Abstract
In hydraulic fracturing commonly used in mining, it is important to determine the shapes and sizes of created fractures. The governing factor in this case is the structure of rock mass which is often stratified. This study analyzes the influence of strengths of the layers and their stress states on the shapes of the growing fractures. Numerical modeling shows that in hydraulic fracturing with low-viscous fluids, fractures grow mostly in a layer having lower tension or compression strengths. The calculations carried out for the analyzed cases provide the values of tension strength and external compression for hydraulic fractures to grow only in one layer. It is shown that the increase in the breakdown fluid viscosity weakens this effect.
Published Version
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