Effects of coal bedding dip angle on hydraulic fracturing crack propagation

As a commonly used and effective technology for increasing the permeability of coal-rock reservoirs, hydraulic fracturing has been widely used in engineering sites to realize the efficient exploitation and utilization of gas resources in coal-rock reservoirs. The core of hydraulic fracturing is the initiation, propagation, and path of hydraulic cracks. In this paper, the combination of true triaxial physical test and numerical simulation is used to study the influence of coal bedding characteristics on the crack propagation of hydraulic fracturing and to discuss the important role of bedding in hydraulic crack formation. Results show that the control effect of the coal bedding dip angle on the hydraulic crack propagation under the same stress conditions is stronger than that of the maximum principal stress, and the control effect of the bedding on the crack propagation is weaker under the bedding dip angles of 0 degrees and 90 degrees. Reasonable fracturing fluid displacement setting is conducive to the formation of complex hydraulic fracture network structure, small displacement is conducive to the opening of primary natural fractures, and large displacement is conducive to hydraulic cracks that pass through the structural surface and the coal-rock interface. Global and local methods of finite element mesh embedding zero-thickness cohesion element and a pore-pressure node merging method to simulate fracturing are established using Python language and ABAQUS numerical analysis platform, respectively. The numerical simulation results suggest that the main fractures are formed along the principal stress direction, and the secondary branch fractures are formed along the bedding direction under the condition wherein the coal bedding dip angle is 30 degrees. Under the conditions of different stress fields and fracturing fluid discharges, the controlling effect of bedding on hydraulic fracture is closely related to the fracturing parameters.

Automated summary

In this study, the influence of coal bedding characteristics on hydraulic fracturing crack propagation was investigated using a combined approach of true triaxial physical tests and numerical simulations. The results show that the control effect of coal bedding dip angle on crack propagation is stronger than that of the maximum principal stress under the same stress conditions. Reasonable fracturing fluid displacement settings are found to promote the formation of complex hydraulic fracture networks. Numerical simulations revealed that the main fractures form along the principal stress direction, while secondary branch fractures form along the bedding direction when the coal bedding dip angle is 30 degrees. The control effect of bedding on hydraulic fracture is closely related to fracturing parameters.