ISI Web of Science recently recognized three Fracture Research and Application Consortium (FRAC) project papers, all products of a U.S. Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences grant, as highly cited within their field and publication years. The papers were placed within the top 1 percent due to the substantial number of total citations. The three papers are titled “Natural Fractures in Shale: A Review and New Observations,” by Julia Gale, Stephen Laubach, Jon Olson, Peter Eichhubl, and Andras Fall, “Microfractures: A Review,” by Mark Anders, Stephen Laubach, and Christopher Scholz, and “The Role of Chemistry in Fracture Pattern Development and Opportunities to Advance Interpretations of Geological Materials,” by Stephen Laubach, Robert Lander, Louise Criscenti, Lawrence Anovitz, Janos Urai, and others.
Stephen Laubach, who leads the Bureau’s fracture research group, relates the importance of fracture work and these papers, “Information about fractures is needed for effective engineering operations such as fluid injection underground, management of induced seismicity, and the efficiency and success of fluid extraction, for example in unconventional and deep hydrocarbon reservoirs and geothermal systems.”
Laubach states that the paper “Natural Fractures in Shale: A Review and New Observations,” is not new to ISI’s highly cited list and is a definitive review of natural fractures in shale, as “fractures are widely regarded as impacting the success of stimulation of shales.”
“Microfractures: A Review” covers “microfractures (or microscopic fractures) that can influence rock behavior including reservoir behavior but also extending to landscape evolution and the quality of building stone.” Laubach explains that microfracture work has long been an integral part of Bureau research, and this paper is a result of a decade of fracture research.
“The Role of Chemistry in Fracture Pattern Development and Opportunities to Advance Interpretations of Geological Materials,” is slightly different from the first two highly cited papers according to Laubach, as “it is primarily a forward-looking work aimed at identifying future research directions in fundamental studies of how fractures in the Earth form and evolve. This paper is having an impact as the community increasingly appreciates how chemical information can inform fracture characterization and prediction and how chemical effects influence how patterns evolve. This new paradigm is increasing guiding research in the field.”
The significant number of citations these papers have received is an example of the innovative research FRAC produces and the international esteem its researchers have cultivated in their field.
For more information on FRAC, please contact Stephen Laubach or visit the FRAC website.
