| Abstract |
Fracture propagation, especially fractures emanating from inclined wellbores and closed natural fracture often involves Mode I, Mode II, and at times Mode III fracture pattern simultaneously. In this paper, a Virtual Multidimensional Internal Bond (VMIB) model is used to simulate 3D mixed-mode fracture propagation. To represent the contact and friction between fracture surfaces, a three-dimensional element partition method is employed. The model is applied to simulate fracture under thermo-mechanical loading. The results of thermal fracturing simulations are reasonable, which indicate that the present model provide a way to predict 3D thermal fracturing propagation. |