Numerical investigation of the gas-induced fracturing behavior of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone
Abstract
This paper presents a synthesis of the numerical approaches adopted by three research teams to reproduce gas fracturing initiation in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone. This collaborative work has been carried out within the framework of the DECOVALEX-2023 project. First, the research teams investigated the impact of gas migration and fluid pressurization within the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone and the fracturing threshold pressure through a series of benchmark exercises under plane strain conditions with increasing complexity. The three numerical approaches accounted for couplings between the mechanical part and hydraulic parameters, such as permeability, through different variables such as damage, fracture aperture, or equivalent plastic strain. Then, the research teams utilized their models to reproduce two injection tests at the field-scale. A challenge faced by the research teams was dealing with a single study point per injection test, complicating the study of responses near the injection interval. This part included interpretative analyses with simplified approaches for a better understanding of gas pressure build-up. Overall, the numerical simulations yielded acceptable results in reproducing the in-tests after a calibration process and provided insights into the hydromechanical response of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone under two-phase flow conditions. Nonetheless, the benchmark exercises showed that the numerical results using different mechanical constitutive models yielded different outcomes when reaching critical values leading to fracturing, which strongly depend on how the mechanical part influences the hydraulic response through the changes in hydraulic properties. • Synthesis of three research teams participating in the modelling of gas fracturing in claystone. • Approaches: embedded fractures, damage, and a model combining a failure index with dilatancy-dependent permeability. • Six benchmark gas injection tests followed by validation against two in-situ injection tests. • Numerical approaches reproduced in-situ observations, including gas percolation through the borehole damage zone.
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BibTeX
@article{plua2026numerical,
title = {{Numerical investigation of the gas-induced fracturing behavior of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone}},
author = {Carlos Plúa and Rémi de La Vaissière and Gilles Armand and Sebastià Olivella and Alfonso Rodriguez-Dono and Zhan Yu and Jian-Fu Shao and Eike Radeisen and Hua Shao},
journal = {Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.gete.2025.100669},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05853147v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Numerical investigation of the gas-induced fracturing behavior of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone
AU - Carlos Plúa
AU - Rémi de La Vaissière
AU - Gilles Armand
AU - Sebastià Olivella
AU - Alfonso Rodriguez-Dono
AU - Zhan Yu
AU - Jian-Fu Shao
AU - Eike Radeisen
AU - Hua Shao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment
DO - 10.1016/j.gete.2025.100669
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05853147v1
AB - This paper presents a synthesis of the numerical approaches adopted by three research teams to reproduce gas fracturing initiation in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone. This collaborative work has been carried out within the framework of the DECOVALEX-2023 project. First, the research teams investigated the impact of gas migration and fluid pressurization within the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone and the fracturing threshold pressure through a series of benchmark exercises under plane strain conditions with increasing complexity. The three numerical approaches accounted for couplings between the mechanical part and hydraulic parameters, such as permeability, through different variables such as damage, fracture aperture, or equivalent plastic strain. Then, the research teams utilized their models to reproduce two injection tests at the field-scale. A challenge faced by the research teams was dealing with a single study point per injection test, complicating the study of responses near the injection interval. This part included interpretative analyses with simplified approaches for a better understanding of gas pressure build-up. Overall, the numerical simulations yielded acceptable results in reproducing the in-tests after a calibration process and provided insights into the hydromechanical response of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone under two-phase flow conditions. Nonetheless, the benchmark exercises showed that the numerical results using different mechanical constitutive models yielded different outcomes when reaching critical values leading to fracturing, which strongly depend on how the mechanical part influences the hydraulic response through the changes in hydraulic properties. • Synthesis of three research teams participating in the modelling of gas fracturing in claystone. • Approaches: embedded fractures, damage, and a model combining a failure index with dilatancy-dependent permeability. • Six benchmark gas injection tests followed by validation against two in-situ injection tests. • Numerical approaches reproduced in-situ observations, including gas percolation through the borehole damage zone.
SN - 2352-3808
ER -