Early-Time Solution for a Radial Hydraulic Fracture
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 133, Issue 5
Abstract
The small-time asymptotic solution for a penny-shaped fluid-driven fracture is obtained semianalytically. Scaling considerations indicate that the portion of the fracture that is filled with fluid increases with time according to a power law. The problem is shown to be self-similar at the length scale of the small fluid-filled region and to depend on only the mean fluid pressure at the length scale of the fracture. This similarity solution is unusual as the two length scales of the problem—the radius of the fracture and the radius of the fluid front—evolve according to two different power laws of time.
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Acknowledgments
The writers wish to acknowledge support from the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) and the CSIRO Division of Petroleum Resources. The writers also thank Brice Lecampion, Rob Jeffrey, and Dmitry Garagash for their helpful discussions.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 133 • Issue 5 • May 2007
Pages: 534 - 540
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 6, 2006
Accepted: Sep 19, 2006
Published online: May 1, 2007
Published in print: May 2007
Notes
Note. Associate Editor: Nikolaos D. Katopodes
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