Modeling Hydraulic Fracture Entering Stress Barrier: Theory and Practical Recommendations

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Numerical modeling of hydraulic fracturing is complicated when a fracture reaches a stress barrier. The paper presents the theory and practical recommendations following from it. It’s an interesting and useful topic. Before publishing, there are some suggestions:

 

1. Which reservoirs will stress barrier appear in, tight reservoirs, low-permeability reservoirs, shale reservoirs, or under heterogeneous conditions?

 

2. “2. PART I. Theory of Fracture Penetration into Stress Barrier”. “PART I” doesn't need to keep it, it's also in the title of the following text.

 

3. In line 100, w, t, and q lack units. The same applies to other formulas, please add them.

 

4. Is the stress barrier related to natural fractures? If so, how was it considered in the calculation? If not, please explain the reason.

 

5. In the section 3, Figures 6, 7, and 8, the data in the first half of points are too dense and overlap with each other. Please redraw the diagram clearly.

 

6. The conclusion section does not have a focus, please condense this part.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The Introduction effectively sets the stage by highlighting the complexity of hydraulic fracturing modeling when encountering stress barriers. However, it would be beneficial to provide a brief overview of existing literature in recent 5 years to better contextualize the paper's contributions.

2. The proposed asymptotic approach to avoid spatial discretization is innovative. It would be beneficial to discuss its limitations and potential challenges in practical applications.

3. The distinction between three typical stages of fracture penetration into a barrier is a novel contribution. Providing a graphical representation of these stages would aid in better understanding the process.

4. The practical recommendations for modeling hydraulic fractures in rocks with stress barriers are concise and actionable. It would be valuable to provide a step-by-step guide or pseudocode illustrating how these recommendations can be implemented in existing computational programs.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Minor editing of English language required.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This research aims to propose a new theoretical model and asymptotic approach for simulating the process of fractures penetrating stress barriers in hydraulic fracturing. The research analyzes computational challenges and offers practical modeling recommendations to improve the efficiency and accuracy of numerical simulations. The paper could be considered for publication if the following raised comments are addressed

 

1.The abstract briefly mentions the importance of hydraulic fracturing, the impact of stress barriers on fracturing effectiveness. It is suggested to provide more information on the research background.

 

2.The data points in Figures 6-8 should be further refined to be consistent with the described values.

 

3.In Section 3.3, when comparing the asymptotic solutions with the actual 3D model values, the mentioned charts should be included and displayed in the text.

 

4. The study should include real-case examples to further validate the effectiveness of the model.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

need minor revision

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf