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Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Across Pre-existing Discontinuities in an Anisotropic Rock: Experimental Evidence and Insights from Scaling Relations.

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Title: Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Across Pre-existing Discontinuities in an Anisotropic Rock: Experimental Evidence and Insights from Scaling Relations.
Authors: Lu, Guanyi1,2 (AUTHOR) gul51@pitt.edu, Möri, Andreas2 (AUTHOR), Momeni, Seyyedmaalek2 (AUTHOR), Lecampion, Brice2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Rock Mechanics & Rock Engineering. Jun2026, Vol. 59 Issue 6, p5983-5994. 12p.
Subjects: Hydraulic fracturing, Discontinuities (Geology), Dimensionless numbers, Fracture strength, Stone, Fluid mechanics, Dynamic viscosity, Crack propagation
Abstract: Laboratory experiments have been conducted on anisotropic slate specimens to study the behavior of hydraulic fractures (HFs) when encountering discontinuities. The experiments target specific propagation regimes, including toughness-dominated, lag-viscosity-dominated, and transitional regimes, to examine the influence of rock discontinuities on HF growth paths. Our experimental observations reveal that planar HF propagation is favored in the transitional and lag-viscosity-dominated regimes, where HFs exhibit a greater tendency to cross rock discontinuities. In contrast, a significant influence of discontinuity planes is observed in the toughness-dominated experiments, leading to HF diversion or arrest of the HF. The complexity of fracture paths is found to be closely tied to a dimensionless toughness parameter derived from scaling relations. This study highlights the pivotal role of hydromechanical characteristics in shaping complex HF patterns in anisotropic rocks with pre-existing discontinuities. Highlights: Hydraulic fracturing experiments are conducted on anisotropic slate blocks to study fracture growth across pre-existing discontinuities in distinct propagation regimes. The likelihood of fractures crossing rock discontinuities is strongly correlated with a dimensionless toughness K m ; lower K m values facilitate fracture crossing. Higher induced stresses ahead of the propagating fracture front promoting fracture crossing are observed in the viscosity-dominated regime. Lower stress values in the toughness-dominated regime lead to the diversion or arrest of the hydraulic fractures when encountering rock discontinuities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Rock Mechanics & Rock Engineering is the property of Springer Nature 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.)
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  Data: Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Across Pre-existing Discontinuities in an Anisotropic Rock: Experimental Evidence and Insights from Scaling Relations.
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  Data: Laboratory experiments have been conducted on anisotropic slate specimens to study the behavior of hydraulic fractures (HFs) when encountering discontinuities. The experiments target specific propagation regimes, including toughness-dominated, lag-viscosity-dominated, and transitional regimes, to examine the influence of rock discontinuities on HF growth paths. Our experimental observations reveal that planar HF propagation is favored in the transitional and lag-viscosity-dominated regimes, where HFs exhibit a greater tendency to cross rock discontinuities. In contrast, a significant influence of discontinuity planes is observed in the toughness-dominated experiments, leading to HF diversion or arrest of the HF. The complexity of fracture paths is found to be closely tied to a dimensionless toughness parameter derived from scaling relations. This study highlights the pivotal role of hydromechanical characteristics in shaping complex HF patterns in anisotropic rocks with pre-existing discontinuities. Highlights: Hydraulic fracturing experiments are conducted on anisotropic slate blocks to study fracture growth across pre-existing discontinuities in distinct propagation regimes. The likelihood of fractures crossing rock discontinuities is strongly correlated with a dimensionless toughness K m ; lower K m values facilitate fracture crossing. Higher induced stresses ahead of the propagating fracture front promoting fracture crossing are observed in the viscosity-dominated regime. Lower stress values in the toughness-dominated regime lead to the diversion or arrest of the hydraulic fractures when encountering rock discontinuities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Rock Mechanics & Rock Engineering is the property of Springer Nature 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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        Value: 10.1007/s00603-024-04359-7
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 5983
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      – SubjectFull: Hydraulic fracturing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Discontinuities (Geology)
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      – SubjectFull: Dimensionless numbers
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      – SubjectFull: Fracture strength
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      – SubjectFull: Stone
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      – SubjectFull: Fluid mechanics
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      – SubjectFull: Dynamic viscosity
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      – SubjectFull: Crack propagation
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      – TitleFull: Hydraulic Fracture Propagation Across Pre-existing Discontinuities in an Anisotropic Rock: Experimental Evidence and Insights from Scaling Relations.
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              Text: Jun2026
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