Abstract
A series of simulations for hydraulic fracturing in competent rock was performed by using the flow-coupled DEM code to discuss the influence of the fluid viscosity and the particle size distribution. The simulation results show good agreement with experimental results that contain the AE measurement data. The following observations can be made. When a low viscosity fluid is used, the fluid infiltrates into the fracture immediately. On the other hand, when a high viscosity fluid is used, the fluid infiltrates slowly into the crack after the fracture first elongates. Although tensile cracks are dominantly generated in the simulation, the energy released from a tensile crack becomes small because the tensile strength of rock is obviously small compared with the compressive strength. Such a small AE is easily buried in a noise and difficult to be measured in an experiment. Therefore, in AE measurement experiment, shear type AE with large energy is dominantly observed, as many previous researches have indicated.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 712-727 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 Jul |
Keywords
- Acoustic emission (AE)
- Distinct element method (DEM)
- Hydraulic fracturing
- Particle size distribution
- Rock
- Viscosity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology