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TOUGH-Based Hydraulic Fracturing Models

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Modelling Rock Fracturing Processes

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief overview of TOUGH-based hydraulic fracturing models, including application examples to demonstrate their capabilities. These models are all based on the linking of geomechanics codes to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL’s) TOUGH2 multiphase flow and heat transport simulator. These geomechanics codes consider a wide range of approaches for fracturing, including fractured continuum elements, node-splitting between elements, partitioning of unity for fractures through elements, and lattice models with breaking of springs between elements. Some of the models apply mixed mode linear elastic fracture mechanics, while others apply a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion with tensile cut-off. It is concluded that the TOUGH-based hydraulic fracturing models overviewed in this Chapter, TOUGH-FLAC, TOUGH+ROCMECH, TOUGH-RDCA, TOUGH-RBSN, and TOUGH-FEMM are complementary in terms of capabilities and application areas and the choice of model for a specific application will always be up to the user based on experience with different models, their capability and availability.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was completed with funding from the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Office of Natural Gas and Petroleum Technology, through the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Program, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The author thanks Dr. **gyu Shi, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Australia, for review of the initial manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy Geosciences Division, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jonny Rutqvist

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  1. Jonny Rutqvist
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Correspondence to Jonny Rutqvist .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CSIRO Mineral Resources, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Baotang Shen

  2. GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

    Ove Stephansson

  3. School of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Mikael Rinne

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Rutqvist, J. (2020). TOUGH-Based Hydraulic Fracturing Models. In: Shen, B., Stephansson, O., Rinne, M. (eds) Modelling Rock Fracturing Processes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35525-8_9

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