Development and testing of a pseudo-three-dimensional model of hydraulic fracture geometry (P3DH)

A model has been developed to realistically describe the evolution of geometry of a three-dimensional (3-D) hydraulic fracture produced by fluid injection in a reservoir. The model formulates the problem in terms of equations for lateral fluid flow and crack opening for the main body of the fracture coupled with a very efficient scheme for describing vertical fracture growth at each cross-section. Sample simulations show that the model is highly efficient and suitable for incorporation in a general 3-D fracturing simulator. 23 refs.