Numerical study of the stimulation related thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in tight gas and deep geothermal reservoirs (PDF)

Hydraulic fracturing in combination with horizontal well is playing a key role in the efficient development of unconventional gas/oil reservoirs and deep geothermal resources. However, the integral operation, especially from the perspective of THM (Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanic) interactions have not been studied systematically. In this thesis, targeted improvements were achieved through developing a series of mathematical/physical models, and their implementation into the existing numerical tools (FLAC3Dplus and TOUGH2MP-FLAC3D), including: (a) a new thermal module for FLAC3Dplus based entirely on the finite volume method (FVM), which is especially developed for the fracturing process and can also achieve the modeling of gel breaking; (b) a rock damage module of TOUGH2MP-FLAC3D, which also considers the impacts of rock damaging process on evolution of permeability; (c) an in-depth improved FLAC3Dplus simulator that obtains the ability to simulate a 3D fracture propagation with arbitrary orientation. After the corresponding verifications, the improved tools were applied in different case studies to reveal: a) influences of the fluid’s viscosity on the fracturing results in tight sandstone reservoirs; b) the induced seismicity during the fracturing operation and the reactivation of the natural faults; and c) the fracture propagation with arbitrary orientation.