Application of the extended finite element method to fracture modeling in corner-point grids

Fracture networks play a critical role in reservoir fluid flow and production. Traditional finite element methods (FEM) require dense mesh refinement near crack tips, leading to high computational cost and modeling complexity. The extended finite element method (XFEM) introduces enrichment functions to capture displacement discontinuities, allowing for efficient fracture simulation without remeshing. This study integrates XFEM with two-dimensional (2D) corner-point grids and proposes an interpolation and integration strategy suitable for reservoir modeling. Numerical examples compare FEM and XFEM at varying mesh densities. Results show that XFEM offers higher accuracy and computational efficiency, and remains robust when applied to irregular corner-point grids. The approach provides a promising framework for the efficient simulation of complex fractured reservoirs.