Metodo para producir una prediccion de curvatura de una fractura hidraulica que va a iniciarse en las proximidades de una o mas fracturas, comprende, obtener, a partir de unos parametros fisicos independientes, una serie de parametros adimensionales como agrupaciones de los parametros fisicos, los cuales se seleccionan como parametros de similitud con respecto a la forma de la trayectoria de fractura hidraulica; aparato.

摘要

Method and apparatus for forecasting curving of an hydraulic fracture to be initiated in the vicinity of one or more previously placed fractures along a bore hole. Physical parameters that will affect the growth of the hydraulic fracture are received by a dimensionless parameter deriver which derives a series of dimensionless parameters as groupings of the physical parameters that are selected as similarity parameters with respect to the shape of the hydraulic fracture path. The dimensionless parameters may comprise a dimensionless viscosity parameter, a dimensionless confining stress parameter, a coefficient of friction parameter and a dimensionless deviatoric stress parameter. A comparator sequentially compares the determined dimensionless parameters with predetermined threshold values to provide an indication as to possible curving of the hydraulic fracture.