The work is devoted to the validation of a Planar3D hydraulic fracturing model, implemented in the corporate hydraulic fracturing simulator RN-GRID. Hydraulic fracturing simulator is specialized software for mathematical modeling and engineering analysis of the hydraulic fracturing process. The simulator allows evaluating fracture geometry and treatment parameters, taking into account geological structure of the reservoir, rock geomechanical properties, fracturing fluid and proppant properties.
Fracture model validation was carried out by comparing the results of mathematical modeling with the results of experimental studies in the laboratory installation of organic glass.
The article discusses two typical fracture growth scenarios, one of which — fracture growth in the area of lower stress — is traditionally considered difficult for numerical modeling using simplified Pseudo3D hydraulic fracturing models. The comparisons show a good agreement between the results of modeling in the developed Planar3D model and the results of experimental studies for each of the cases considered. In addition to comparison with experimental data, a comparison was made of the results of numerical simulations in RN-GRID with the results of simulations in another Planar3D hydraulic fracturing simulator for each of the cases considered. There is a good agreement between the simulation results in these simulators.
It is noted that the use of a hydraulic fracturing simulator with an experimentally proven model allows performing physically accurate modeling of this complex process, make sound engineering decisions in treatment designing and increase hydraulic fracturing efficiency.
References
1. Aksakov A.V., Borshchuk O.S., Zheltova I.S. et al., Corporate fracturing simulator: from a mathematical model to the software development (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2016, no. 11, pp. 35–40.
2. Akhtyamov A.A., Makeev G.A., Baydyukov K.N. et al., Corporate fracturing simulator RN-GRID: from software development to in-field implementation (In Russ.), Neftyanoe khozyaystvo = Oil Industry, 2018, no. 5, pp. 94–97.
3. Thacker B. et al., Concepts of model verification and validation, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2004, URL: http://www.ltasvis.ulg.ac.be/cmsms/uploads/File/LosAlamos_VerificationValidation.pdf.
4. Jeffrey R.G., Bunger A.P., A detailed comparison of experimental and numerical data on hydraulic fracture height growth through stress contrasts, SPE 106030-MS, 2009.
5. Wu R., Bunger A.P., Jeffrey R.G, Siebrits E., A comparison of numerical and experimental results of hydraulic fracture growth into a zone of lower confining stress, Proceedings of the The 42nd U.S. Rock Mechanics Symposium (USRMS), 29 June-2 July 2008, San Francisco, California, URL: https://www.onepetro.org/conference-paper/ARMA-08-267.
6. Siebrits E., Peirce A.P., An efficient multi‐layer planar 3D fracture growth algorithm using a fixed mesh approach, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng., 2002, no. 53, pp. 691–717, DOI:10.1002/nme.308.
7. Peirce A.P., Siebrits E., A dual mesh multigrid preconditioner for the efficient solution of hydraulically driven fracture problems, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Engng., 2005, no. 63, pp. 1797–1823, DOI:10.1002/nme.1330.
