We consider a two-phase Darcy flow in a fractured and deformable porous medium for which the fractures are described as a network of planar surfaces leading to so-called hybrid-dimensional models. The fractures are assumed open and filled by the fluids and small deformations with a linear elastic constitutive law are considered in the matrix. As opposed to [10], the phase pressures are not assumed continuous at matrix fracture interfaces, which raises new challenges in the convergence analysis related to the additional interfacial equations and unknowns for the flow. As shown in [16, 2], unlike single phase flow, discontinuous pressure models for two-phase flows provide a better accuracy than continuous pressure models even for highly permeable fractures. This is due to the fact that fractures fully filled by one phase can act as barriers for the other phase, resulting in a pressure discontinuity at the matrix fracture interface. The model is discretized using the gradient discretization method [22], which covers a large class of conforming and non conforming schemes. This framework allows for a generic convergence analysis of the coupled model using a combination of discrete functional tools. In this work, the gradient discretization of [10] is extended to the discontinuous pressure model and the convergence to a weak solution is proved. Numerical solutions provided by the continuous and discontinuous pressure models are compared on gas injection and suction test cases using a Two-Point Flux Approximation (TPFA) finite volume scheme for the flows and $P_2$ finite elements for the mechanics.
A new discretization approach is presented for the simulation of flow in complex poro-fractured media described by means of the Discrete Fracture and Matrix Model. The method is based on the numerical optimization of a properly defined cost-functional and allows to solve the problem without any constraint on mesh generation, thus overcoming one of the main complexities related to efficient and effective simulations in realistic DFMs.
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…
In this paper we present a mathematical model and a numerical workflow for the simulation of a thermal single-phase flow with reactive transport in porous media, in the presence of fractures. The latter are thin regions which might behave as high or low permeability channels depending on their physical parameters, and are thus of paramount importance in underground flow problems. Chemical reactions may alter the local properties of the porous media as well as the fracture walls, changing the flow path and possibly occluding some portions of the fractures or zones in the porous media. To solve …
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 …
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…
In this work we present the mathematical models for single-phase flow in fractured porous media. An overview of the most common approaches is considered, which includes continuous fracture models and discrete fracture models. For the latter, we discuss strategies that are developed in literature for its numerical solution mainly related to the geometrical relation between the fractures and porous media grids.
Gradient discretization of Hybrid Dimensional Darcy Flows in Fractured Porous Media with discontinuous pressures at the matrix fracture interfaces
Laboratoire de Mathématiques J.A. Dieudonné, UMR 7351 CNRS, University Nice Sophia Antipolis（尼斯索菲亚安提波利斯大学）；INRIA Sophia Antipolis Méditerranée（法国国家信息与自动化研究所索菲亚安提波利斯地中海中心）；CSTJF, TOTAL S.A.（道达尔公司）
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 resul…
Flow in fractured porous media is modeled frequently by discrete fracture-matrix approaches where fractures are treated as dimensionally reduced manifolds. Generalizing earlier work we focus on two-phase flow in time-dependent fracture geometries including the fracture's aperture. We present the derivation of a reduced model for immiscible two-phase flow in porous media. For the reduced model we present a fully conforming finite-volume discretization coupled with a moving-mesh method. This method permits arbitrary movement of facets of the triangulation while being fully conservative. In numer…
We present a hybrid-mixed finite element method for a novel hybrid-dimensional model of single-phase Darcy flow in a fractured porous media. In this model, the fracture is treated as an $(d-1)$-dimensional interface within the $d$-dimensional fractured porous domain, for $d=2, 3$. Two classes of fracture are distinguished based on the permeability magnitude ratio between the fracture and its surrounding medium: when the permeability in the fracture is (significantly) larger than in its surrounding medium, it is considered as a {\it conductive} fracture; when the permeability in the fracture is…
We consider a two-phase Darcy flow in a fractured porous medium consisting in a matrix flow coupled with a tangential flow in the fractures, described as a network of planar surfaces. This flow model is also coupled with the mechanical deformation of the matrix assuming that the fractures are open and filled by the fluids, as well as small deformations and a linear elastic constitutive law. The model is discretized using the gradient discretization method [26], which covers a large class of conforming and non conforming schemes. This framework allows for a generic convergence analysis of the c…
Flow in fractured porous media occurs in the earth's subsurface, in biological tissues, and in man-made materials. Fractures have a dominating influence on flow processes, and the last decade has seen an extensive development of models and numerical methods that explicitly account for their presence. To support these developments, we present a portfolio of four benchmark cases for single-phase flow in three-dimensional fractured porous media. The cases are specifically designed to test the methods' capabilities in handling various complexities common to the geometrical structures of fracture n…
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 …
