In this work, phase-field modeling of hydraulic fractures in porous media is extended towards a global-local approach. Therein, the failure behavior is solely analyzed in a (small) local domain. In the surrounding medium, a simplified and linearized system of equations is solved. Both domains are coupled by Robin-type interface conditions. The fracture(s) inside the local domain are allowed to propagate and consequently both subdomains change within time. Here, a predictor-corrector strategy is adopted in which the local domain is dynamically adjusted to the current fracture pattern. The resulting framework is algorithmically described in detail and substantiated with some numerical tests.
This paper presents a model where thermo-hydro-mechanical processes are coupled to a deformation model for preexisting fractures. The model is formulated within a discrete-fracture-matrix framework where the rock matrix and the fractures are considered as individual subdomains, and interaction between them takes place on the matrix-fracture interfaces. A finite volume discretisation implemented in the simulation toolbox PorePy is presented and applied in a simulation showcasing the effects of the different mechanisms on fracture deformation governed by contact mechanics, as well as their diffe…
A fractured poroelastic body is considered where the opening of the fractures is governed by a nonpenetration law while slip is described by a Coulomb-type friction law. This physical model results in a nonlinear variational inequality problem. The variational inequality is rewritten as a complimentary function, and a semismooth Newton method is used to solve the system of equations. For the discretization, we use a hybrid scheme where the displacements are given in terms of degrees of freedom per element, and an additional Lagrange multiplier representing the traction is added on the fracture…
In this work, we introduce a time memory formalism in poroelasticity model that couples the pressure and displacement. We assume this multiphysics process occurs in multicontinuum media. The mathematical model contains a coupled system of equations for pressures in each continuum and elasticity equations for displacements of the medium. We assume that the temporal dynamics is governed by fractional derivatives following some works in the literature. We derive an implicit finite difference approximation for time discretization based on the Caputo time fractional derivative. A Discrete Fracture …
Convection-driven cooling in porous media influences thermo-poro-mechanical stresses, thereby causing deformation. These processes are strongly influenced by the presence of fractures, which dominate flow and heat transfer. At the same time, the fractures deform and propagate in response to changes in the stress state. Mathematically, the model governing the physics is tightly coupled and must account for the strong discontinuities introduced by the fractures. Over the last decade, and motivated by a number of porous media applications, research into such coupled models has advanced modelling …
A time-decoupling scheme for mixed-dimensional poroelastic models with fractures
School of Mathematics, Sichuan University（四川大学数学学院）；School of Mathematical Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology（成都理工大学数学科学学院）；School of Mathematical Sciences, Tongji University（同济大学数学科学学院）
In this work, a Bayesian inversion framework for hydraulic phase-field transversely isotropic and orthotropy anisotropic fracture is proposed. Therein, three primary fields are pressure, displacements, and phase-field while direction-dependent responses are enforced (via penalty-like parameters). A new crack driving state function is introduced by avoiding the compressible part of anisotropic energy to be degraded. For the Bayesian inversion, we employ the delayed rejection adaptive Metropolis (DRAM) algorithm to identify the parameters. We adjust the algorithm to estimate parameters according…
A generalised framework for phase field-based modelling of coupled problems: application to thermo-mechanical fracture, hydraulic fracture, hydrogen embrittlement and corrosion
Propagation of a fluid-driven crack in an impermeable linear elastic medium under axis-symmetric conditions is investigated in the present work. The fluid exerting the pressure inside the crack is an incompressible Newtonian one and its front is allowed to lag behind the propagating fracture tip. The tip cavity is considered as filled by fluid vapors under constant pressure having a negligible value with respect to the far field confining stress. A novel algorithm is here presented, which is capable of tracking the evolution of both the fluid and the fracture fronts. Particularly, the fracture…
A multiphysics data analytic platform is established for imaging poroelastic interfaces of finite permeability (e.g., hydraulic fractures) from elastic waveforms and/or acoustic pore pressure measurements. This is accomplished through recent advances in design of non-iterative sampling methods to inverse scattering. The direct problem is formulated via the Biot equations in the frequency domain where a network of discontinuities is illuminated by a set of total body forces and fluid volumetric sources, while monitoring the induced (acoustic and elastic) scattered waves in an arbitrary near-fie…
A new numerical scheme is proposed for flow computation in complex discrete fracture networks. The method is based on a three-field formulation of the Darcy law for the description of the hydraulic head on the fractures and uses a cost functional to enforce the required coupling condition at fracture intersections. The resulting method can handle non conforming meshes, independently built on each geometrical object of the computational domain, and ensures local mass conservation properties at fracture intersections. An iterative solver is devised for the method, ready for parallel implementati…
In this work we develop a high-resolution mapped-grid finite volume method code to model wave propagation in two dimensions in systems of multiple orthotropic poroelastic media and/or fluids, with curved interfaces between different media. We use a unified formulation to simplify modeling of the various interface conditions -- open pores, imperfect hydraulic contact, or sealed pores -- that may exist between such media. Our numerical code is based on the Clawpack framework, but in order to obtain correct results at a material interface we use a modified transverse Riemann solution scheme, and …
In this work we present a model reduction procedure to derive a hybrid-dimensional framework for the mathematical modeling of reactive transport in fractured porous media. Fractures are essential pathways in the underground which allow fast circulation of the fluids present in the rock matrix, often characterized by low permeability. However, due to infilling processes fractures may change their hydraulic properties and become barriers for the flow creating impervious blocks. The geometrical as well as the physical properties of the fractures require a special treatment to allow the subsequent…
Development of models and dedicated numerical methods for dynamics in fractured rocks is an active research field, with research moving towards increasingly advanced process couplings and complex fracture networks. The inclusion of coupled processes in simulation models is challenged by the high aspect ratio of the fractures, the complex geometry of fracture networks and the crucial impact of processes that completely change characteristics on the fracture-rock interface. This paper provides a general discussion of design principles for introducing fractures in simulators, and defines a framew…
A range of phenomena in the subsurface is characterised by the interplay between coupled thermal, hydraulic and mechanical processes and deforming structures such as fractures. Modelling subsurface dynamics can provide valuable phenomenological understanding, but requires models which faithfully represent the dynamics involved; these models, therefore are themselves highly complex. This paper presents a mixed-dimensional thermo-hydro-mechanical model designed to capture the process-structure interplay using a discrete-fracture-matrix framework. It incorporates tightly coupled thermo-hydro-mech…
One of the assumptions of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics is that the crack faces are traction-free or, at most, loaded by bounded tractions. The standard Irwin's crack closure integral, widely used for the computation of the Energy Release Rate, also relies upon this assumption. However, there are practical situations where the load acting on the crack boundaries is singular. This is the case, for instance, in hydraulic fracturing, where the fluid inside the crack exerts singular tangential tractions at its front. Another example of unbounded tractions is the case of a rigid line inclusion …
