Section 300

FRACTURING ENGINEERING MANUAL

Schlumberger May 1998
Dowell
Fracture Modeling
Page 13 of 35

Sneddon's solution for modeling the behavior of a fracture (for linear elastic
assumption) was mentioned earlier during the discussion of concepts. Fig. 6 shows
the 2D and radial Sneddon cracks. These solutions are for a 2D crack having one
dimension of infinite extent, and the other dimension of finite extent (d in Fig. 6). The
radial or penny-shaped crack is defined by the radius (R). The resulting width is
elliptical in shape for both types of cracks, and is proportional to one of the
characteristic dimensions (either d or R).

Fig. 6. 2D and radial Sneddon cracks.

The width is also proportional to the net pressure (pf - σmin) and inversely proportional
to the plane-strain modulus given as
E ′ = E / (1 − ν 2 ) (7)

Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio are at in-situ conditions (E is defined by the
tangent Young's modulus Et).
Sneddon's method has been used in different ways to model 2D fractures. The
characteristic dimension, d, is assumed to be the total tip-to-tip fracture length (2xf)
for the KGD model. Since d is assumed to be the total fracture length, then the
infinite dimension has to correspond to the fracture height. The other assumption is
that the characteristic dimension, d, is the fracture height. This is the condition for
the PKN model; since d is the fracture height, then the infinite dimension has to be
the fracture length.

DOWELL CONFIDENTIAL