temperature Data

Modeling of cohesive crack growth in partially saturated porous media; a study on the permeability of cohesive fracture

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