Hydraulic fracture crack propagation driven by a non-Newtonian fluid

The problem of hydraulic fracture crack propagation in a porous medium is considered. The fracture is driven by an incompressible viscous fluid with a power-law rheology of the pseudoplastic type. The fluid seepage is described by an equation generalizing the Darcy law in the hydraulic approximation. It is shown that the system of governing equations has a power-law self-similar solution, whereas, in the limiting cases of low and high fluid saturation in the porous medium, there are some families of power-law or exponential self-similar solutions. The complete self-similar solution is constructed. The effect of the nonlinear rheology of the fracturing fluid on the behavior of the solution is studied. The problem is solved analytically for an arbitrary boundary condition at the crack inlet when the viscous stresses in the non-Newtonian fluid are close to a constant.     

Problem of propagation of a gas fracture in a porous medium

The problem of gas fracture formation in a porous medium is investigated. An inertialess viscous polytropic gas flow along the fracture is considered. The assumption of small fracture width with respect to the height and length makes it possible to adopt the vertical plane cross-section hypothesis on the basis of which the dependence of the gas pressure inside the fracture on its width can be reduced to a linear law. Initially, the soil surrounding the fracture is soaked with oil-bearing fluid. During fracturing the reservoir gas penetrates into the soil mass and displaces the fluid. A closed system of equations, which describes the evolution of the fracture opening, the depth of gas penetration into the reservoir, and the gas velocities inside the fracture, is constructed. The limiting regimes of gas seepage into the surrounding reservoir are considered and a one-parameter family of self-similar solutions of the system is given for each. The asymptotics of the solution in the neighborhood of the fracture nose is investigated and analytic expressions for the fracture length are obtained. The solution of the problem of gas fracture is compared with the hydraulic fracturing problem in an analogous formulation within the framework of the plane cross-section hypothesis.     

Self-similar solutions of the problem of formation of a hydraulic fracture in a porous medium

The problem of hydraulic fracture formation in a porous medium is investigated in the approximation of small fracture opening and inertialess incompressible Newtonian fluid fracture flow when the seepage through the fracture walls into the surrounding reservoir is asymptotically small or large. It is shown that the system of equations describing the propagation of the fracture has self-similar solutions of power-law or exponential form only. A family of self-similar solutions is constructed in order to determine the evolution of the fracture width and length, the fluid velocity in the fracture, and the length of fluid penetration into the porous medium when either the fluid flow rate or the pressure as a power-law or exponential function of time is specified at the fracture entrance. In the case of finite fluid penetration into the soil the system of equations has only a power-law self-similar solution, for example, when the fluid flow rate is specified at the fracture entrance as a quadratic function of time. The solutions of the self-similar equations are found numerically for one of the seepage regimes.     

Self-similar problems of propagation of an extended hydrofracture in a permeable medium

The propagation of an extended hydrofracture in a permeable elastic medium under the influence of an injected viscous fluid is considered within the framework of the model proposed in [1, 2]. It is assumed that the motion of the fluid in the fracture is turbulent. The flow of the fluid in the porous medium is described by the filtration equation. In the quasisteady approximation and for locally one-dimensional leakage [3] new self-similarity solutions of the problem of the hydraulic fracture of a permeable reservoir with an exponential self-similar variable are obtained for plane and axial symmetry. The solution of this two-dimensional evolution problem is reduced to the integration of a one-dimensional integral equation. The asymptotic behavior of the solution near the well and the tip of the fracture is analyzed. The difficulties of using the quasisteady approximation for solving problems of the hydraulic fracture of permeable reservoirs are discussed. Other similarity solutions of the problem of the propagation of plane hydrofractures in the locally one-dimensional leakage approximation were considered in [3, 4] and for leakage constant along the surface of the fracture in [5–7].Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No.2, pp. 91–101, March–April, 1992.     

Flow of a plastically anisotropic layer between parallel planes in a region with a sink

A self-similar solution to the problem of flow of a plastically anisotropic layer between parallel planes in a region with a sink is constructed. The problem can be reduced to solving an unstudied Riccati equation with a small parameter. The perturbation method is used to find two different solutions expressed in terms of quadratures.     

