Laboratory Investigation of the Effect of Injection Rate on Hydraulic Fracturing Performance in Artificial Transversely Laminated Rock Using 3D Laser Scanning

Among many factors that affect the hydraulic fracturing responses, the injection rate is identified as the first critical factor to be considered by many researchers. However, the internal mechanism of injection rate on the morphology of fracturing surface and gas productivity are still not well understood. In scaled laboratory experiments, artificial interlayered model blocks were produced, according to the development characteristics of silty laminae in continental shale, China, to investigate the effect of injection rate on hydraulic fracturing effectiveness. Macroscopic failure morphology descriptions combined with mesoscopic 3-D laser scanning techniques are both used to reveal the internal influence mechanism of injection rate. Results show that hydraulic fracturing effectiveness improves with the increase of injection rate, by enhancing the total contact area of fracture system, and increasing micro-fractures in the fracture surface. The experimental result first reveals the influential mechanism of injection rate on hydraulic fracturing performance.