A Peridynamic Model for Hydraulic Fracture

TitleA Peridynamic Model for Hydraulic Fracture
Publication TypeConference Proceedings
Year of Conference2015
AuthorsOuchi, H., A. Katiyar, J. T. Foster, and M. M. Sharma
Conference Name13th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics
Date Published07/2015
PublisherU.S. Association for Computational Mechanics
Conference LocationSan Diego, California, U.S.A., July 27-30, 2015
KeywordsFracture modeling, Peridynamics
Abstract

We present a coupled nonlocal model based on peridynamic theory for the poromechanical deformation and failure of rocks targeting applications of hydraulic fracture. The model is capable of reproducing known analytic solutions to simple fracture geometries as the characteristic nonlocal length-scale vanishes; however, the nonlocal nature of the formulation is particularly useful in regularizing (i.e., removing mesh dependence) cases of complex fracture propagation and coalescence of propagating hydraulic fractures with natural fractures. This presentation will shows the model equations along with validation results for a series of test problems. Additionally, we show regularized large-scale simulations that exhibit sufficient complexity to demonstrate the utility of the model. This complexity includes the effects of heterogeneities in elastic, fracture, and fluid transport properties, as well as the effects of complex natural fracture networks on hydraulic fracture propagation.

URLhttp://13.usnccm.org/