Application of Configurational Mechanics Methods to the Problem of Stimulated Reservoir Volume Formation

A zone of activated natural fractures (stimulated reservoir volume) during process of the hydraulic fracturing in a continuous approximation is considered as a growing fluid-saturated porous body. By varying the state of the body which contains a strong fault surface in the reference and actual configurations and by writing the energy conservation law in the form of the principle of possible displacements, we derive the conditions for jumps in physical quantities at the fracture front. A model problem in one-dimensional (1D) statement is considered and the estimate is made of the critical injection pressure that initiates the process of stimulated reservoir volume formation.