The development of multi-scale computational tools to model multiple hydraulic fractures propagating in complex media.

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The past decade has seen a significant change in the global energy landscape, largely due to a process commonly known as “fracking” that has made the extraction of hydrocarbons from shale gas reservoirs economically viable. This process has been enabled by a new technology that makes possible the generation of multiple hydraulic fractures (HFs) from horizontal wells. While fracking has been controversial, due to the risk of hydrocarbons leaking into groundwater, this novel technology can also be used to generate cleaner energy by creating fracture networks in geothermal reservoirs. Since the top 10 km of the earth’s crust holds 50,000 times as much energy as all oil and gas reserves, this innovative technology also has huge potential for generating clean energy. To minimize the environmental risk of fracking and to optimize the placement of HF, it is necessary to have design tools that can simulate these new configurations of evolving HF. However, these important developments in HF technology have put field practice beyond current computer simulation tools. Existing tools are primarily focused on simulating the evolution of a single HF propagating in a piece-wise homogeneous elastic medium. What is now required is the capacity to simulate multiple HF that simultaneously propagate in complex solid media and interact with pre-existing joints and faults.