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Loopless nontrapping invasion-percolation model for fracking.
- Source :
-
Physical Review E: Statistical, Nonlinear & Soft Matter Physics . Feb2014, Vol. 89 Issue 2-A, p1-11. 11p. - Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- Recent developments in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have enabled the recovery of large quantities of natural gas and oil from old, low-permeability shales. These developments include a change from low-volume, high-viscosity fluid injection to high-volume, low-viscosity injection. The injected fluid introduces distributed damage that provides fracture permeability for the extraction of the gas and oil. In order to model this process, we utilize a loopless nontrapping invasion percolation previously introduced to model optimal polymers in a strongly disordered medium and for determining minimum energy spanning trees on a lattice. We performed numerical simulations on a two-dimensional square lattice and find significant differences from other percolation models. Additionally, we find that the growing fracture network satisfies both Horton-Strahler and Tokunaga network statistics. As with other invasion percolation models, our model displays burst dynamics, in which the cluster extends rapidly into a connected region. We introduce an alternative definition of bursts to be a consecutive series of opened bonds whose strengths are all below a specified value. Using this definition of bursts, we find good agreement with a power-law frequency-area distribution. These results are generally consistent with the observed distribution of microseismicity observed during a high-volume frack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 15393755
- Volume :
- 89
- Issue :
- 2-A
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Physical Review E: Statistical, Nonlinear & Soft Matter Physics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 95067176
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.022119