Modeling flows in fractured porous media is important in applications. One main challenge in numerical simulation is that the flow is strongly influenced by the fractures, so that the solutions typically contain complex features, which require high computational grid resolutions. Instead of using uniformly fine mesh, a more computationally efficient adaptively refined mesh is desirable. In this paper we design and analyze a novel residual-type a posteriori error estimator for staggered DG methods on general polygonal meshes for Darcy flows in fractured porous media. The method can handle fairl…
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…
Call for participation: Verification benchmarks for single-phase flow in three-dimensional fractured porous media
University of Bergen（卑尔根大学）；Christian Michelsen Research（克里斯蒂安·米歇尔森研究所）；University of Stuttgart（斯图加特大学）；Politecnico di Milano（米兰理工大学）；University of Göttingen（哥廷根大学）
In this paper, we present and analyze a staggered discontinuous Galerkin method for Darcy flows in fractured porous media on fairly general meshes. A staggered discontinuous Galerkin method and a standard conforming finite element method with appropriate inclusion of interface conditions are exploited for the bulk region and the fracture, respectively. Our current analysis weakens the usual assumption on the polygonal mesh, which can integrate more general meshes such as elements with arbitrarily small edges into our theoretical framework. We prove the optimal convergence estimates in $L^2$ er…
We address the discretization of two-phase Darcy flows in a fractured and deformable porous medium, including frictional contact between the matrix-fracture interfaces. Fractures are described as a network of planar surfaces leading to the so-called mixed- or hybrid-dimensional models. Small displacements and a linear elastic behavior are considered for the matrix. Phase pressures are supposed to be discontinuous at matrix-fracture interfaces, as they provide a better accuracy than continuous pressure models even for high fracture permeabilities. The general gradient discretization framework i…
We present a novel hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) method on unfitted meshes for single-phase Darcy flow in a fractured porous media. In particular we apply the HDG methodology to the recently introduced reinterpreted discrete fracture model (RDFM) [Xu & Yang, 2021 submitted] that use Dirac-$δ$ functions to model both conductive and blocking fractures. Due to the use of Dirac-$δ$ function approach for the fractures, our numerical scheme naturally allows for unfitted meshes with respect to the fractures, which is the major novelty of the proposed scheme. Moreover, the scheme is locall…
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…
Numerical simulations of flow and transport in porous media usually rely on hybrid-dimensional models, i.e., the fracture is considered as objects of a lower dimension compared to the embedding matrix. Such models are usually combined with non-conforming discretizations as they avoid the inherent difficulties associated with the generation of meshes that explicitly resolve fractures-matrix interfaces. However, non-conforming discretizations demand a more complicated coupling of different sub-models and may require special care to ensure conservative fluxes. We propose a novel approach for the …
We present a numerical approximation of Darcy's flow through a porous medium that incorporates networks of fractures with non empty intersection. Our scheme employs PolyDG methods, i.e. discontinuous Galerkin methods on general polygonal and polyhedral (polytopic, for short) grids, featuring elements with edges/faces that may be in arbitrary number (potentially unlimited) and whose measure may be arbitrarily small. Our approach is then very well suited to tame the geometrical complexity featured by most of applications in the computational geoscience field. From the modelling point of view, we…
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）
We present a new numerical approach for wave induced dynamic fracture. The method is based on a discontinuous Galerkin approximation of the first-order hyperbolic system for elastic waves and a phase-field approximation of brittle fracture driven by the maximum tension. The algorithm is staggered in time and combines an implicit midpoint rule for the wave propagation followed by an implicit Euler step for the phase-field evolution. At fracture, the material is degraded, and the waves are reflected at the diffusive interfaces. Two and three-dimensional examples demonstrate the advantages of the…
This paper presents and analyzes a discontinuous Galerkin method for the incompressible three-phase flow problem in porous media. We use a first order time extrapolation which allows us to solve the equations implicitly and sequentially. We show that the discrete problem is well-posed, and obtain a priori error estimates. Our numerical results validate the theoretical results, i.e. the algorithm converges with first order.
In fractured natural formations, the equations governing fluid flow and geomechanics are strongly coupled. Hydrodynamical properties depend on the mechanical configuration, and they are therefore difficult to accurately resolve using uncoupled methods. In recent years, significant research has focused on discretization strategies for these coupled systems, particularly in the presence of complicated fracture network geometries. In this work, we explore a finite-volume discretization for the multiphase flow equations coupled with a finite-element scheme for the mechanical equations. Fractures a…
Nonlocal multicontinua upscaling for multicontinua flow problems in fractured porous media
Institute for Scientific Computation, Texas A&M University（德州农工大学科学计算研究所）；Department of Computational Technologies, North-Eastern Federal University（东北联邦大学计算技术系）；Department of Mathematics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)（香港中文大学数学系）；Department of Mathematic, Texas A&M University（德州农工大学数学系）；Multiscale model reduction laboratory, North-Eastern Federal University（东北联邦大学多尺度模型降维实验室）
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…
