Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing is one of the most effective stimulation methods for unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs. However, the design of hydraulic fracturing must take into account the mechanical and stress properties of different geological formations between layers. In this paper, a three-dimensional coupled fluid-solid model using the finite element method is developed to investigate multiple vertical fractures at different depths along a vertical wellbore under different geological and geomechanical conditions. The finite element model does not require further refinement of any new cracks, requiring much smaller degrees of freedom and higher computational efficiency. In addition, new elements were used to account for local pressure drop due to perforation entry friction along the vertical wellbore. Numerical simulation results indicate that hydraulic fracture connections are observed from adjacent layers. Furthermore, the low stress contrast and high Young’s modulus between the layers increases the likelihood of multiple fracture connections. Higher fluid leakage rates increase the likelihood of fracture branching, but decrease the area of fracture coverage near the wellbore. Increasing fluid viscosity is effective in improving the area of fracture coverage near the wellbore. These findings are useful for the design of hydraulic fracturing in multi-layered formations in unconsolidated sandstone formations.