Impacts of T-type Intersections on the Connectivity and Flow in Complex
Fracture Networks
Abstract
T-type intersections are commonly observed in natural fracture networks.
Their impacts on the connectivity and flow results in complex fracture
networks are rarely investigated. In this work, we implement the
discrete fracture network method to construct complex fracture networks,
denoted as original fracture networks. By implementing the rule-based
fracture growth algorithm, we generate the corresponding kinematic
fracture networks with a substantial proportion of T-type intersections.
The connectivity and flow results of both the single-phase and two-phase
flow simulations in these two types of fracture networks are
systematically investigated. The results show that kinematic fracture
networks tend to connect more fractures with fewer intersections and
yield better connectivity than the original ones. Most kinematic
fracture networks have larger permeability in the single-phase flow
simulation and higher cumulative gas production in the two-phase flow
simulation than original fracture networks under the same boundary
conditions. The proportions of permeability and production enhancement
are 68\% and 77\%, respectively. Flow
results, like the permeability and production, have strong positive
correlations with the connectivity of the fracture networks, but they
are nonequivalent and strongly impacted by the number of inlets and
outlets.