Simulation of Hydraulic Fracturing for Shale Gas Development

非常规页岩气开发(SGD)有可能在未来30年为加拿大的GDP贡献数万亿美元；然而，与SGD的使能技术水力压裂(HF)相关的环境和公共健康风险仍然存在重大问题。“水力压裂模拟和风险”(HF-SR)研究和培训计划将a)发展关于水力压裂机理的新知识，b)为加拿大的全面风险评估和风险管理(RA/RM)框架奠定基础。这些目标结合在一起，将为公共政策提供信息，实现有效的风险评估，并导致更经济和更环保的创新高频实践。*拟议的发现拨款“页岩气开发水力压裂模拟”将发展计算力学知识，将基于数个数量级的扩展有限元高频模拟器的计算效率提高几个数量级。这将通过四个里程碑来实现：1)高阶XFE近似；2)新的算子分裂方法；3)局部-全局XFE尖端浓缩；以及4)降阶模型。通过这些里程碑开发的模拟技术将在一定程度上通过NSERC战略拨款的行业合作者和其他行业合作伙伴进行动员。将通过出版物、会议和利益攸关方研讨会为学者调动知识。这些里程碑的实现将带来一套足够逼真和足够快的模拟技术，足以用于工程设计和风险评估。探索基金将培训24名高素质人才(HQP)-3名博士、1名硕士、5名本科生合作教育和15名本科生研究助理学生-每个HQP将成为一个多学科和多机构研究和培训计划的组成部分。这是HF-SR计划的一个关键的变革性特征。由于HF活动在未来五年将在全球范围内大幅增加，非营利组织、监管机构和行业将需要一支具有社会科学和工程学专业知识的合格劳动力队伍。此外，全球存在着大量的页岩气资源，但尚未开发，因此加拿大将在战略上保持一致，利用HF研究和知识开发国外市场。在接下来的五年里，该计划将在SGD的关键时刻注入实现SGD经济潜力所需的技术、知识和专家，同时确保环境可持续性和公众健康。

Unconventional Shale Gas Development (SGD) has the potential to contribute trillions of dollars to Canada's GDP over the next 30 years; however, significant questions remain about the environmental and public health risks associated with Hydraulic Fracturing (HF)-the enabling technology of SGD. The "Hydraulic Fracture Simulation and Risk" (HF-SR) research and training program will a) develop new knowledge about the mechanics of HF and b) establish the foundations for a comprehensive Risk Assessment and Risk Management (RA/RM) framework for Canada. Together these goals will inform public policy, enable effective risk assessment, and lead to innovative HF practices, which are more economically and environmentally sustainable.******The proposed Discovery Grant "Hydraulic Fracture Simulation for Shale Gas Development" will develop computational mechanics knowledge to increase the computationally efficiency of eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) HF simulators based by several orders of magnitude. This will be achieved through four milestones: 1) higher-order XFEM approximations; 2) novel Operator Splitting methods; 3) local-global XFEM tip enrichments; and 4) Reduce Order Models. The simulation technology developed through these milestones will be mobilized, in part, through the industry collaborator of a NSERC Strategic grant and other industry partnerships. Knowledge will be mobilized for academics through publications, conferences, and stakeholder workshops. The achievement of these milestones will lead to a suite of simulation technologies that are both sufficiently realistic and fast enough to be used in engineering design and risk assessment.******The Discovery Grant will train 24 Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP)-3 Doctoral, 1 Masters, 5 undergraduate cooperative education, and 15 undergraduate research assistant students-each HQP will be an integral member of a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research and training program. This is a key transformative feature of the HF-SR program. Since HF activities will substantially increase worldwide over the next five years, non-profit organizations, regulators, and industry will need a qualified workforce with expertise from the social sciences and engineering. Furthermore, extensive shale gas resources exist worldwide and are not yet being developed and so Canada will be strategically aligned to leverage HF research and knowledge in developing foreign markets. Over the next five years, this program will inject, at a critical time in SGD, technology, knowledge, and experts needed to realize the economic potential of SGD, while ensuring environmental sustainability and public health.********