Features of Hydraulic Fracturing Propagation near Free Surface in Isotropic Poroelastic Medium

Abstract

Numerical modeling results are presented for propagating an axially symmetric crack formed due to hydraulic fracturing near the free surface in the isotropic poroelastic medium. The extended finite element method based on phantom nodes and cohesive model of material failure was used to solve this problem. Trajectories of the crack growth are calculated for different distances from the free surface under injection of certain volume of working fluid with regard to its leakage. The influence exerted by impermeable boundary on the hydraulic fracturing propagation is studied.