Fluid-driven fractures in granular media: Insights from numerical investigations

Sun, Zhuang; Li, Zihao; Espinoza, D. Nicolas; Balhoff, Matthew T.

doi:10.1103/physreve.101.042903

Title: Fluid-driven fractures in granular media: Insights from numerical investigations

Journal Article · Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Physical Review E

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.101.042903· OSTI ID:1801450

^[1]; Li, Zihao ^[1];

^[1]; Balhoff, Matthew T. ^[1]

Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

We investigate the mechanisms of opening-mode fracture initiation in granular media. The study is based on a simulation of grain-scale fluid-grain interactions through a coupled numerical approach in which the discrete element method is used to solve for the mechanics of a solid granular medium, and computational fluid dynamics is used to model fluid flow and drag forces. In this work, we present benchmark problems with analytical solutions and validate this numerical model against experiments on a viscous-drag-driven cavity in the literature. Additional simulation results show fracture initiation mechanisms in a random granular packing subjected to constant boundary stresses and to fluid injection with a localized source. The dimensionless variable $$F_s/F_{sk}$$ (ratio of seepage force $$F_s$$ and skeletal force $$F_{sk}$$) incorporates the impacts of physical properties and injection parameters including fluid viscosity, injection velocity, grain size, and effective stresses, and it has been used as a criterion separating regimes of fluid invasion and drag-driven fracture opening. Our simulation results show that $$F_s/F_{sk}$$ in combination with $$τ_1$$ (ratio of diffusion time from hydromechanical coupling and injection time) serves as a prediction of fracture opening within granular packing. We suggest a simple criterion ($$F_s/F_{sk}$$ > 1 or $$τ_1$$ > 0.17) that is valid for various types of granular media and injection conditions to determine if fracture opening will occur. Among other applications, this study is useful to predict the initiation and propagation of fractures in natural sediments.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security (CFSES)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0001114

OSTI ID:: 1801450

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1615706

Journal Information:: Physical Review E, Vol. 101, Issue 4; ISSN 2470-0045

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 8 works

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