Here, we present a comprehensive workflow to simulate single-phase flow and transport in fractured porous media using the discrete fracture matrix approach. The workflow has three primary parts: (1) a method for conforming mesh generation of and around a three-dimensional fracture network, (2) the discretization of the governing equations using a second-order mimetic finite difference method, and (3) implementation of numerical methods for high-performance computing environments. A method to create a conforming Delaunay tetrahedralization of the volume surrounding the fracture network, where the triangular cells of the fracture mesh are faces in the volume mesh, that addresses pathological cases which commonly arise and degrade mesh quality is also provided. Our open-source subsurface simulator uses a hierarchy of process kernels (one kernel per physical process) that allows for both strong and weak coupling of the fracture and matrix domains. We provide verification tests based on analytic solutions for flow and transport, as well as numerical convergence. We also provide multiple expositions of the method in complex fracture networks. In the first example, we demonstrate that the method is robust by considering two scenarios where the fracture network acts as a barrier to flow, as the primary pathway, or offers the same resistance as the surrounding matrix. In the second test, flow and transport through a three-dimensional stochastically generated network containing 257 fractures is presented.
Hyman, Jeffrey D., et al. "Flow and transport in three-dimensional discrete fracture matrix models using mimetic finite difference on a conforming multi-dimensional mesh." Journal of Computational Physics, vol. 466, Jun. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2022.111396
Hyman, Jeffrey D., Sweeney, Matthew R., Gable, Carl W., Svyatsky, Daniil, Lipnikov, Konstantin, & Moulton, J. David (2022). Flow and transport in three-dimensional discrete fracture matrix models using mimetic finite difference on a conforming multi-dimensional mesh. Journal of Computational Physics, 466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2022.111396
Hyman, Jeffrey D., Sweeney, Matthew R., Gable, Carl W., et al., "Flow and transport in three-dimensional discrete fracture matrix models using mimetic finite difference on a conforming multi-dimensional mesh," Journal of Computational Physics 466 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2022.111396
@article{osti_2310332,
author = {Hyman, Jeffrey D. and Sweeney, Matthew R. and Gable, Carl W. and Svyatsky, Daniil and Lipnikov, Konstantin and Moulton, J. David},
title = {Flow and transport in three-dimensional discrete fracture matrix models using mimetic finite difference on a conforming multi-dimensional mesh},
annote = {Here, we present a comprehensive workflow to simulate single-phase flow and transport in fractured porous media using the discrete fracture matrix approach. The workflow has three primary parts: (1) a method for conforming mesh generation of and around a three-dimensional fracture network, (2) the discretization of the governing equations using a second-order mimetic finite difference method, and (3) implementation of numerical methods for high-performance computing environments. A method to create a conforming Delaunay tetrahedralization of the volume surrounding the fracture network, where the triangular cells of the fracture mesh are faces in the volume mesh, that addresses pathological cases which commonly arise and degrade mesh quality is also provided. Our open-source subsurface simulator uses a hierarchy of process kernels (one kernel per physical process) that allows for both strong and weak coupling of the fracture and matrix domains. We provide verification tests based on analytic solutions for flow and transport, as well as numerical convergence. We also provide multiple expositions of the method in complex fracture networks. In the first example, we demonstrate that the method is robust by considering two scenarios where the fracture network acts as a barrier to flow, as the primary pathway, or offers the same resistance as the surrounding matrix. In the second test, flow and transport through a three-dimensional stochastically generated network containing 257 fractures is presented.},
doi = {10.1016/j.jcp.2022.111396},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2310332},
journal = {Journal of Computational Physics},
issn = {ISSN 0021-9991},
volume = {466},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Elsevier},
year = {2022},
month = {06}}
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
2310332
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--21-31458
Journal Information:
Journal of Computational Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Computational Physics Vol. 466; ISSN 0021-9991
Hyman, J. D.; Jiménez-Martínez, J.; Viswanathan, H. S.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 374, Issue 2078https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2015.0426