Yang Zhang¹, Xiaoping Yang¹, Yalan Zhang¹, Mingzhe Han¹, Jiayi Sun², Zhengsheng Xia^3,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.22, No.1, 2026, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2026.075388 - 06 February 2026

Abstract Self-suspended proppants, which enable clear-water fracturing, represent a promising new class of materials for reservoir stimulation. Given the economic limitations associated with their exclusive use, this study investigates proppant transport behavior in hybrid systems combining self-suspended proppants with conventional 40/70 mesh quartz sand at various mixing ratios. A dedicated experimental apparatus was developed to replicate field-relevant complex fracture networks, consisting of a main fracture and two branching fractures with different deflection angles. Using this system, sand bank formation and proppant distribution were examined for both conventional quartz sand fracturing and fracturing augmented with self-suspended proppants.… More >

Zhirong Jin^1,*, Xiaorui Hou¹, Yanrong Ge¹, Tiankui Guo², Ming Chen², Shuyi Li², Tianyu Niu²

Energy Engineering, Vol.123, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/ee.2025.070750 - 27 January 2026

Abstract Hydraulic fracturing serves as a critical technology for reservoir stimulation in deep coalbed methane (CBM) development, where the mechanical properties of gangue layers exert a significant control on fracture propagation behavior. To address the unclear mechanisms governing fracture penetration across coal-gangue interfaces, this study employs the Continuum-Discontinuum Element Method (CDEM) to simulate and analyze the vertical propagation of hydraulic fractures initiating within coal seams, based on geomechanical parameters derived from the deep Benxi Formation coal seams in the southeastern Ordos Basin. The investigation systematically examines the influence of geological and operational parameters on cross-interfacial fracture… More >

Li Wang¹, Xuesong Xing¹, Yanan Hou¹, Heng Wen¹, Ying Zhu¹, Jingyu Zi¹, Qingwei Zeng^2,3,*

Energy Engineering, Vol.123, No.2, 2026, DOI:10.32604/ee.2025.068653 - 27 January 2026

Abstract The deep coal reservoir in Linxing-Shenfu block of Ordos Basin is an important part of China’s coalbed methane resources. In the process of reservoir reconstruction, the artificial fracture morphology of coal seam with gangue interaction is significantly different, which affects the efficient development of coalbed methane resources in this area. In this paper, the surface outcrop of Linxing-Shenfu block is selected, and three kinds of interaction modes between gangue and coal seam are set up, including single-component coal rock sample, coal rock sample with different thicknesses of gangue layer and coal rock sample with different… More >

Kunjie Wang, Chenghai Xu^*, Xinliang Zhao, Songhe Meng

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.34, No.1, pp. 1-1, 2025, DOI:10.32604/icces.2025.011534

Abstract Considering the high-temperature application environment and quasi-brittle characteristics, the high-temperature fracture toughness of C/SiC composites is of great significance for the safety application of components in service.
In this work, the fracture toughness of PIP-C/SiC composites at 25–1600 ℃ in inert atmosphere was tested. The test results show that the fracture toughness and modes of C/SiC composites have significant temperature dependence and difference in in-plane and out-of-plane orientations. With the rising of temperature, the carrying capacity and KIC of C/SiC composites increase first and then decrease, and an inflection point occurs near the fabrication temperature.… More >

Yong Huang¹, Xiandeng Li¹, Qingling Jing¹, Qin Zhang¹, Chungui Huang^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.49, No.11, pp. 2195-2216, 2025, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2025.072716 - 24 November 2025

Abstract Objective: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are important cells in bone tissue engineering. Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) effectively treats bone defects and nonunion. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether BMP-2 promotes bone formation and femoral fracture healing by inhibiting inflammation and promoting osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, in order to provide an experimental basis for developing more efficient fracture treatment strategies. Methods: Bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMSCs) were isolated from rats and treated with OE-BMP-2, the 5^′-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signal agonist 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR), and the inhibitor Compound C. Osteogenic differentiation was evaluated through… More >

