Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling of hydraulic fracture propagation in hot dry rock.
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| Title: | Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling of hydraulic fracture propagation in hot dry rock. |
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| Authors: | Meng, Keyu1,2 (AUTHOR), Li, Mengli3 (AUTHOR), Li, Mengyi4 (AUTHOR), Dontsov, Egor5 (AUTHOR), Zhang, Fengshou1,2 (AUTHOR) fengshou.zhang@tongji.edu.cn |
| Source: | Engineering Fracture Mechanics. Jun2026, Vol. 340, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p. |
| Subjects: | Hydraulic fracturing, Temperature effect, Crack propagation, Geothermal wells, Effective stress (Soil mechanics), Geothermal engineering, Viscosity |
| Abstract: | • A DEM-based THM model for hydraulic fracturing in hot dry rock to 300 °C was developed. • Temperature, confinement, and viscosity influence fracture and breakdown pressure. • Breakdown pressure drops linearly with temperature, refining predictions. • Greater stress anisotropy shifts control from thermal to confinement effects. Hot dry rock (HDR) is an important geothermal resource whose development relies on hydraulic fracturing to create high-conductivity fracture networks for efficient geothermal energy extraction in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). In this study, a coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) discrete element model was developed to investigate the hydraulic fracturing process in HDR. The model incorporates fluid flow, heat transfer, and mechanical deformation to achieve coupled THM processes. After verification under hydro-mechanical (HM), thermo-mechanical (TM), and thermo-hydro (TH) conditions against analytical benchmarks, the model was adopted to examine the effects of temperature (20–300 °C), confining pressure (20–40 MPa), and fluid viscosity (1–100 mPa·s) on fracture propagation. Higher breakdown pressure is more easily achieved under coupled conditions of low temperature, high confining pressure, and high fluid viscosity, whereas complex fracture networks are more readily generated under high-temperature and low-confinement conditions. Temperature plays a key role by weakening the rock matrix and inducing thermal damage zones near the borehole, which enhances fracture complexity but reduces breakdown pressure. Stronger confining pressure increases breakdown pressure and limits fracture complexity, while increasing stress anisotropy shifts fracture control from thermal-stress-dominated to confinement-dominated behavior. Higher-viscosity fluids increase breakdown pressure by delaying fracture propagation and enabling greater energy accumulation. The associated fluid lag reduces tip pressure and inhibits the uniform activation of multiple fractures, thereby limiting fracture complexity and promoting dominant fracture growth. These findings provide numerical support for understanding fracture behavior in high-temperature reservoirs and offer practical guidance for optimizing hydraulic fracturing strategies in EGS development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Engineering Fracture Mechanics is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 193498821 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling of hydraulic fracture propagation in hot dry rock. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meng%2C+Keyu%22">Meng, Keyu</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Mengli%22">Li, Mengli</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Li%2C+Mengyi%22">Li, Mengyi</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dontsov%2C+Egor%22">Dontsov, Egor</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Fengshou%22">Zhang, Fengshou</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> fengshou.zhang@tongji.edu.cn</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Engineering+Fracture+Mechanics%22">Engineering Fracture Mechanics</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 340, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hydraulic+fracturing%22">Hydraulic fracturing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Temperature+effect%22">Temperature effect</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Crack+propagation%22">Crack propagation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geothermal+wells%22">Geothermal wells</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Effective+stress+%28Soil+mechanics%29%22">Effective stress (Soil mechanics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geothermal+engineering%22">Geothermal engineering</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Viscosity%22">Viscosity</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: • A DEM-based THM model for hydraulic fracturing in hot dry rock to 300 °C was developed. • Temperature, confinement, and viscosity influence fracture and breakdown pressure. • Breakdown pressure drops linearly with temperature, refining predictions. • Greater stress anisotropy shifts control from thermal to confinement effects. Hot dry rock (HDR) is an important geothermal resource whose development relies on hydraulic fracturing to create high-conductivity fracture networks for efficient geothermal energy extraction in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). In this study, a coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) discrete element model was developed to investigate the hydraulic fracturing process in HDR. The model incorporates fluid flow, heat transfer, and mechanical deformation to achieve coupled THM processes. After verification under hydro-mechanical (HM), thermo-mechanical (TM), and thermo-hydro (TH) conditions against analytical benchmarks, the model was adopted to examine the effects of temperature (20–300 °C), confining pressure (20–40 MPa), and fluid viscosity (1–100 mPa·s) on fracture propagation. Higher breakdown pressure is more easily achieved under coupled conditions of low temperature, high confining pressure, and high fluid viscosity, whereas complex fracture networks are more readily generated under high-temperature and low-confinement conditions. Temperature plays a key role by weakening the rock matrix and inducing thermal damage zones near the borehole, which enhances fracture complexity but reduces breakdown pressure. Stronger confining pressure increases breakdown pressure and limits fracture complexity, while increasing stress anisotropy shifts fracture control from thermal-stress-dominated to confinement-dominated behavior. Higher-viscosity fluids increase breakdown pressure by delaying fracture propagation and enabling greater energy accumulation. The associated fluid lag reduces tip pressure and inhibits the uniform activation of multiple fractures, thereby limiting fracture complexity and promoting dominant fracture growth. These findings provide numerical support for understanding fracture behavior in high-temperature reservoirs and offer practical guidance for optimizing hydraulic fracturing strategies in EGS development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Engineering Fracture Mechanics is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2026.112150 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 1 StartPage: N.PAG Subjects: – SubjectFull: Hydraulic fracturing Type: general – SubjectFull: Temperature effect Type: general – SubjectFull: Crack propagation Type: general – SubjectFull: Geothermal wells Type: general – SubjectFull: Effective stress (Soil mechanics) Type: general – SubjectFull: Geothermal engineering Type: general – SubjectFull: Viscosity Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling of hydraulic fracture propagation in hot dry rock. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Meng, Keyu – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Li, Mengli – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Li, Mengyi – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Dontsov, Egor – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zhang, Fengshou IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 27 M: 06 Text: Jun2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00137944 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 340 Titles: – TitleFull: Engineering Fracture Mechanics Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
