In this work we present a computational framework for the parallel simulation of hydraulic fracturing processes. The simulation algorithm is built upon the staggered coupling of a fluid model that describes the viscous flow in the fractured domain and a model of the solid deformation and fracture response, driven by the pressure field induced by the fluid injection. The use of standard finite elements for the fluid model and a DG formulation for the solid tied together in a staggered fashion, allowing us to focus on the optimal solution strategy for each individual system, furnish the simulator with the robustness and parallel scalability properties needed to handle the strongly nonlinear processes associated with this physical phenomenon as well as the highly demanding computational requirements that come with large-scale field simulations. Importantly, the fluid is allowed to lag behind the crack front thus giving place to a lag region, which has recently been recognized as important in some hydraulic fracture applications, and further broadens the range of applicability of the simulator. We verify the proposed computational framework against known analytical results and we demonstrate its capabilities in complex scenarios such as the interaction with natural cracks and the propagation of simultaneous and sequential fractures, as well as its parallel scalability properties.

在这项工作中，我们提出了一个用于水力压裂过程并行模拟的计算框架。的仿真算法时描述的流体模型的交错耦合内置在断裂域粘性流和固体变形和断裂响应的模型，通过由流体注入诱导的压力场驱动。对流体模型使用标准有限元，对以交错方式连接在一起的固体使用 DG 公式，使我们能够专注于每个单独系统的最佳解决方案策略，为模拟器提供鲁棒性和并行可扩展性属性需要处理与这种物理现象相关的强非线性过程以及大规模现场模拟带来的高要求计算要求。重要的是，允许流体滞后于裂缝前沿，从而让位于滞后区域，这在最近被认为在一些水力压裂应用中很重要，并进一步拓宽了模拟器的适用范围。我们根据已知的分析结果验证了所提出的计算框架，并展示了其在复杂场景中的能力，例如与天然裂缝的相互作用、同时和连续裂缝的传播，以及其并行可扩展性。