Determination of Fracture Initiation Locations during Cross-Measure Drilling for Hydraulic Fracturing of Coal Seams

Energies

Zhaolong Ge¹  Liang Cheng¹  Yugang Cheng¹  Yiyu Lu¹  Shaojie Zuo¹  Jianyu Zhong¹ 

[1] State Key Laboratory of Coal Mine Disaster Dynamics and Control, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;

关键词: hydraulic fracturing (HF);    initiation location;    crack propagation;    acoustic emissions;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en9050358

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

When drilling coal-bearing sequences to enhance coal seam permeability by hydraulic fracturing (HF), the location where fractures are initiated is important. To date, most research on fracture initiation has studied the problem in two dimensions. In this study, a three-dimensional model to assess initiation location is developed. The model analyzes the stress state of both the borehole wall and the coal-rock interface and the model shows that the fracture initiation location is affected by in situ stress, the dip of the coal seam, and the angle between the borehole and the coal seam. How the initiation location changes near different types of geological faults is calculated by assuming typical in situ stresses for the faults. Following these calculations, physical experiments were carried out to emulate cross-measure hydraulic fracturing under stress conditions equivalent to those in the Chongqing Tonghua coal mine, China. Fracture initiation during the experiments was monitored by an acoustic emission system. The experimental results were consistent with the theoretical calculations. This implies that the three-dimensional model for assessing the locations of fracture initiation can be applied to forecast the initiation location of fractures generated by cross-measure drilling. The assessment model provides reference values for this type of drilling in underground mines.

【 授权许可】

Unknown