Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing is a method for creating fractures in the sbusurface and filling them with granular material. The technique is used in the environmental industry to improve the performance of injection or recovery wells, or to deliver reactive compounds to enhance remediation in the subsurface.
I have been working on environmental applications for hydrauli fractures since 1987. My efforts including research into how hydraulic fractures propagate at shallow depths, and how to use hydraulic fractures for environmental applications.
Hydraulic fractures exposed in a trench cut into silty clay glacial till in Cincinnati, Ohio
Remediation applications typically involve creating hydraulic fractures at depths less than a few 10s of meters in unlithified material. Most applications involve filling hydraulic fractures with well-sorted sand, which creates a permeable layer that improves the rate at which water, NAPL or vapor can be recovered from tight formations. I have also been involved with a variety of other environmental applications for hydraulic fractures. For example, we filled hydraulic fractures with graphite and used them as large, plate-like electrodes to increase the performance of electro-kinetic remediation systems. Hydraulic fractures also provide a convenient method for injecting reactive solids into the subsurface. The reactive material is designed to accelerate the degradation or immobilization of contaminants. Papers describing those applications are cited below.
Hydraulic fracture filled with graphite--many other materials can be injected into a hydraulic fracture
I currently am involved with several hydraulic fracturing efforts. My research program at Clemson is focused on improving our understanding of how hydraulic fractures form, and how to use them for remediation. Leonid Germanovich and I collaborate extensively on this effort. I also work with FRx, the primary provider of hydraulic fracturing applications to the environmental community.
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Last Updated:
August 14, 2007
-- Questions or comments, contact Larry Murdoch.
School of Environment, Department of Geological Sciences
340 Brackett Hall, Clemson, SC 29634 USA -- Telephone: (864) 656-3438, Fax: (864) 656-1041
© 2004-2005 Clemson Univeristy, Clemson, SC, USA. All rights reserved.