Large time asymptotics for solutions to a nonhomogeneous Burgers equation

In this article, the solutions to a nonhomogeneous Burgers equation subject to bounded and compactly supported initial profiles are constructed. In an interesting study, Kloosterziel （Journal of Engineering Mathematics 24, 213-236 （1990）） represented a solution to an initial value problem （IVP） for the heat equation, with an initial data in a class of rapidly decaying functions, as a series of self-similar solutions to the heat equation. This approach quickly revealed the large time behaviour for the solution to the IVP. Inspired by Kloosterziel＇s approach, the solution to the nonhomogeneous Burgers equation is expressed in terms of the self-similar solutions to the heat equation. The large time behaviour of the solutions to the nonhomogeneous Burgers equation is obtained.     

Stress-strain state in the vicinity of a crack tip under mixed loading

A method is proposed to calculate the eigenvalues of the class of nonlinear eigenvalue problems resulting from the problem of determining the stress-strain state in the vicinity of a crack tip in power-law materials over the entire range of mixed modes of deformation, from the opening mode to pure shear. The proposed approach was used to found eigenvalues of the problem that differ from the well-known eigenvalue corresponding to the Hutchinson-Rice-Rosengren solution. The resulting asymptotic form of the stress field is a self-similar intermediate asymptotic solution of the problem of a crack in a damaged medium under mixed loading. Using the new asymptotic form of the stress field and introducing a self-similar variable, we obtained an asymptotic solution of the problem of a crack in a damaged medium and constructed the regions of dispersed material near the crack.     

Self-Similar Unsteady Viscous Flow

Four examples of self-similar flows of a viscous fluid are considered: separated flow over an expanding plate immersed in an unbounded unsteady viscous flow, the evolution of the velocity field induced by a vortex-source, the flow near an unsteadily moving permeable flat plate, and the flow near an unsteadily rotating disc. For the first example, a numerical solution is constructed. For the next two examples, an analytical solution is found, while the solution of the last problem is reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations.     

Self-similar problem of the motion of a plane layer of heated material with an arbitrary equation of state

The self-similar problem of the nonstationary motion of a plane layer of material in which energy from an external source is released for values of the flux density q₀ on the boundary which are constant in time is considered. The self-similar variable is = m/t, where m is the Lagrangian mass coordinate and t is the time. The characteristic values of the velocity, density, and pressure do not vary with time. For a self-similar problem the energy flux density q must also depend only on the self-similar variable. In this case q() can be an arbitrary function of its argument and can be given by a table. Examples are presented of actual physical processes in which the mass of the energy-release zone increases linearly with time. The equation of state can have an arbitrary form, including specification by a table. The gaseous state of matter for an arbitrary variable adiabatic exponent, the condensed state, and a two-phase state can be described. A solution of the self-similar problem is presented for the heating of a half-space bounded by a vacuum for a certain specific equation of state and various flux densities q₀ and velocities M of the advance of the energy-release zone.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 5, pp. 136–145, September–October, 1975.     

Flow past a nonconducting wedge in magnetohydrodynamics

A plane-polarized self-similar steady solution is constructed numerically for the problem of flow past a nonconducting wedge in magnetohydrodynamics when the magnetic field is not parallel to the velocity. The dependence of the form of the solution on the flow parameters — the velocity, the magnetic field intensity, and the angle ψ between the velocity and the field — is investigated. It is shown that there can be an abrupt re-arrangement of the solution at critical values of ψ, when either the characteristics merge in the flow or solutions with continuous magnetic field appear.     

Exact quasi-steady solution of the problem of hydraulic fracturing of a permeable formation

An exact solution of the problem of hydraulic fracturing in a permeable medium with continuous fluid injection in a partially penetrated formation is constructed using the Perkins-Kern fracture model. The amount of fluid leakage from the fracture is determined using the pressure field of the fluid filtrate defined by the Shchelkachev equation (of the piezoconductivity type). Universal profiles of the fluid pressure in the fracture and the rate of fluid flow from it are obtained. It is shown that at the Perkins-Kern fracture tip, there is a dramatic increase in the leakage from the fracture.     

Gas-condensate flow in the vicinity of a hydraulic fracture

The problem of gas-condensate flow in the vicinity of a production well with a hydraulic fracture is considered. In the matrix, the flow is assumed to be three-dimensional, and at the fracture, it is assumed to be two-dimensional. It is shown that, for steady-state flow, the problem is split into a physicochemical problem (of phase transitions) and a filtration problem (of determining the pressure field). Numerical solutions are constructed for a rectangular fracture with finite and infinite conductivities. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 128–136, May–June, 2008.     

Problem of the Sand Production in a Producing Well

The problem of sand production (dilatant-plastic reservoir fragmentation) in the process of pumping-out fluid through an uncased borehole is considered. Taking the dilatant change in reservoir porosity into account makes it possible to find a relation between the fluid and solid mass flow rates. There is no steady-state solution if the elasto-plastic boundary does not coincide with the supply contour. In this case a self-similar problem of well start-up with a constant production rate is considered.     

