Evaluating a Simple Fracturing Criterion for a Hydraulic Fracture Crossing Stress and Stiffness Contrasts

Hydraulic fracture height containment is a critical issue in the development of unconventional reservoirs. The extent of fracture height growth depends on a variety of factors, particularly stress and stiffness contrasts between adjacent layers. Accurate simulation of fracture growth and containment requires a reliable fracturing criterion. The virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) is a widely used method for computing energy release rate. However, it is based on the assumption that a small crack extension does not significantly alter the state of the crack tip, which is generally not the case when a fracture crosses strong stress and/or stiffness contrasts. In this work, we assess the applicability and accuracy of a modified virtual crack closure technique (MVCCT) for a fluid-driven fracture in breaking through interfaces with significant stress and/or stiffness contrasts, through comparisons with analytical and reference numerical solutions. The results show that significant error could occur when the fracture tip is very near or at stress/stiffness interfaces. However, this error is localized to the interface and proves to be inconsequential to the predicted penetration depth into the rock layer beyond the interface. This study validates the applicability of MVCCT in 3D hydraulic fracturing simulation in strongly heterogeneous rock formations.