Abstract
Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) is considered as an ideal non-aqueous fracturing fluid due to its superior properties of liquid-like density, gas-like viscosity, high compressibility, and diffusivity. This study aims to investigate the micromechanical behavior of SC-CO2 fracturing in both intact and fractured rock samples by using a coupled fluid-solid discrete element method (DEM) model. A new numerical algorithm for hydraulic fracturing in the toughness-dominated regime is developed by assuming that the pressure in the whole fracture is uniform. This new numerical algorithm could achieve a much higher computational efficiency compared with the conventional hydromechanical scheme in DEM. Hydraulic fracturing cases using high-viscosity fracturing fluid are also performed for comparison. The results indicate that the fracture propagation induced by SC-CO2 tends to be less smooth and continuous, more asymmetric, and tortuous compared to that induced by viscous fluid. Besides, the low-viscosity fluid like SC-CO2 can lead to a lower breakdown pressure, and the fluid leak-off into the rock matrix can result in a lower breakdown pressure and higher fracture propagation pressure. The simulations also illustrate that SC-CO2 fracturing tends to create a more complex and productive fracture network if the pre-existing natural fractures are involved. As a result, we can conclude that SC-CO2 could be an alternative fracturing fluid to induce a more effective fracture network for hydrocarbon production.
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Acknowledgments
The useful discussion with Branko Damjanac and Egor Dontsov is greatly appreciated.
Funding
This research is supported by the National Science and Technology Major Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2017ZX05049-002), the key innovation team program of innovation talents promotion plan by MOST of China (No. 2016RA4059), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41772286), and the PetroChina Innovation Foundation (2018D-5007-0202).
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Li, M., Zhang, F., Zhuang, L. et al. Micromechanical analysis of hydraulic fracturing in the toughness-dominated regime: implications to supercritical carbon dioxide fracturing. Comput Geosci 24, 1815–1831 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-019-09925-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-019-09925-5