Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal Seam
Hydraulic fracturing can improve the permeability of composite thin coal seam. Recently, characterizing hydraulic fracture (HF) propagation inside the coal seam and evaluating the permeability enhancement with HF extension remain challenging and crucial. In this work, based on the geological charact...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Geofluids |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5576328 |
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| author | Shenglong Liu Bingxiang Huang Weiyong Lu Haoze Li Ding Li Xin Zhang Binghong Li |
| author_facet | Shenglong Liu Bingxiang Huang Weiyong Lu Haoze Li Ding Li Xin Zhang Binghong Li |
| author_sort | Shenglong Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydraulic fracturing can improve the permeability of composite thin coal seam. Recently, characterizing hydraulic fracture (HF) propagation inside the coal seam and evaluating the permeability enhancement with HF extension remain challenging and crucial. In this work, based on the geological characteristics of the coal seam in a coal mine of the southwest China, the RFPA2D-Flow software is employed to simulate the HF propagation and its permeability-increasing effect in the composite thin coal seam, and a couple of outcomes were obtained. (1) Continuous propagation of the hydraulic microcrack-band is the prominent characteristic of HF propagation. With the increment of the injection-water pressure, HF generation in the composite thin coal seam can be divided into three stages: stress accumulation, stable fracture propagation, and unstable fracture propagation. (2) The hydraulic microcrack-band propagates continuously driven by the fluid-injection pressure. The microcrack-band not only cracks the coal seam but also fractures the gangue sandwiched between the coal seams. (3) The permeability in the composite thin coal seam increases significantly with the propagation of hydraulic microcrack-band. The permeability increases by 1~2 magnitudes after hydraulic fracturing. This study provides references to the field applications of hydraulic fracturing in the composite thin coal seam, such as optimizing hydraulic fracturing parameters, improving gas drainage, and safe-efficient mining. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9fad05e44d0a43d28e78a2d876c09ecf |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1468-8115 1468-8123 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geofluids |
| spelling | doaj-art-9fad05e44d0a43d28e78a2d876c09ecf2025-08-20T02:20:09ZengWileyGeofluids1468-81151468-81232021-01-01202110.1155/2021/55763285576328Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal SeamShenglong Liu0Bingxiang Huang1Weiyong Lu2Haoze Li3Ding Li4Xin Zhang5Binghong Li6State Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Coal Resources and Safe Mining, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, ChinaHydraulic fracturing can improve the permeability of composite thin coal seam. Recently, characterizing hydraulic fracture (HF) propagation inside the coal seam and evaluating the permeability enhancement with HF extension remain challenging and crucial. In this work, based on the geological characteristics of the coal seam in a coal mine of the southwest China, the RFPA2D-Flow software is employed to simulate the HF propagation and its permeability-increasing effect in the composite thin coal seam, and a couple of outcomes were obtained. (1) Continuous propagation of the hydraulic microcrack-band is the prominent characteristic of HF propagation. With the increment of the injection-water pressure, HF generation in the composite thin coal seam can be divided into three stages: stress accumulation, stable fracture propagation, and unstable fracture propagation. (2) The hydraulic microcrack-band propagates continuously driven by the fluid-injection pressure. The microcrack-band not only cracks the coal seam but also fractures the gangue sandwiched between the coal seams. (3) The permeability in the composite thin coal seam increases significantly with the propagation of hydraulic microcrack-band. The permeability increases by 1~2 magnitudes after hydraulic fracturing. This study provides references to the field applications of hydraulic fracturing in the composite thin coal seam, such as optimizing hydraulic fracturing parameters, improving gas drainage, and safe-efficient mining.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5576328 |
| spellingShingle | Shenglong Liu Bingxiang Huang Weiyong Lu Haoze Li Ding Li Xin Zhang Binghong Li Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal Seam Geofluids |
| title | Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal Seam |
| title_full | Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal Seam |
| title_fullStr | Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal Seam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal Seam |
| title_short | Hydraulic Fracture Propagation and Permeability Evolution in the Composite Thin Coal Seam |
| title_sort | hydraulic fracture propagation and permeability evolution in the composite thin coal seam |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5576328 |
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