Development of a hydraulic stimulation simulator toolbox for enhanced geothermal system design

Hydraulic stimulation is the key technology in the enhanced geothermal system (EGS) development. In this study, a reservoir stimulation simulator toolbox was developed for the comprehensive EGS design considering the natural fracture distribution, borehole stability, hydraulic stimulation and the thermal performance of the reservoir. The toolbox program consists of five modules, i.e., 3D discrete fracture network (DFN) generation, borehole stability analysis, hydrofracturing estimation, hydroshearing estimation and reservoir temperature prediction. Each module is implemented with graphic user interface using MATLAB® and available as a stand-alone program. The program allows independent analysis of each module and combined analyses with compatible data among the related modules, which provides extensive applicability to a variety of tasks associated with EGS stimulation, shale gas fracturing and CO2 geosequestration.