Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-5lx2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-29T19:25:42.002Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

17 - Fluid transport in hydrofractures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Agust Gudmundsson
Agust Gudmundsson
Affiliation:
Royal Holloway, University of London
Get access

Summary

Aims

How hydrofractures transport crustal fluids is important in many fields of earth sciences, including petroleum geology, geothermal research, volcanology, seismology, and hydro-geology. In the previous chapters the focus has been on the transport of ground water, geothermal water, and gas and oil. Here the main examples come from two fields: man-made hydraulic fractures, as are used to increase the permeability of reservoirs (petroleum and geothermal); and volcanology, that is, the transport of magma through vertical (dykes), inclined (sheets), and horizontal (sills) intrusions. It should be stressed, however, that the basic principles of fluid transport in hydrofractures are the same irrespective of the type of fluid. Thus, the results obtained here apply equally well, with suitable modifications, to hydrofracture transport of ground water, oil, and gas. The principal aims of this chapter are to explain and discuss:

  • The source of the driving pressure (overpressure) in hydrofractures, including the effects of buoyancy.

  • The initiation, propagation, and fluid transport in man-made (artificial) hydraulic fractures.

  • Fluid transport in magma-driven fractures, primarily dykes and inclined sheets.

  • Fluid transport in fractures driven by hydrothermal fluids, that is, fractures that subsequently become mineral veins.

