首页|Spatial orientations of hydraulically conductive shear natural fractures for an arbitrary stress state: An analytical study of governing geomechanical factors
Spatial orientations of hydraulically conductive shear natural fractures for an arbitrary stress state: An analytical study of governing geomechanical factors
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NSTL
Elsevier
Hydraulic conductivity of natural shear fractures is considered with regard to the current stress state of fractured rocks. The paper focuses on spatial orientations of hydraulically conductive shear fractures existing in naturally fractured fluid saturated rocks. The concept of critically stressed fractures is used for the analysis. The paper presents an algorithm and analytical solution that can be used to obtain all possible spatial orientations of critically stressed fractures for an arbitrary stress tensor. The proposed solution is explicit, providing functionality to predict the spatial orientations of hydraulically conductive fractures for rocks subjected to arbitrary stresses. The results obtained from the presented methodology can be directly used to deal with results of geomechanical modeling of naturally fractured reservoirs development. Several analyses of applying the obtained solution in practice are presented in the paper: spatial orientations of critically stressed fractures are obtained for cases of different gradual changes in stress tensor components under specific conditions, providing an understanding of the main tendencies in these spatial orientations. According to the obtained results, spatial orientations of critically stressed fractures tend to be related to directions of principal stresses, while magnitudes of principal stresses govern the shapes of zones containing poles to critically stressed fractures at stereonets. The influence of the following major geomechanical factors standing for hydraulic conductivity of natural fractures is studied: magnitudes and directions of principal stresses, friction coefficient of rock. Stereonets are used to visualize the changes in spatial orientations of hydraulically conductive fractures, caused by alteration of stress state of the rock.
NSTL
Elsevier
