Hydraulic fracturing is a process by which fractures initiate and propagate in a compressively prestressed solid media driven by highly pressurized fluids. Hydraulic fracturing finds important applications in a wide range of engineering areas, such as oil and gas production, enhanced geothermal energy, nuclear waste storage, carbon sequestration, and block cave mining.

Hydraulic fracturing is a complicated multiphysics coupling problem. Although there is vast literature on hydraulic fracturing, there are still a number of open or less-than-satisfactorily resolved issues. Hence, advances should be made in numerical modelling and laboratory experiments to understand the physical mechanisms and optimize the operation of hydraulic fracturing.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together original research articles and review articles highlighting recent advances in numerical simulation and laboratory experiments in hydraulic fracturing. Research integrating laboratory experimental data with numerical analysis is particularly welcome. We also encourage submissions that investigate the fracturing techniques with unconventional fracturing fluids, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), dinitrogen (N2), etc.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Numerical algorithm development in hydraulic fracturing
• Machine learning and data-driven techniques in hydraulic fracturing
• Theoretical model of THMC coupling process in hydraulic fracturing
• Constitutive equation and parameter identification involved in hydraulic fracturing models
• Novel laboratory testing approaches or field experiments
• Acceleration techniques for simulating large-scale hydraulic fracturing problems
• Uncertainty analysis and optimization methods applied in hydraulic fracturing