Summary
The technology of underground fracturing has come to a central position in the areas of oil, gas, other minerals and heat extraction from the earth. In the Resource Extraction Laboratory at MIT, we are conducting a comprehensive theoretical and laboratory investigation of fracturing schemes which hold promise for providing or improving access to underground reserves of energy and other natural resources. Our main focus has been on quasi-static methods, particularly on ramifications of the central hydraulic fracturing technique (singled out in this paper) and on enhancing complements such as thermal cracking or induction of high pore pressures (e.g., due to expasion tendencies of highly energetic trapped second phases). Consideration is also being given to various controlled explosive methodologies (e.g., as preparation for hydrafrac) and to possibilities for constructively dispersing electrical or chemical energy (e.g., with pumped fluids), both for permeability induction and mapping.
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Cleary, M.P. (1983). Modelling and Development of Hydraulic Fracturing Technology. In: Rossmanith, H.P. (eds) Rock Fracture Mechanics. International Centre for Mechanical Sciences, vol 275. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-2750-6_14
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