Tian Tian¹, Huayi Wei^2,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.33, No.4, pp. 1-2, 2025, DOI:10.32604/icces.2025.011175

Abstract Brittle fracture is a critical failure mode in structural materials, and accurately simulating its evolution is essential for engineering design, material performance evaluation, and failure prediction. Traditional numerical methods, however, face significant challenges when dealing with higher-order fracture models and complex fracture behaviors. To overcome these challenges, this study proposes an innovative simulation framework based on higher-order finite element methods and adaptive mesh refinement, effectively balancing computational efficiency and simulation accuracy.
The research first develops a higher-order finite element method for the continuum damage fracture phase-field model. By incorporating higher-order finite element techniques, the proposed method… More >

Yuan Mei^1,2, Daokui Li^1,2, Shiming Zhou^1,2,*, Zhibin Shen^1,2

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.145, No.1, pp. 153-187, 2025, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2025.070252 - 30 October 2025

Abstract Viscoelastic solids, such as composite propellants, exhibit significant time and rate dependencies, and their fracture processes display high levels of nonlinearity. However, the correlation between crack propagation and viscoelastic energy dissipation in these materials remains unclear. Therefore, accurately modeling and understanding of their fracture behavior is crucial for relevant engineering applications. This study proposes a novel viscoelastic phase-field model. In the numerical implementation, the adopted adaptive time-stepping iterative strategy effectively accelerates the coupling iteration efficiency between the phase-field and the displacement field. Moreover, all unknown parameters in the model, including the form of the phase-field More >

Junchen Liu¹, Feng Zhou¹, Xiaofeng Lu¹, Xiaojin Zhou², Xianjun He¹, Yurou Du³, Fuguo Xia¹, Junfu Zhang⁴, Weiyi Luo^4,*

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.21, No.10, pp. 2613-2628, 2025, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2025.069772 - 30 October 2025

Abstract In shale gas reservoir stimulation, proppants are essential for sustaining fracture conductivity. However, increasing closing stress causes proppants to embed into the rock matrix, leading to a progressive decline in fracture permeability and conductivity. Furthermore, rock creep contributes to long-term reductions in fracture performance. To elucidate the combined effects of proppant embedding and rock creep on sustained conductivity, this study conducted controlled experiments examining conductivity decay in propped fractures under varying closing stresses, explicitly accounting for both mechanisms. An embedded discrete fracture model was developed to simulate reservoir production under different conductivity decay scenarios, while… More >

Yuheng Cao, Chunyu Zhang^*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.33, No.2, pp. 1-1, 2025, DOI:10.32604/icces.2025.010692

Abstract A unified high-order damaged elasticity theory is proposed for quasi-brittle fracture problems by incorporating higher-order gradients for both strain and damage fields. The single scale parameter is defined by the size of the representative volume element (RVE). It formulates the degraded strain energy density to capture size effects and localized damage initiation/propagation with a damage criterion grounded in experimental observations. The structural deformation is solved by using the principle of minimum potential energy with the Augmented Lagrangian Method (ALM) enforcing damage evolution constraints. This simplifies the equilibrium equations, enabling efficient numerical solutions via the Galerkin More >

Mao Jiang¹, Jianshu Wu¹, Chengyong Peng¹, Xuesong Xing¹, Yishan Lou^2,3, Yi Liu^2,3,*, Shanyong Liu^2,3

Energy Engineering, Vol.122, No.10, pp. 4019-4034, 2025, DOI:10.32604/ee.2025.067236 - 30 September 2025

Abstract Fracture conductivity is a key factor to determine the fracturing effect. Optimizing proppant particle size distribution is critical for ensuring efficient proppant placement within fractures. To address challenges associated with the low-permeability reservoirs in the Lufeng Oilfield of the South China Sea—including high heterogeneity, complex lithology, and suboptimal fracturing outcomes—JRC (Joint Roughness Coefficient) was employed to quantitatively characterize the lithological properties of the target formation. A CFD-DEM (Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method) two-way coupling approach was then utilized to construct a fracture channel model that simulates proppant transport dynamics. The proppant particle size under different… More >