Includes bibliographical references and index.

HYDRAULICALLY INDUCED FRACTURES IN THE PETROLEUM AND RELATED INDUSTRIES: Fractures in well stimulation -- Fluid flow through porous media -- Flow from a fractured well -- Hydraulic fracture design -- Treatment execution -- Data acquisition and evaluation for hydraulic fracturing -- Mechanics in hydraulic fracturing -- LINEAR ELASTICITY, FRACTURE SHAPES AND INDUCED STRESSES: Force and deformation -- Material properties -- Plane elasticity -- Pressurized crack -- Stress concentration and stress intensity factor -- Fracture shape in the presence of far-field stress -- Circular crack -- Volume and strain energy -- Computational methods -- STRESSES IN FORMATIONS: Basic concepts -- Stresses at depth -- Near-wellbore stresses -- Stress concentrations for an arbitrarily oriented well -- Vertical well breakdown pressure -- Breakdown pressure for arbitrarily oriented well -- Limiting case: horizontal well -- Permeability and stress -- Measurement of stresses -- FRACTURE GEOMETRY: The perkins and kern and khristianovich and zheltov geometries -- Fracture initiation vs. propagation direction -- Fracture profiles in multi-layered formations -- RHEOLOGY AND LAMINAR FLOW: Basic concepts -- Slot flow -- Flow in circular tube -- Flow in other cross sections -- NON-LAMINAR FLOW AND SOLIDS TRANSPORT: Non-laminar flow -- Solids transport -- ADVANCED TOPICS OF RHEOLOGY AND FLUIDS MECHANICS: Foam rheology -- Accounting for mechanical energy -- Rheometry -- MATERIAL BALANCE: The conservation for mass and its relation to fracture dimensions -- Fluid leakoff and spurt loss as material properties -- The constant width approximation (carter equation II) -- The power law approximation to surface growth -- Numerical material balance -- Differential material balance -- Leakoff as flow in the porous medium -- COUPLING OF ELASTICITY, FLOW AND MATERIAL BALANCE: Width equations of the early 2d models -- Algebraic (2d) models as used in design -- Numerical material balance (nmb) with width growth -- Differential 2d models -- Models with detailed leak off description -- Pressure decline analysis -- FRACTURE PROPAGATION: Fracture mechanics -- Classical crack propagation criterion for hydraulic fracturing -- Retarded fracture propagation -- Continuum damage mechanics in hydraulic fracturing -- Pressure decline analysis and tip retardation -- FRACTURE HEIGHT GROWTH (3D AND P-3D GEOMETRIES): Equilibrium fracture height -- Three-dimensional models -- Pseudo-three-dimensional models. "The book explores the theoretical background of one of the most widespread activities in hydrocarbon wells, that of hydraulic fracturing. A comprehensive treatment of the basic phenomena includes: linear elasticity, stresses, fracture geometry and rheology. The diverse concepts of mechanics are integrated into a coherent description of hydraulic fracture propagation. The chapters in the book are cross-referenced throughout and the connections between the various phenomena are emphasized. The book offers readers a unique approach to the subject with the use of many numerical examples."--Publisher's description.