SPE-184826-MS

Characterization of Complex Fracture Propagation in Naturally Fractured

Formations Using Digital Image Correlation Technique

Mehdi Mokhtari, Asad Hayatdavoudi, Rustam Nizamutdinov, Hashim Rizvi, and Fatick Nath, University of Louisiana
at Lafayette

Copyright 2017, Society of Petroleum Engineers

This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition held in The Woodlands, Texas, USA, 24-26 January
2017.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents
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Abstract
Most shale and carbonate formations violate the isotropic assumption of rock media in classical fracture
models due to the presence of extensive natural-fracture network. However, the current application of strain
gauges cannot provide information about how natural fractures interact with induced fractures in such
heterogeneous rock system. In this paper, we present the application of Digital Image Correlation (DIC)
technique which can measure strain development over time, thus it can determine the fracture initiation
and propagation. We apply indirect tensile experiment on Buda Limestone samples with various patterns
of complex natural-fracture system while the strain development in sample is measured by Digital Image
Correlation (DIC) technique.
As a benchmark, DIC technique was first conducted on a homogeneous sandstone sample. The results
verify that that the maximum tensile strain is developed at the central vertical line of sample as it was
expected from theoretical solutions. This DIC measurement matches the post-failure fracture pattern of
specimen. In contrast to failure pattern in homogenous sandstone specimen, very complex fracture pattern
was observed on several Buda Limestone specimen. Fracture slippages along natural fracture, fracture
deviation toward inclined and horizontal fracture was recorded. The results of this study can help us to
better understand the complex failure mechanism in naturally fractured media. DIC is a powerful technique
in providing the strain development over the surface of sample in real time, thus it can provide the fracture
initiation and propagation in such heterogeneous rock media.

Introduction
Although hydraulic fracturing has been very successful in making a rapid growth in the U.S. natural gas
production, one of the main questions with regard to this technology is still debated: What does the fracture
geometry look like? Answering this question is important not only from the economic point of view to
optimize hydraulic fracture operation but also from the environmental and socio-political points of view to
avoid any potential damage to environment and to get the social license that petroleum engineering industry
has a sound scientific way to predict the fracture geometry. To this end, classical fracture models are not
adequate as they are based on several assumptions such as homogeneity and isotropy in rock mechanical
2 SPE-184826-MS

properties while significant vertical heterogeneity exists in many formations based on outcrop, core and
well log studies.
The history of debate about the shape of hydraulic fracturing is as old as the history of hydraulic fracturing
operation itself. The first publication on the description of hydraulic fracturing operation goes back to 1949
(A Hydraulic Process for Increasing the Productivity of Wells, Clark 1949). In this paper, Clark explains the
hydraulic fracturing operation and shows the result of hydraulic fracturing in a shallow well. The generated
fracture was monitored and it was recorded to be horizontal although Clark (1949) pointed out that this
shallow well test is probably not exactly equivalent to a deep test. In the attached discussion to this paper,
Fitzgerald (1949) states that "in numerous cases where the formation permeability is quite low it has been
observed that the initial acidizing pressure will exceed the pressure required to lift the overburden". Barree
et al. (2010) also had similar observation which can be a strong evidence of fracture height containment
based on complex shear failure and formation anisotropy: "one hallmark is that the observed pressure during
fracture extension will always exceed the overburden stress in the reservoirs, even at shut-in conditions".
Similarly, Fisher and Warpinski (2012) presented detailed results of stress measurement in Piceance basin.
The results show that many of nonreservoir formations (clay-rich or organic-rich) exhibit stresses near or
at the lithostatic stress.
Scott et al. (1953) related the observations of Clark (1949) on fracture geometry to the type of fluid by
the application of thick-walled cylinder tests: "much higher rupture or breakdown pressure will probably
result when fluid does not penetrate the formation. When fluid does penetrate, induced fractures along weak
planes such as bedding planes may be expected it has been observed that fractures may be initiated in a
vertical plane but change direction when striking bedding planes or small intrinsic fractures". Palisch et al.
(2010) used microseismic mapping to show the importance of fluid type on the complexity of fracturing. In
this study, gel fracturing shows more planar fracturing feature while waterfrac shows more complex fracture
network behavior.
The third milestone in hydraulic fracturing literature is by Reynolds et al. (1954) in which they discuss the
effect of shale layers, type of fluid and consequences of generating horizontal fractures. They discuss that
fractures created by non-viscous fluid are usually along the bedding planes and horizontal but the presence
of shale interface results in fractures forming along shale/sand interface. The ability of these horizontal
fractures are limited and ineffective in increasing production and the use of lost-circulation material in fluid
can be effective in creating more vertical fractures. Daneshy (2005) elaborated the behavior of proppant in
branched fractures compared to planar fractures. Proppant in such branched fractures are not likely to flow
back and such fractures were described to have limited capacity to contribute to well productivity.
Finally, Hubbert and Willis (1957) published their famous paper "mechanics of hydraulic fracturing"
which dominated the discussion on the shape of hydraulic fracture geometry and breakdown pressure. This
paper emphasizes the role of in-situ stress magnitude and concludes that regardless of type of fluid, the
fractures should be perpendicular to the axis of least stress which is horizontal in normal faulting regimes,
thus the fracture must be vertical and the injection pressure should be less than overburden stress. Therefore,
the factors controlling the vertical growth of hydraulic fracture was mostly based on modulus contrast in
which higher Young's modulus formation can be a barrier for vertical growth (Simonson 1978) or stress
contrast being the most important factor to control the fracture height growth (Warpinski 1982).
However, there are several evidences that fractures can be more complex than what planar fracture models
can predict. First, shale and limestone formations are very heterogeneous and anisotropic due to the presence
of natural fractures and laminations (Gale et al. 2007; Gudmundsson 2011; Gale et al. 2014). Second, sliding
at interface can be another mechanism for fracture containment as described by Daneshy (2003 and 2009).
Third, there are microseismic evidence that the fracture height growth is often less than the prediction of
conventional hydraulic fracture models (Fisher and Warpinski, 2012) and fracture can be complex using
slickwater fracturing rather than gel fracturing (Palisch et al. 2010). Forth, there are several fracture pressure
SPE-184826-MS 3

