Many subsurface stimulation applications involve complex, coupled physics that demand robust and efficient simulation. In this work, we propose a novel workflow that integrates the displacement discontinuity method (DDM) and the embedded discrete fracture model (EDFM) to model fracture propagation in a poroelastic medium. Our primary innovation is a newly developed fundamental solution that quantifies pressure-induced stresses along fracture planes using a semi-analytical framework. This approach achieves a superior balance between accuracy and computational speed compared to conventional numerical simulations. Upon benchmarking, the developed workflow demonstrates reasonable accuracy as well as superior efficiency. We have applied the workflow to the two-dimensional (2D) simulation of multi-cluster and multi-well fracture propagation with the consideration of leak-off induced poroelastic stress change as well as fracture deviation induced by reservoir depletion. The workflow succeeds in capturing the transient poroelastic effects among neighboring fractures, filling the gap of existing methods. Moreover, the workflow efficiently simulates more than 100,000 grid blocks in seconds, making it applicable to field-scale problems. The potential applications of the proposed model include the simulation of fracture-driven interaction problems, such as parent-child well fracturing and co-development of multiple wells. The current implementation assumes homogeneous, isotropic reservoirs and a 2D setting. Extending to heterogeneous, anisotropic, and three-dimensional (3D) problems is a natural next step.
Wang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.