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 is employed for the numerical analysis, allowing for a generic stability analysis and including several conforming and nonconforming discretizations. We establish energy estimates for the discretization, and prove existence of a solution. To simulate the coupled model, we employ a Two-Point Flux Approximation (TPFA) finite volume scheme for the flow and second-order ($\mathbb P_2$) finite elements for the mechanical displacement coupled with face-wise constant ($\mathbb P_0$) Lagrange multipliers on fractures, representing normal and tangential stresses, to discretize the frictional contact conditions. This choice allows to circumvent possible singularities at tips, corners, and intersections between fractures, and provides a local expression of the contact conditions. We present numerical simulations of two benchmark examples and one realistic test case based on a drying model in a radioactive waste geological storage structure.
Simulation of frictional contact and shear failure of fractures in fractured media is of paramount important in computational mechanics. In this work, a preconditioned mixed-finite element (FE) scheme with Lagrange multipliers is proposed in the framework of constrained variational principle, which has the capability to handle frictional contact and slip of the multiple crossing fractures. The slippage, opening and contact traction on fractures are calculated by the resulted saddle-point algebraic system. A novel treatment is devised to guarantee physical solutions at the intersected position …
Accurate numerical simulation of coupled fracture/fault deformation and fluid flow is crucial to the performance and safety assessment of many subsurface systems. In this work, we consider the discretization and enforcement of contact conditions at such surfaces. The bulk rock deformation is simulated using low-order continuous finite elements, while frictional contact conditions are imposed by means of a Lagrange multiplier method. We employ a cell-centered finite-volume scheme to solve the fracture fluid mass balance equation. From a modeling perspective, a convenient choice is to use a sing…
Geologic shear fractures such as faults and slip surfaces involve marked friction along the discontinuities as they are subjected to significant confining pressures. This friction plays a critical role in the growth of these shear fractures, as revealed by the fracture mechanics theory of Palmer and Rice decades ago. In this paper, we develop a novel phase-field model of shear fracture in pressure-sensitive geomaterials, honoring the role of friction in the fracture propagation mechanism. Building on a recently proposed phase-field method for frictional interfaces, we formulate a set of govern…
We introduce a phase-field method for continuous modeling of cracks with frictional contacts. Compared with standard discrete methods for frictional contacts, the phase-field method has two attractive features: (1) it can represent arbitrary crack geometry without an explicit function or basis enrichment, and (2) it does not require an algorithm for imposing contact constraints. The first feature, which is common in phase-field models of fracture, is attained by regularizing a sharp interface geometry using a surface density functional. The second feature, which is a unique advantage for conta…
This paper presents a framework for modeling failure in quasi-brittle geomaterials under different loading conditions. A micromechanics-based model is proposed in which the field variables are linked to physical mechanisms at the microcrack level: damage is related to the growth of microcracks, while plasticity is related to the frictional sliding of closed microcracks. Consequently, the hardening/softening functions and parameters entering the free energy follow from the definition of a single degradation function and the elastic material properties. The evolution of opening microcracks in te…
A novel phase field material point method is introduced for robust simulation of dynamic fracture in elastic media considering the most general case of anisotropic surface energy. Anisotropy is explicitly introduced through a properly defined crack density functional. The particular case of impact driven fracture is treated by employing a discrete field approach within the material point method setting. In this, the equations of motion and phase field governing equations are solved independently for each discrete field using a predictor-corrector algorithm. Contact at the interface is resolved…
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 …
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], unlik…
A high-accuracy framework for phase-field fracture interface reconstructions with application to Stokes fluid-filled fracture surrounded by an elastic medium
