Analogue models of hydraulic fracturing

The spreading of a viscous fluid in between a rigid, horizontal substrate and an overlying elastic sheet is presented as a simplified model of the hydraulic fracturing process. In particular, the talk will focus on the case of a permeable substrate for which leak-off arrests the propagation of the fluid and permits the development of a steady state. The different regimes of  gravitationally-driven and elastically-driven flow will be explored, as will the cases of a stiff and flexible sheet, before a discussion of the influence that particles included in the fluid have on the fracture propagation.