This paper presents a computational method for simulation of 3D hydrofracturation using a segregated and a coupled algorithm hydraulic model. The crack propagation is modeled using a combination of continuous damage and XFEM. The poroelastic problem in the first stage…
This paper presents a computational method for simulation of 3D hydrofracturation using a segregated and a coupled algorithm hydraulic model. The crack propagation is modeled using a combination of continuous damage and XFEM. The poroelastic problem in the first stage of cracking is modeled using a poro-damage model, where the permeability is linked to the damage coefficient. Oncethecrack is modeled using XFEM, a hydraulic mesh is automatically generated on the fracture surface with the possibility of including features such as drains. The pressure is computed on the hydraulic mesh taking into account the crack opening computed with the structural model and the differenttypesofflowinacrack: laminarorturbulent,parallelornon-parallel. Thepressurecomputed withthehydraulicmeshistransferredtothestructuralmeshtorecomputethestructuralresponse. This procedure, iterated until convergence, can predict hydraulic fracturing taking into account complex flows. A validation example on a wedge-splitting specimen is presented.