observations that some wells exhibit high fracture pressure as much as overburden stress (Barree et al. 2010,
Fisher and Warpinski 2012).
There is also laboratory evidence that fractures can be complex. Blanton (1982), Olson et al. (2012),
Bahorich et al. (2012), Suarez-Rivera et al. (2013) and Frash et al. (2015) conducted triaxial or true-triaxial
experiments to show the geometry of generated fracture in heterogeneous rock samples. Warpinski and
Teufel (1987) had observations on mineback experiments about such fracture complexity. Mokhtari et al.
(2014a) and Mokhtari and Tutuncu (2016) conducted Brazilian testing on samples from Niobrara formation
with a single calcite-filled natural fracture. Samples with natural fractures at several orientations with respect
to the loading direction was tested. They concluded that natural fractures have almost one third tensile
strength compared to matrix rock without natural fracture. Moreover, natural fractures could be activated
under Brazilian testing condition when the angle between the natural fracture and loading direction was
less than 30 degrees. The results on Green River formation, as an immature organic-rich shale sample
with distinct lamination, also showed that lamination can be activated at low approaching angle between
lamination and loading direction and the tensile strength is a function of organic content. Mokhtari el al.
(2014b) conducted experiments on Buda limestone with natural fractures and complex fracture behavior was
observed depending on the position and orientation of natural fracture. Li et al. (2016) conducted Brazilian
testing on Eagle Ford shale samples and observed significant effect of lamination on tensile strength.
Mighani et al. (2016) conducted Brazilian tests on samples from Wolfcamp formation with mineralized
veins and reported layer activation in samples with 15-30 degrees of natural fracture orientation.
However, in all of the previous studies the fracture pattern was evaluated at the end of the experiment since
the strain gauge measurements were not able to predict the fracture initiation and propagation over time.
We overcome this shortcoming by the application of digital image correlation. We show how significant
heterogeneity in terms of natural fractures can affect the shape of induced fractures under Brazilian test
conditions.

Sample Description
The samples tested in this study are from Buda limestone formation which is located below Eagle Ford
formation in Texas, USA. The Buda limestone samples come from the depth of 13910 to 13960 ft. The tested
Buda limestone samples are not organic-rich and they exhibit low gamma ray in the range of 5-20 API. Eagle
Ford formation is composed of sequence of marl layers which contain less limestone but higher organic
material compared to interbedded limestone layers which are less organic but higher in calcite content.
Buda limestone samples have extensive natural fractures as shown in Figure 1. Some of these fractures
are partially open and some of the natural fractures are calcite filled. As a result, these samples easily break
while coring and it has been very challenging to retrieve a plug sample for mechanical testing (Figure 2). This
can be a reason for overlooking the presence of such features in laboratory testing. However, we managed
to retrieve several samples with natural fractures for mechanical testing (Figure 3). These samples exhibit
heterogeneous natural fracture network system; thus they provide various scenarios to test the behavior of
natural fractures interaction with mechanically induced fractures.
4 SPE-184826-MS

Figure 1Extensive natural fractures in Buda Limestone slabbed core.

