In-situ hydraulic fracturing has been performed on the decameter scale in the Deep Underground rock Laboratory (DUG Lab) at the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) in Switzerland in order to measure the minimum principal stress magnitude and orientation. Conducted tests were performed in a number of boreholes, with 3–4 packer intervals in each borehole subjected to repeated injection. During each test, fluid injection pressure, injection flow rate and microseismic events were recorded amongst others. Fully coupled 3D simulations have been performed with the LLNL's GEOS simulation framework. The methods applied in the simulation of the experiments address physical processes such as rock deformation/stress, LEFM fracture mechanics, fluid flow in the fracture and matrix, and the generation of micro-seismic events. This allows to estimate the distance of fracture penetration during the injection phase and correlate the simulated injection pressure with experimental data during injection, as well as post shut-in. Additionally, the extent of the fracture resulting from simulations of fracture propagation and microseismic events are compared with the spatial distribution of the microseismic events recorded in the experiment.