Spacetime dimensional analysis and self-similar solutions of linear elastodynamics and cohesive dynamic fracture

We present a dimensional analysis and self-similar solutions for linear elastodynamics with extensions to dynamic fracture models based on cohesive traction–separation relations. We formulate the problem using differential forms in spacetime and show that the scaling rules expressed in terms of forms are simpler and more uniform than those obtained for tensor representations of the solution. In the extension to cohesive elastodynamic fracture, we identify and study the influence of certain intrinsic cohesive scales on dynamic fracture behavior and describe a fundamental set of nondimensional groups that uniquely identifies families of self-similar solutions. We present numerical studies of the influence of selected nondimensional parameters on dynamic fracture response to verify the dimensional analysis, including the identification of the fundamental set for cohesive fracture mechanics. We show that distinct values of a widely-used nondimensional quantity can produce self-similar solutions. Therefore, this quantity is not fundamental, and it cannot parameterize dynamic, cohesive-fracture response.     

Spatial stability of the incompressible corner flow

The linear spatial stability of the incompressible corner flow under pressure gradient has been studied. A self-similar form has been used for the mean flow, which reduces the related problem to the solution of a two-dimensional problem. The stability problem was formulated using the parabolised stability equations (PSE) and results were obtained for the viscous modes at medium and high frequencies. The related N-factors indicate that the flow is stable at these frequencies, but probably unstable for small frequencies. Furthermore the inviscid mode for each mean flow was obtained and the results indicate that its importance increases considerably with an increase in the adverse pressure gradient. Finally the dependence of the stability characteristics on the extent of the domain is also considered.     

In-plane bending of a beam resting on a rigid rough foundation

Summary The bending of a finite-length beam that lies on a rigid, rough, flat foundation and interacts with it in accordance to the dry friction law is considered. Loading by bending moments applied at the ends of the beam is studied in detail. The problem is found to be a self-similar one. For small moments, the central part of the beam remains undeflected, and the problem reduces to the solution of an infinite system of algebraic equations. Large moments deflect the entire length of the beam, and the problem partly loses its self-similarity. In this case, the problem reduces to the solution of a successively decreasing number of ordinary differential equations along with some algebraical equations. The solution for the latter case provides initial conditions for the former one. This permits to obtain a solution for any value of the moment. Received 5 November 1996; accepted for publication 27 January 1997     

Boiling of a liquid in a porous medium under a pressure drawdown influence

The problem of the boiling of a liquid which initially completely saturates a porous medium under a pressure drawdown influence is considered in a planar one-dimensional formulation and a radial self-similar formulation. The influence of the initial state of the medium and pressure drawdown on the filtration boiling process is analyzed. Boiling regimes are identified, and a criterion for distinguishing between these regimes is determined.     

Generalized Timoshenko–Reissner model for a multilayer plate

A multilayer plate with isotropic (or transversally isotropic) layers strongly differing in rigidity is considered. This plate is reduced to an equivalent homogeneous transversally isotropic Timoshenko–Reissner plate whose deflections and free transverse vibration frequencies are close to those of the multilayer plate. By comparison with the exact solution of test three-dimensional problems of elasticity, the error of the proposed method is estimated both for the static problem and for free vibrations. This comparison can readily be carried out for the hinged edges of the plate, and explicit approximate formulas are obtained for the vibration frequencies. The scope of the proposed model turned out to be rather wide (the Young moduli of soft and rigid layers can differ by a factor of 1000). In the case of boundary conditions other than hinged support, a closed-form solution cannot be constructed in general. For rigidly fixed edges, the asymptotic method proposed by V. V. Bolotin is generalized to the case of a Timoshenko–Reissner plate.     

Injection of a salt solution into a geothermal reservoir saturated with superheated vapor

The injection of water containing a dissolved admixture into a high-temperature geothermal reservoir saturated with superheated vapor is considered. Behind the evaporation front on which the admixture precipitates a dissolution front separating regions with the initial concentration and with the concentration of the saturated solution coexisting with the solid salt phase is formed. It is found that the self-similar solution of the problem with two moving boundaries is two-valued. With variation of the parameters and the initial and boundary conditions the solutions may approach each other and at certain critical values merge. In the supercritical region the self-similar solution does not exist. The non-existence of a solution can be interpreted as the filling of the pores with precipitated salt and the cessation of the phase motion.