Fractured Reservoir Discrete Feature Network Technologies

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The Rock Mechanics/Engineering Geology Group at MIT has been working on fracture characterization and decision making under uncertainty for over 25 years. In addition to the analytical work, there have been substantial experimental efforts in the rock mechanics area, notably in fracture coalescence and characterization of geometric and hydraulic behavior of natural fractures. Parallel to all this are both research and practical application projects involving decision making under uncertainty. In this context, stochastic updatable procedures for subsurface characterization and exploration have been developed. Typical projects in the above mentioned areas are described below.

Fracture Flow Characterization in the Aberjona Valley.
Sponsor: National Institute for Engineering Health Sciences.
This involves much of the modeling work on which this present proposal is based, in addition to empirical evaluation of rock fracture flow.

Enhanced Visualization for Engineering Geology Subsurface Characterization.
Sponsor: Center for Advanced Educational Systems, MIT; National Science Foundation
A computer code with three-dimensional viewing of the subsurface and including Kriging and Bayesian updating procedures is being developed.

Subjective and Flow Characterization of Individual Fracture.
Sponsor: Taisei Corporation.
Initial work on experimentation for flow through the individual fracture.

Fracture Coalescence
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (earlier Air Force Office for Scientific Research)
Experimental investigation of coalescence between existing fractures in rock and development of corresponding analytical models.