Abstract
In order to study the fracture propagation behavior after the interaction between hydraulic fractures and natural fractures, the cohensive unit of Abaqus finite element software is used to simulate the influence of natural fractures in the rock on the propagation behavior of hydraulic fractures. The simulation results show that when the approach angle is kept constant, as the in-situ stress difference increases, hydraulic fractures are more likely to penetrate the natural fractures and expand along the direction of the maximum horizontal principal stress; while the stress difference remains the same, as the approach angle increases, hydraulic fractures are easier to penetrate natural fractures and expand along the direction of maximum horizontal principal stress. When the approach angle is kept constant, as the tensile strength of natural fractures increases, hydraulic fractures are more likely to penetrate the natural cracks and expand along the direction of the maximum horizontal principal stress; while the tensile strength of natural cracks remains unchanged, as the approach angle increases, the probability of forming a complex fracture network between hydraulic fractures and natural fractures is reduced, and it is easier to penetrate the natural fractures and expand along the direction of the maximum horizontal principal stress.
Highlights
With the continuous advancement of fracturing technology, the fracturing design concept has gradually developed to the stage of volume simulation
How the hydraulic fractures intersect with natural fractures is of great significance to predict the formation process of complex fracture networks
Some scholars have studied various factors influencing the morphology of hydraulic fractures through numerical simulations[3,4], but the influence of natural fractures on the propagation of hydraulic fractures needs to be studied in depth, and laboratory experimental studies are difficult to study the dynamic stress distribution of hydraulic fractures
Summary
With the continuous advancement of fracturing technology, the fracturing design concept has gradually developed to the stage of volume simulation. Using ABAQUS numerical simulation software's cohesive unit to simulate the influence of natural fractures in rock on the propagation of hydraulic fractures. Parameter Approach angle/瀽 Stress difference/MPa rate/m2·s-1 Fracturing fluid viscosity/Pa·s. By setting different combinations of in-situ stress difference and approach angle, the fracture propagation behavior of hydraulic fractures encountering natural fractures in different combinations is studied. The fracture propagation situation when the approach angle is 60° and the stress difference is 0 MPa. Fig. 4. the fracture propagation situation when the approach angle is 60° and the stress difference is 2 MPa Fig. 4. the fracture propagation situation when the approach angle is 60° and the stress difference is 2 MPa
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