Type
Chapter
Information
Rock Fractures in Geological Processes , pp. 525 - 556
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acocella, V. and Neri, M., 2003. What makes flank eruptions? The 2001 Etna eruption and its possible triggering mechanism. Bulletin of Volcanology, 65, 517–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Acocella, V. and Neri, M., 2009. Dike propagation in volcanic edifices: overview and possible developments. Tectonophysics, 471, 67–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Advani, S. H., Lee, T. S., Dean, R. H., Pak, C. K., and Avasthi, J. M., 1997. Consequences of fluid lag in three-dimensional hydraulic fractures. International Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 21, 229–240.3.0.CO;2-V>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berkowitz, B., 2002. Characterizing flow and transport in fractured geological media: a review. Advances in Water Resources, 25, 861–884.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bons, P. D., 2001. The formation of large quartz veins by rapid ascent of fluids in mobile hydrofractures. Tectonophysics, 336, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brebbia, C. A. and Dominguez, J., 1992. Boundary Elements: an Introductory Course. Boston, MA: Computational Mechanics.Google Scholar
Brenner, S. L. and Gudmundsson, A., 2002. Permeability development during hydrofracture propagation in layered reservoirs. Norges Geologiske Undersøkelse Bulletin, 439, 71–77.Google Scholar
Brenner, S. L. and Gudmundsson, A. 2004. Permeability in layered reservoirs: field examples and models on the effects of hydrofracture propagation. In: Stephansson, O., Hudson, J. A., and Jing, L. (eds.), Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical Processes in Geo-Systems, Geo-Engineering Series, Vol. 2. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 643–648.Google Scholar
Chilingar, G. V., Serebryakov, V. A., and Robertson, J. O., 2002. Origin and Prediction of Abnormal Formation Pressures. London: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Coward, M. P., Daltaban, T. S., and Johnson, H. (eds.), 1998. Structural Geology in Reservoir Characterization. Geological Society of London Special Publication 127. London: Geological Society of London.
Dahlberg, E. C., 1994. Applied Hydrodynamics in Petroleum Exploration. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Daneshy, A. A., 1978. Hydraulic fracture propagation in layered formations. AIME Society of Petroleum Engineers J, 33–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, P. M., 1983. Surface deformation associated with a dipping hydrofracture. Journal of Geophysical Research, 88, 5826–5834.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsily, G., 1986. Quantitative Hydrogeology. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Deming, D., 2002. Introduction to Hydrogeology. McGraw-Hill, Boston.Google Scholar
Economides, M. J. and Boney, C., 2000. Reservoir stimulation in petroleum production. In: Economides, M. J. and Nolte, K. G. (eds.), Reservoir Stimulation. New York: Wiley, pp. 1–1 to 1–30.Google Scholar
Economides, M. J. and Nolte, K. G. (eds.), 2000. Reservoir Stimulation. New York: Wiley.
Faybishenko, B., Witherspoon, P. A., and Benson, S. M. (eds.), 2000. Dynamics of Fluids in Fractured Rocks. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union.CrossRef
Finkbeiner, T., Barton, C. A., and Zoback, M. D., 1997. Relationships among in-situ stress, fractures and faults, and fluid flow: Monterey formation, Santa Maria basin, California. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 81, 1975–1999.Google Scholar
Flekkoy, E. G., Malthe-Sorenssen, A., and Jamtveit, B., 2002. Modeling hydrofracture. Journal of Geophysical Research, 107(B8), 2151, doi:10.1029/2000JB000132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garagash, D. and Detournay, E., 2000. The tip region of a fluid-driven fracture in an elastic medium. Journal of Applied Mechanics, 67, 183–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geshi, N., Kusumoto, S., and Gudmundsson, A., 2010. Geometric difference between non-feeders and feeder dikes. Geology, 38, 195–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giles, R. V., 1977. Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics, 2nd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Grecksch, G., Roth, F., and Kümpel, H. J., 1999. Coseismic well-level changes due to the 1992 Roermond earthquake compared to static deformation of half-space solutions. Geophysical Journal International, 138, 470–478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gudmundsson, A., 1988. Effect of tensile stress concentration around magma chambers on intrusion and extrusion frequencies. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 35, 179–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gudmundsson, A., 1995. The geometry and growth of dykes. In: Baer, G. and Heimann, A. (eds.), Physics and Chemistry of Dykes. Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 23–34.Google Scholar
Gudmundsson, A., 2002. Emplacement and arrest of sheets and dykes in central volcanoes. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 116, 279–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gudmundsson, A. and Brenner, S. L., 2005. On the conditions of sheet injections and eruptions in stratovolcanoes. Bulletin of Volcanology, 67, 768–782.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gudmundsson, A. and Philipp, S. L., 2006. How local stresses prevent volcanic eruptions. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 158, 257–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gudmundsson, A., Fjeldskaar, I., and Brenner, S. L., 2002. Propagation pathways and fluid transport of hydrofractures in jointed and layered rocks in geothermal fields. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 116, 257–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gudmundsson, A., Oskarsson, N., Gronvold, K.et al., 1992. The 1991 eruption of Hekla, Iceland. Bulletin of Volcanology, 54, 238–246.Google Scholar
