Articles | Volume 11, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2411-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-2411-2020
Method article
 | 
11 Dec 2020
Method article |  | 11 Dec 2020

Measuring hydraulic fracture apertures: a comparison of methods

Chaojie Cheng, Sina Hale, Harald Milsch, and Philipp Blum

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Cited articles

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Short summary
Fluids (like water or gases) within the Earth's crust often flow and interact with rock through fractures. The efficiency with which these fluids may flow through this void space is controlled by the width of the fracture(s). In this study, three different physical methods to measure fracture width were applied and compared and their predictive accuracy was evaluated. As a result, the mobile methods tested may well be applied in the field if a number of limitations and requirements are observed.