Fluid-driven fractures in granular media: Insights from numerical investigations
Abstract
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.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security (CFSES)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1801450
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1615706
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0001114
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Physical Review E
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 101; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 2470-0045
- Publisher:
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS; Physics
Citation Formats
Sun, Zhuang, Li, Zihao, Espinoza, D. Nicolas, and Balhoff, Matthew T. Fluid-driven fractures in granular media: Insights from numerical investigations. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1103/physreve.101.042903.
Sun, Zhuang, Li, Zihao, Espinoza, D. Nicolas, & Balhoff, Matthew T. Fluid-driven fractures in granular media: Insights from numerical investigations. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.101.042903
Sun, Zhuang, Li, Zihao, Espinoza, D. Nicolas, and Balhoff, Matthew T. Wed .
"Fluid-driven fractures in granular media: Insights from numerical investigations". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.101.042903. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1801450.
@article{osti_1801450,
title = {Fluid-driven fractures in granular media: Insights from numerical investigations},
author = {Sun, Zhuang and Li, Zihao and Espinoza, D. Nicolas and Balhoff, Matthew T.},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.1103/physreve.101.042903},
journal = {Physical Review E},
number = 4,
volume = 101,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
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