ABSTRACT
Hydraulic fracturing has been used successfully for enhancing oil, gas, coalbed methane, and mineral recovery. Because of the nature of rock formations, a hydraulic fracturing simulator should account for mechanical property variations in the rock formation layers. However, the influence of variations in elastic moduli from layer to layer has generally been neglected due to modeling difficulties. In response to this need, this paper presents: (1) three-dimensional simulation of hydraulic fracturing in layered formations with multiple elastic moduli, including discussion of the utility and limitations of such capability, and (2) results of numerical studies on the influence of elastic moduli variations on the final fracture geometry and proppant placement.
