Investigation of Crack Propagation Patterns on the Borehole Wall during Single-Borehole Hydraulic Fracturing under Different In-situ Stress Ratios

Investigation of Crack Propagation Patterns on the Borehole Wall during Single-Borehole Hydraulic Fracturing under Different In-situ Stress Ratios | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Investigation of Crack Propagation Patterns on the Borehole Wall during Single-Borehole Hydraulic Fracturing under Different In-situ Stress Ratios Lei Tan, Qiyuan Xia, Sailei Wei, Junming Zhang, Hai Wu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7198199/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract To study the initiation, propagation, and mechanical behaviour characteristics of fractures on the wall of a single hole during hydraulic fracturing for in-situ stress measurement, and to improve the accuracy of stress direction discrimination in hydraulic fracturing in-situ stress measurement. This paper adopts methods such as theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and experimental research. On the basis of obtaining basic mechanical parameters through rock mechanics tests, and using the Weibull distribution to describe the inhomogeneity of rocks, a model based on COMSOL software is constructed. It studies the laws and influencing factors of fracture propagation on the borehole wall under different stress environments. The simulation results show that under different stress conditions, the initiation direction of fractures on the borehole wall is mainly parallel to the direction of the maximum principal stress and perpendicular to the direction of the minimum principal stress. At the same time, the propagation and closure of fractures are jointly controlled by the mechanical properties of rocks and the in-situ stress field. In addition, natural cracks have little impact on the propagation of fractures on the borehole wall, and the propagation of hydraulic fractures is not affected by natural cracks. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Engineering Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences Hydraulic fracturing Crack propagation Direction Initiation pressure COMSOL natural fracture Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 10 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 10 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 08 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 31 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 31 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 31 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 25 Jul, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7198199","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":495072627,"identity":"e9745efb-3ce5-4662-ac44-76566fd96fc7","order_by":0,"name":"Lei Tan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lei","middleName":"","lastName":"Tan","suffix":""},{"id":495072628,"identity":"f8f5e2af-9adc-4bd8-97d5-e293fd5becab","order_by":1,"name":"Qiyuan Xia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qiyuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Xia","suffix":""},{"id":495072629,"identity":"eb8c917f-33e7-4678-9d6e-470a63b04985","order_by":2,"name":"Sailei Wei","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sailei","middleName":"","lastName":"Wei","suffix":""},{"id":495072630,"identity":"c15606fe-4a62-411c-983a-ade0305d3dff","order_by":3,"name":"Junming Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junming","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":495072631,"identity":"e74a612e-51a8-4c45-b29d-43dbdadec2db","order_by":4,"name":"Hai Wu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAxklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHgaGhIoDUA4b0VrOgLQwk6KFsY0ULQY3cg9+eDjvTp7B+fMHGD6UHWbgn91ASEteskTitmfFBjeSGRhnnDvMIHHnAH4tZjdyDIBaDiduuMHMwMzbdpjBQCKBoBbjH4lzgFrOH2Zg/kukFjOJxAaglgPJDMyMxGixP/PGzCLh2OHEmTeSDQ72nEvnkbhBQItke47xzR81hxP7zh98+OBHmbUc/wwCWlDAAQZwNI2CUTAKRsEooBgAADbISlN9dFHyAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hai","middleName":"","lastName":"Wu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-23 15:53:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7198199/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7198199/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-30164-5","type":"published","date":"2025-12-27T15:57:50+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":99172317,"identity":"2bd9cb27-0b72-4a51-8535-0b360dda0871","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-29 16:07:45","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1640231,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SRmain1.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7198199/v1_covered_cf16507f-062f-4d90-8b14-e66a6cc9e545.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Investigation of Crack Propagation Patterns on the Borehole Wall during Single-Borehole Hydraulic Fracturing under Different In-situ Stress Ratios","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Hydraulic fracturing, Crack propagation Direction, Initiation pressure, COMSOL, natural fracture","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7198199/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7198199/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eTo study the initiation, propagation, and mechanical behaviour characteristics of fractures on the wall of a single hole during hydraulic fracturing for in-situ stress measurement, and to improve the accuracy of stress direction discrimination in hydraulic fracturing in-situ stress measurement. This paper adopts methods such as theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and experimental research. On the basis of obtaining basic mechanical parameters through rock mechanics tests, and using the Weibull distribution to describe the inhomogeneity of rocks, a model based on COMSOL software is constructed. It studies the laws and influencing factors of fracture propagation on the borehole wall under different stress environments. The simulation results show that under different stress conditions, the initiation direction of fractures on the borehole wall is mainly parallel to the direction of the maximum principal stress and perpendicular to the direction of the minimum principal stress. At the same time, the propagation and closure of fractures are jointly controlled by the mechanical properties of rocks and the in-situ stress field. In addition, natural cracks have little impact on the propagation of fractures on the borehole wall, and the propagation of hydraulic fractures is not affected by natural cracks.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Investigation of Crack Propagation Patterns on the Borehole Wall during Single-Borehole Hydraulic Fracturing under Different In-situ Stress Ratios","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-05 13:19:42","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7198199/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-10-10T07:22:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-10T04:55:53+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-08-08T05:47:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"264406233542442807744241034209170174241","date":"2025-08-04T03:09:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"315935064353159003573125821025565589663","date":"2025-08-02T15:17:26+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"154024300537191806233033606630664578757","date":"2025-07-31T15:55:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-07-31T15:03:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-07-31T09:14:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-07-26T00:10:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-07-26T00:07:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0c85a79a-9081-4a0d-8938-e6d723adb2f3","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":52571004,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology"},{"id":52571005,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":52571006,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards"},{"id":52571007,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-29T16:01:31+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7198199","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-30164-5","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2025-12-27 15:57:50","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 27th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-05 13:19:42","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-025-30164-5","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-30164-5","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7198199","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7198199","identity":"rs-7198199","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}