Gulrajani, S. N. and Nolte, K. G., 2000. Fracture evaluation using pressure diagnostics. In: Economides, M. J. and Nolte, K. G. (eds.), Reservoir Stimulation. New York: Wiley, pp. 9–1 to 9–63.Google Scholar
Haimson, B. C. and Rummel, F., 1982. Hydrofracturing stress measurements in the Iceland research drilling project drill hole at Reydarfjordur, Iceland. Journal of Geophysical Research, 87, 6631–6649.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haneberg, W. C., Mozley, P. S., Moore, J. C., and Goodwin, L. B. (eds.), 1999. Faults and Subsurface Fluid Flow in the Shallow Crust. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union.CrossRef
Hardebeck, J. L. and Hauksson, E., 1999. Role of fluids in faulting inferred from stress field signatures. Science, 285, 236–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heimpel, M. and Olson, P., 1994. Buoyancy-driven fracture and magma transport through the lithosphere: models and experiments. In: Ryan, M. P. (ed.), Magmatic Systems. London: Academic Press, pp. 223–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubbert, M. K. and Rubey, W. W., 1959. Role of fluid pressure in mechanics of overthrust faulting Part I. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 70, 115–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubbert, M. K. and Willis, D. G., 1957. Mechanics of hydraulic fracturing. Transactions of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, 210, 153–168.Google Scholar
Ingebritsen, S. E. and Sanford, W. E., 1998. Groundwater in Geologic Processes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
King, C. Y., Azuma, S., Igarashi, G., Ohno, M., Saito, H., and Wakita, H., 1999. Earthquake-related water-level changes at 16 closely clustered wells in Tono, central Japan. Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 13 073–13 082.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamb, H., 1932. Hydrodynamics, 6th edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Larsen, B., Grunnaleite, I., and Gudmundsson, A., 2009. How fracture systems affect permeability development in shallow-water carbonate rocks: an example from the Gargano Peninsula, Italy. Journal of Structural Geology, document doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2009.05.009.Google Scholar
Lister, J. R. and Kerr, R. C., 1991. Fluid-mechanical models of crack propagation and their application to magma transport in dykes. Journal of Geophysical Research, 96, 10 049–10 077.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mahrer, K. D., 1999. A review and perspective on far-field hydraulic fracture geometry studies. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 24, 13–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mandl, G. and Harkness, R. M., 1987. Hydrocarbon migration by hydraulic fracturing. In: Jones, M. E. and Preston, R. M. E. (eds.), Deformation of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Geological Society of London Special Publication 29. London: Geological Society of London, pp. 39–53.Google Scholar
Milne-Thompson, L. M., 1996. Theoretical Hydrodynamics, 5th edn. New York: Dover.Google Scholar
Muirwood, R. and King, G. C. P., 1993. Hydrological signatures of earthquake strain. Journal of Geophysical Research, 98, 22 035–22 068.Google Scholar
Murase, T. and McBirney, A. R., 1973. Properties of some common igneous rocks and their melts at high temperatures. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 84, 3563–3592.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, R. A., 1985. Geologic Analysis of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.Google Scholar
Neuzil, C. E., 2003. Hydromechanical coupling in geologic processes. Hydrogeological Journal, 11, 41–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nunn, J. A. and Meulbroek, P., 2002. Kilometer-scale upward migration of hydrocarbons in geopressured sediments by buoyancy-driven propagation of methane filled fractures. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 86, 907–918.Google Scholar
Odling, N. E., Gillespie, P., Bourgine, B.et al., 1999. Variations in fracture system geometry and their implications for fluid flow in fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs. Petroleum Geoscience, 5, 373–384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Philipp, S. L., 2008. Geometry and formation of gypsum veins in mudstones at Watchet, Somerset, SW-England. Geological Magazine, 145, 831–844.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollard, D. D. and Segall, P., 1987. Theoretical displacement and stresses near fractures in rocks: with application to faults, points, veins, dikes, and solution surfaces. In: Atkinson, B. (ed.), Fracture Mechanics of Rocks. London: Academic Press, pp. 277–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ray, R., Sheth, H. C., and Mallik, J. 2007. Structure and emplacement of the Nandurbar–Dhule mafic dyke swarm, Deccan Traps, and the tectonomagmatic evolution of flood basalts. Bulletin of Volcanology, 69, 537–551.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rijsdijk, K. F., Owen, G., Warren, W. P., McCarroll, D., and Meer, J. J. M., 1999. Clastic dykes in over-consolidated tills: evidence for subglacial hydrofracturing at Killiney Bay, eastern Ireland. Sedimentary Geology, 129, 111–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roeloffs, E. A., 1988. Hydrologic precursors to earthquakes – a review. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 126, 177–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rojstaczer, S., Wolf, S., and Michel, R., 1995. Permeability enhancement in the shallow crust as a cause of earthquake-induced hydrological changes. Nature, 373, 237–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubin, A. M., 1995. Propagation of magma-filled cracks. Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 23, 287–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rummel, F., 1987. Fracture mechanics approach to hydraulic fracturing stress measurements. In: Atkinson, B. (ed.), Fracture Mechanics of Rock. London: Academic Press, pp. 217–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schön, 2004, Physical Properties of Rocks: Fundamentals and Principles of Petrophysics, 2nd edn. Amsterdam: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Schultz, R. A., 1995. Limits on strength and deformation properties of jointed basaltic rock masses. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 28, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Secor, D. T., 1965. Role of fluid pressure in jointing. American Journal of Science, 263, 633–646.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Secor, D. T. and Pollard, D. D., 1975. On the stability of open hydraulic fractures in the earth's crust. Geophysical Research Letters, 2, 510–513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selley, R. C., 1998. Elements of Petroleum Geology. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Simonson, E. R., Abou-Sayed, A. S., and Clifton, R. J., 1978. Containment of massive hydraulic fractures. Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, 18, 27–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singhal, B. B. S. and Gupta, R. P., 1999. Applied Hydrogeology of Fractured Rocks. London: Kluwer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smart, B. G. D., Somerville, J. M., Edlman, K., and Jones, C., 2001. Stress sensitivity of fractured reservoirs. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 29, 29–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, M. B. and Shlyapobersky, J. W., 2000. Basics of hydraulic fracturing. In: Economides, M. J. and Nolte, K. G. (eds.), Reservoir Stimulation. New York: Wiley, pp. 5–1 to 5–28.Google Scholar
Smits, A. J., 2000. A Physical Introduction to Fluid Mechanics. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Sneddon, I. N. and Lowengrub, M., 1969. Crack Problems in the Classical Theory of Elasticity. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Spence, D. A. and Turcotte, D. L. 1985. Magma-driven propagation of cracks. Journal of Geophysical Research, 90, 575–580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, D. A., Sharp, P. W., and Turcotte, D. L. 1987. Buoyancy-driven crack-propagation – a mechanism for magma migration. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 174, 135–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stearns, D. W. and Friedman, M., 1972. Reservoirs in fractured rocks. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoirs, 16, 82–106.Google Scholar
Stewart, M. A., Klein, E. M., Karson, J. A., and Brophy, J. G., 2003. Geochemical relationships between dikes and lavas at the Hess Deep Rift: implications for magma eruptibility. Journal of Geophysical Research, 108(B4), 2184, doi:10.1029/2001JB001622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, R. J., 1969. Theoretical size of hydraulically induced horizontal fractures and corresponding surface uplift in an idealized medium. Journal of Geophysical Research, 74, 5995–6011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teufel, L. W. and Clark, J. A., 1984. Hydraulic fracture propagation in layered rock: Experimental studies of fracture containment. Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, 24, 19–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsang, C. F. and Neretnieks, I., 1998. Flow channeling in heterogeneous fractured rocks. Reviews of Geophysics, 36, 275–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valko, P. and Economides, M. J., 1995. Hydraulic Fracture Mechanics. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Eekelen, H. E. M., 1982. Hydraulic fracture geometry: fracture containment in layered formations. Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, 22, 341–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vermilye, J. M. and Scholz, C. H., 1995. Relation between vein length and aperture. Journal of Structural Geology, 17, 423–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, J. S. Y., 1991. Flow and transport in fractured rocks. Reviews of Geophysics, 29, 254–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warpinski, N. R., 1985. Measurement of width and pressure in a propagating hydraulic fracture. Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, 25, 46–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warpinski, N. R., Schmidt, R. A., and Northrop, D. A., 1982. In-situ stress: the predominant influence on hydraulic fracture containment. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 34, 653–664.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warpinski, N. R. and Teufel, L. W., 1987. Influence of geologic discontinuities on hydraulic fracture propagation. Journal of Petroleum Technology, 39, 209–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weertman, J., 1971. Theory of water-filled crevasses in glaciers applied to vertical magma transport beneath oceanic ridges. Journal of Geophysical Research, 76, 1171–1183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weertman, J., 1996. Dislocation Based Fracture Mechanics. London: World Scientific.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, H. and McBirney, A. R., 1979. Volcanology. San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman.Google Scholar
Yew, C. H., 1997. Mechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.Google Scholar
Zhang, X., Jeffrey, R. G., and Thiercelin, M., 2007a. Deflection and propagation of fluid-driven fractures at frictional bedding interfaces: a numerical investigation. Journal of Structural Geology, 29, 396–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, X., Koutsabeloulis, N., and Heffer, K., 2007b. Hydromechanical modeling of critically stressed and faulted reservoirs. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 91, 31–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zienkiewicz, O. C., 1977. The Finite Element Method. London: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×