Measurement and characterisation of spatial distributions of fractures

Gillespie, Paul; Howard, Conway; Walsh, John J.; Watterson, J.

doi:10.1016/0040-1951(93)90114-y

Cited by 415 publications

(245 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…After re-sampling of the original composite transect array 1,000 times, the mean fractal dimension stabilizes at 0.66, with a mean linear regression coefficient, R 2 = 0.96. The high value of D is consistent with the observation that fractures in the Climax stock have a high frequency and are approximately exponentially distributed (Wilder and Yow, 1984;Gillespie et al, 1993). This value is also in agreement, especially with the upper limit, with other studies that report a range 0.40 < D < 0.70 (e.g., Gillespie et al, 1993;Barton, 1995;Ehlen, 2000).…”

Section: Densitysupporting

confidence: 90%

Modeling of Groundwater Flow and Radionuclide Transport at the Climax Mine sub-CAU, Nevada Test Site

Pohlmann¹,

Ye²,

Reeves³

et al. 2007

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Section: Densitysupporting

confidence: 90%

Modeling of Groundwater Flow and Radionuclide Transport at the Climax Mine sub-CAU, Nevada Test Site

Pohlmann¹,

Ye²,

Reeves³

et al. 2007

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“…Outcrop characterization studies have shown that natural fractures vary substantially in height, length, and aperture, as well as spacing and network connectivity (Gillespie et al, 1993;Odling, 1997;Odling et al, 1999), thus highlighting a large discrepancy between reality and the uniformity inherent in dual porosity model assumptions. Hence, discrete fracture models (DFMs) were developed to reduce the number of non-physical abstractions inherent in dual continuum models.…”

Section: Discrete Fracture Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of an Efficient Embedded Discrete Fracture Model for 3D Compositional Reservoir Simulation in Fractured Reservoirs

et al. 2013

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Summary Many naturally fractured reservoirs around the world have depleted significantly, and improved-oil-recovery (IOR) processes are necessary for further development. Hence, the modeling of fractured reservoirs has received increased attention recently. Accurate modeling and simulation of naturally fractured reservoirs (NFRs) is still challenging because of permeability anisotropies and contrasts. Nonphysical abstractions inherent in conventional dual-porosity and dual-permeability models make them inadequate for solving different fluid-flow problems in fractured reservoirs. Also, recent technologies for discrete fracture modeling may suffer from large simulation run times, and the industry has not used such approaches widely, even though they give more-accurate representations of fractured reservoirs than dual-continuum models. We developed an embedded discrete fracture model (DFM) for an in-house compositional reservoir simulator that borrows the dual-medium concept from conventional dual-continuum models and also incorporates the effect of each fracture explicitly. The model is compatible with existing finite-difference reservoir simulators. In contrast to dual-continuum models, fractures have arbitrary orientations and can be oblique or vertical, honoring the complexity of a typical NFR. The accuracy of the embedded DFM is confirmed by comparing the results with the fine-grid, explicit-fracture simulations for a case study including orthogonal fractures and a case with a nonaligned fracture. We also perform a grid-sensitivity study to show the convergence of the method as the grid is refined. Our simulations indicate that to achieve accurate results, the embedded discrete fracture model may only require moderate mesh refinement around the fractures and hence offers a computationally efficient approach. Furthermore, examples of waterflooding, gas injection, and primary depletion are presented to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the developed method for simulating fluid flow in NFRs.

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“…Cumulative distributions of fracture spacings plotted on log/log graphs can show power-law (or fractal) distributions evidenced by straight lines or exponential and lognormal distributions forming convex-upward curves [Gillespie et al, 1993].…”

Section: Fracture Spacingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative analysis of direct (core) and indirect (borehole imaging tools) collection of fracture data in the Hot Dry Rock Soultz reservoir (France)

Genter¹,

Castaing²,

Dezayes³

et al. 1997

J. Geophys. Res.

110

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Abstract. Attributes of several thousand fractures were collected in three boreholes of 2.2, 3.6, and 3.8 km depth, penetrating the Soultz Hot Dry Rock reservoir (France). The fractures were sampled from cores and from several high-resolution imaging techniques such as borehole televiewer (BHTV), ultrasonic borehole imager (UBI), formation microscanner (FMS), formation microimager (FMI), and azimuthal resistivity imaging (ARI). A comparison was made between the data collected on cores and those provided by different imaging techniques. The comparison clearly establishes that the different wall-images are not as exhaustive as the core data and cannot provide a complete characterization of the fracture network. Discrete fractures thinner than 1 mm are not properly detected. This is also the case for discrete fractures closer than 5 mm, which appear only as single traces. The imaging techniques are, nevertheless, very powerful for characterizing altered fracture clusters. Whatever the technique used, the fracture strikes were correctly sampled with the different systems. This comparison allowed us to calibrate the fracture population data obtained from the imaging system in order to correct for the filtering effect introduced by the technique itself and by the alteration of the rock mass.

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Measurement and characterisation of spatial distributions of fractures

Cited by 415 publications

References 41 publications

Modeling of Groundwater Flow and Radionuclide Transport at the Climax Mine sub-CAU, Nevada Test Site

Modeling of Groundwater Flow and Radionuclide Transport at the Climax Mine sub-CAU, Nevada Test Site

Development of an Efficient Embedded Discrete Fracture Model for 3D Compositional Reservoir Simulation in Fractured Reservoirs

Comparative analysis of direct (core) and indirect (borehole imaging tools) collection of fracture data in the Hot Dry Rock Soultz reservoir (France)

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