Development of a hydraulic stimulation simulator toolbox for enhanced geothermal system design

Hydraulic stimulation is the key technology in the enhanced geothermal system (EGS) development. In this study, a reservoir stimulation simulator toolbox was developed for the comprehensive EGS design considering the natural fracture distribution, borehole stability, hydraulic stimulation and the thermal performance of the reservoir. The toolbox program consists of five modules, i.e., 3D discrete fracture network (DFN) generation, borehole stability analysis, hydrofracturing estimation, hydroshearing estimation and reservoir temperature prediction. Each module is implemented with graphic user interface using MATLAB® and available as a stand-alone program. The program allows independent analysis of each module and combined analyses with compatible data among the related modules, which provides extensive applicability to a variety of tasks associated with EGS stimulation, shale gas fracturing and CO2 geosequestration.

[1]  J. Geertsma,et al.  A Rapid Method of Predicting Width and Extent of Hydraulically Induced Fractures , 1969 .

[2]  Günter Zimmermann,et al.  Slip tendency analysis, fault reactivation potential and induced seismicity in a deep geothermal reservoir , 2009 .

[3]  M. Zoback,et al.  Utilizing Wellbore Image Data To Determine The Complete Stress Tensor: Application To Permeability Anisotropy And Wellbore Stability , 1997 .

[4]  Seokwon Jeon,et al.  Deformation and strength anisotropy of Asan gneiss, Boryeong shale, and Yeoncheon schist , 2012 .

[5]  S. Priest.  Discontinuity Analysis for Rock Engineering , 1992 .

[6]  Alain C. Gringarten,et al.  Theory of heat extraction from fractured hot dry rock , 1975 .

[7]  Luís Tiago Paiva,et al.  Software for slip-tendency analysis in 3D: A plug-in for Coulomb , 2009, Comput. Geosci..

[8]  Ward Whitt,et al.  A Unified Framework for Numerically Inverting Laplace Transforms , 2006, INFORMS J. Comput..

[9]  Norman R. Warpinski,et al.  Comparison study of hydraulic fracturing models -- Test case: GRI Staged Field Experiment No. 3 , 1994 .

[10]  J. C. Jaeger,et al.  Fundamentals of rock mechanics , 1969 .

[11]  Yoonho Song,et al.  Observations of hydraulic stimulations in seven enhanced geothermal system projects , 2015 .

[12]  Ching H. Yew,et al.  Mechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing , 1997 .

[13]  Günter Zimmermann,et al.  3D numerical modeling of hydrothermal processes during the lifetime of a deep geothermal reservoir , 2010 .

[14]  C. Tsang,et al.  Injection and Thermal Breakthrough in Fractured Geothermal Reservoirs , 1982 .

[15]  T. W. Doe,et al.  A Discrete Fracture Network Approach For Evaluation of Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs , 2010 .

[16]  G. Bodvarsson.  On the temperature of water flowing through fractures , 1969 .

[17]  K. Min,et al.  Initiation and propagation of fracture shearing during hydraulic stimulation in enhanced geothermal system , 2016 .

[18]  Allan R. Rickards,et al.  High Strength, Ultralightweight Proppant Lends New Dimensions to Hydraulic Fracturing Applications , 2006 .

[19]  E. Dill,et al.  Theory of Elasticity of an Anisotropic Elastic Body , 1964 .

[20]  Roland N. Horne,et al.  An investigation of stimulation mechanisms in Enhanced Geothermal Systems , 2014 .

[21]  Alan P. Morris,et al.  Slip-tendency analysis and fault reactivation , 1996 .

[22]  J. Rutqvist,et al.  Probabilistic Analysis of Fracture Reactivation Associated with Deep Underground CO2 Injection , 2013, Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering.

[23]  R. P. Nordgren,et al.  Propagation of a Vertical Hydraulic Fracture , 1972 .