Figure 2Broken plug samples while coring.

SPE-184826-MS 5

Figure 3Some retrieved plugs from Buda Limestone for Brazilian experiment with DIC measurements.

Experimental Procedure
Indirect tensile test, splitting test or Brazilian test was conducted on the Buda limestone samples. This
experiment is called Brazilian test as it was originally proposed by a Brazilian engineer Fernando Carneiro
in 1943 (Jaeger et al. 2007). In Brazilian test, a rock sample with length to diameter ratio of 0.2-0.7
is diametrically compressed until it fails (Figure 4). The experiments were conducted based on ASTM
recommendations (ASTM D3967). The diametrical compression generates lateral tension which could be
highest at the point of failure at the center of the rock in a homogeneous and isotropic sample.

Figure 4Experimental setup for Brazilian experiment with DIC technique.

6 SPE-184826-MS

However, the behavior of a fully-heterogeneous sample under Brazilian test condition is not known. The
objective of this paper is to determine this behavior under various conditions for natural fractures. To this
end, we can only observe the final fracture pattern when the test is done and the rock has failed. But no
information can be obtained how the fracture was initiated and how it propagated during the test.
To overcome this challenge, we used digital image correlation (DIC) technique while the sample was
under Brazilian testing condition (Figure 4). DIC is a revolutionary technique in experimental mechanics
since the initial use of stain gauges (Reu 2010, 2015). With this method, the deformation (strain) of an
object can be visualized while the sample is under stress, thus the fracture initiation and propagation can
be predicted.
The Vic-Snap photogrammetry system was applied to observe the samples in contactless manner
(Correlated Solutions, 2009). In the prepared sample face, a black-on-white speckle pattern was prepared
spraying fine aerosol paint to achieve desired coating and pixel contrast. In two-dimensional DIC technique,
displacements are directly identified from digital images of the surface of a specimen. Digital images of the
specimen are captured at pre-determined time intervals (fixed or variable) throughout the test using high
speed camera with imaging lens. The structure of the stochastic pattern is recognized and coordinates are
allocated to image pixels by processing the digital images using the system software Vic- 2D (Correlated
Solutions, 2009). Object deformation is measured through overlapping image details (or facets) that have
a definite size (e.g., 30 30 pixels). A facet is used because a facet having a wider variation in gray
levels (light intensity) can be uniquely identified from other facets in the deformed image. During DIC
application, first a region of interest (AOI) must be specified in the reference image. Then, this region is
further divided into evenly spaced virtual grids. To obtain the full-field deformation, the displacements
are computed at each point of the virtual grids. The tracking process is attained by searching the extreme
location of a pre-defined correlation criterion. Once the maximum similarity is found in the deformed image,
the displacement components of the reference and target subset centers can be determined. The tracking
process is repeated on the other points of interest to get full-field displacement of the region of interest. To
get a balance between high-spatial resolution and computational efficiency, the virtual grid steps is selected
as small as possible.

Results
We started the experiments with Berea sandstone, as a homogeneous rock, without natural fractures or
lamination, as a benchmark. Brazilian testing conditions was applied on the prepared sample with length to
diameter ratio of 0.5 and DIC was acquired while the sample was under stress. This DIC video recording
was conducted on the whole process until rock failure. The original sample (painted) and the final failed
sample as well as several other frames of DIC with time are depicted in Figure 5. tt represents the initial time
before the start of load application, tf represents the final figure of failed sample at the end of experiment,
t1, t2, t3, t4, represent the strain measurement in the sample at several periods of time which increase from 1
to 4. Tensile strain is positive and compressive strain is negative. Tensile strain is the highest at the vertical
central line of sample parallel to the direction of applied load for the homogeneous sandstone in Figure 5.
Moreover, the tension on this line increases with time until rock failure. The failure pattern at tf matches the
prediction of strain measurement by DIC technique and what could be predicted by theoretical solution in
which there is highest amount of tension on this vertical central line.
SPE-184826-MS 7

Figure 5Strain measurement in homogenous Berea Sandstone using DIC technique.

The second test was conducted on Buda limestone with an extensive natural fracture network (Figure
6). At least two almost parallel inclined calcite-filled fractures are visible on one side of sample toward
the camera. At t1, one point of maximum strain accumulation is visible which can be the point of fracture
initiation. Strain gradually accumulates around this point and along the natural fracture in the sample.
Finally, there is maximum tensile strain along all the upper natural fracture and the sample fails along this
upper natural fracture. Then the induced turns downward toward the lower natural fracture. The induced
fracture branches twice in this lower natural fracture as shown in t6 with DIC. The results of fracture pattern
by DIC matches exactly with the post-failure sample in tf.
8 SPE-184826-MS

Figure 6Strain measurement in heterogeneous Buda limestone with natural fractures.

