Hybrid discrete fracture network simulation driven by statistics, tectonic history and geomechanics.

Francois Bonneau and Guillaume Caumon and Philippe Renard and Judith Sausse. ( 2013 )
in: Proc. 33rd Gocad Meeting, Nancy

Abstract

Stochastic approaches are often used to simulate discrete fracture networks that are consistent with statistics obtained from field observations. However, classical stochastic methods do not take into account fracture interactions to draw the fracture geometries and positions. In this work, we propose a simulation method that considers the tectonic history. The fracture families are simulated in their chronology occurrence order. The impact of older fractures is taken into account during the simulation process. We use geomechanical considerations to define both a repulsion zone (constraint release zone) and an attraction zone (constraint accumulation zone) around fractures. The implantation and the growth of later fractures are optimized according to the impact of fractures already simulated. This approach mimics the natural fracturing process in order to respect prior knowledge coming from characterization and avoid inconsistent fracture configurations brought by the stochastic process.

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BibTeX Reference

@inproceedings{Bonneau1GM2013,
 abstract = { Stochastic approaches are often used to simulate discrete fracture networks that are consistent with statistics obtained from field observations. However, classical stochastic methods do not take into account fracture interactions to draw the fracture geometries and positions. In this work, we propose a simulation method that considers the tectonic history. The fracture families are simulated in their chronology occurrence order. The impact of older fractures is taken into account during the simulation process. We use geomechanical considerations to define both a repulsion zone (constraint release zone) and an attraction zone (constraint accumulation zone) around fractures. The implantation and the growth of later fractures are optimized according to the impact of fractures already simulated. This approach mimics the natural fracturing process in order to respect prior knowledge coming from characterization and avoid inconsistent fracture configurations brought by the stochastic process. },
 author = { Bonneau, Francois AND Caumon, Guillaume AND Renard, Philippe AND Sausse, Judith },
 booktitle = { Proc. 33rd Gocad Meeting, Nancy },
 title = { Hybrid discrete fracture network simulation driven by statistics, tectonic history and geomechanics. },
 year = { 2013 }
}