Simulating the Hydraulic Stimulation of Multiple Fractures in an Anisotropic Stress Field Applying the Discrete Element Method

Abstract

The current study investigates hydraulic fracture stimulation for an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) in a petrothermal environment to evaluate stress shadowing and fracture interaction in a multi-fracture setup. Previous studies investigated the geothermal potential of the area around Freiberg (Saxony, Germany), which is therefore used as a case example. The commercial discrete element code 3DEC™ is applied to conduct the numerical simulations. The simulation results show that hydraulic fracture stimulation results in a strong stress field alteration, which significantly influences the propagation of subsequently stimulated fractures. The resulting deflection of fractures can be minimized applying an optimized stimulation concept.