The result of DIC measurement on another Buda limestone sample with different natural fracture network
is shown in Figure 7. In this sample, the orientation of natural fracture is closer to vertical compared to the
sample in Figure 6. Highest tensile strain initially occurs at the lower left side of the sample at t1. Then
another line of highest tensile strain occurs almost in the upper right side of sample almost parallel to the
previous line of highest strain in the lower left side. As these two lines of highest strain approach each other
from opposite directions, the upper right line turns downward and the samples fails in this pattern while the
strain on the initial line of highest strain is released.

Figure 7Strain measurement in heterogeneous Buda limestone with natural fractures.

SPE-184826-MS 9

A Buda Limestone sample with almost two parallel horizontal natural fractures is shown in Figure
8. There is a point of highest tensile strain accumulation around the upper side of the upper natural
fracture. When the line of highest strain approaches the horizontal natural fracture, induced fracture turns
to horizontal natural fracture for a short distance. Then, the induced fracture returns to its vertical growth.

Figure 8Strain measurement in heterogeneous Buda limestone with natural fractures.

Discussion
Several evidence of complex fracture failure was made throughout this study on Buda Limestone. These
Brazilian experiments do not simulate the state of in-situ stresses in subsurface, so they cannot be directly
applied to the prediction of fracture geometry in hydraulic fracturing. But the observations can help us in
better understanding of the complex fracture geometry in naturally fractured media with the applied stress
conditions. DIC technique was useful in predicting fracture growth in such heterogeneous rock media.
One of the outcomes of this research is that failure mechanism in such heterogeneous natural fractured
system is very complex and the results cannot be simplified to general rules at this point. As discussed by
Scott (1953), the mathematical modeling of fractures should not be limited to isotropic and homogeneity
assumptions. Similarly, the experimental observations of such complex systems should not be simplified
without justification. Previous studies on layered samples (Tavallali and Vervoort, 2010; Mokhtari and
Tutuncu, 2016) are appropriate for vertical transverse isotropic (VTI) models but those observations cannot
explain the complexity of fully-heterogeneous samples with natural fracture network.
Natural fractures play a critical role on the behavior of induced fractures. Generally, the orientation,
location and bonding strength of such natural fractures affect whether induced fracture deviate toward these
natural fractures or not. As stated by Mokhtari and Tutuncu (2016), these natural fractures have less tensile
strength than the matrix which can be one of the parameters affecting the fracture geometry. This tensile
strength is changing in the sample as natural fracture system is complex.
Horizontal fracture activation was observed in Figure 8. If such fractures occur in hydraulic fracturing,
they have consequences for proppant transport as discussed by Daneshy (2005). If these fractures are not
propped, they can act as choke points for fluid transport. Moreover, such possible fracturing affects the
vertical growth of induced fractures, possibly reducing the height of fractures.
10 SPE-184826-MS

Conclusion
Better understanding on the geometry of induced fractures in naturally-fractured system is critical to
optimize the hydraulic fracturing operation. The classical strain gauge measurements cannot provide
information about fracture development over time. To overcome this shortcoming, we applied digital
image correlation technique on naturally-fractured samples under Brazilian testing conditions to analyze
the fracture initiation and propagation in real-time.
The results of DIC technique on several Buda limestone samples shows the extent of complexity of
fracturing in such heterogeneous media in contrast to the planar fracture observed on homogenous sandstone
sample. In one of the samples with two horizontal natural fractures, the induced fracture deviated toward
the horizontal natural fracture for a short distance. Then the induced fracture continued back to propagating
vertically. In another sample with several natural fractures, several fracture branching was observed. In one
of samples, the region of highest tensile strain was released as the tensile strain was accumulated on the
other side and the induced fracture deviated very sharply. Generally, natural fractures are points of tensile
weakness and some of these natural fractures play a critical role in fracture initiation and propagation based
on the orientation, location and bonding strength of these natural fractures and the state of stress.

Acknowledgement
The support of Statoil in providing Buda Limestone preserved core samples is highly appreciated. We are
thankful to Matthew Lomas for coring the Buda limestone samples. This paper is dedicated to the memory
of late Rustam Nizamutdinov, a young and talented petroleum engineering undergraduate student who
contributed to DIC and Brazilian experiments.

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