Comparison of analytical models for hydraulic fracture conductivity

The purpose of hydraulic fracturing is to establish a highway for oil and gas transportation, and the fracture conductivity reflects the highway’s transport capacity. Scholars have proposed several methods for calculating the conductivity, including both numerical and analytical methods. The analytical methods have received widespread attention as their calculation processes are simple and easy to use. However, the differences between the analytical models and between the models and experimental results are not clear, which prevents the selection of the optimal model. Therefore, this study compared these differences. In this study, comparative analysis was conducted for four analytical models from four aspects, including the factors considered by the models, input parameters, model calculation results, and the differences between the models and the experimental results. By conducting this comparison, there are some differences between the factors, input parameters, and calculation results of the four models. There are also some differences between the predicted values of the models and the experimental results. For practical application, the model must be corrected by fitting the test data. The current model does not fully reflect the interaction mechanism between a proppant and a rock. It is recommended that further research on analytical modeling is conducted.