NUMERICAL-SIMULATION OF 3D HYDRAULIC FRACTURE USING NEWTONIAN AND POWER-LAW FLUIDS

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of hyraulic fracturing process es associated with arbitrarily oriented, perforated wellbores are pres ented. The objective is to enable the simulation of multiple, non-plan ar fractures in the near-wellbore region of perforated wellbores. A sy stem that couples the structural response of a fractured rock with the flow of a Newtonian or power-law fluid between the fracture walls is described. Example applications are presented and compared to publishe d solutions to validate the system. Capabilities to handle complex geo metries are illustrated by examples of propagation of fractures orient ed arbitrarily with respect to the in situ stresses.