Coupled hydro-thermo-mechanical modeling of hydraulic fracturing in quasi-brittle rocks using BPM-DEM

This paper presents an improved understanding of coupled hydro-thermo-mechanical(HTM) hydraulic fracturing of quasi-brittle rock using the bonded particle model(BPM) within the discrete element method(DEM). BPM has been recently extended by the authors to account for coupled convective econductive heat flow and transport, and to enable full hydro-thermal fluidesolid coupled modeling.The application of the work is on enhanced geothermal systems(EGSs), and hydraulic fracturing of hot dry rock(HDR) is studied in terms of the impact of temperature difference between rock and a flowing fracturing fluid. Micro-mechanical investigation of temperature and fracturing fluid effects on hydraulic fracturing damage in rocks is presented. It was found that fracture is shorter with pronounced secondary microcracking along the main fracture for the case when the convectiveeconductive thermal heat exchange is considered. First, the convection heat exchange during low-viscosity fluid infiltration in permeable rock around the wellbore causes significant rock cooling, where a finger-like fluid infiltration was observed. Second, fluid infiltration inhibits pressure rise during pumping and delays fracture initiation and propagation. Additionally, thermal damage occurs in the whole area around the wellbore due to rock cooling and cold fluid infiltration. The size of a damaged area around the wellbore increases with decreasing fluid dynamic viscosity. Fluid and rock compressibility ratio was found to have significant effect on the fracture propagation velocity.

Numerical simulation of frost jacking response of a single pile considering hydro-thermo-mechanical coupling

Permafrost is widely distributed in China and around the world.In permafrost regions,soil frost heave and thawing are severe and frequent,and can destabilize pile foundations.To this end,a finite element model of a single pile in frozen soil is established to investigate the frost heave and frost jacking response to ensure its safety in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.Firstly,a hydro-thermal coupling model of a single pile in frozen soil is established based on coupling parameters and initial and boundary conditions.Then the temperature and moisture distributions are analyzed through the established coupling model.A hydro-thermo-mechanical coupling model is developed by importing the ice content and temperature results.Simulation results indicate that the amount of frost heave is greater at locations closer to the ground surface,and the displacement is smaller for frozen soil that is closer to the side of the pile.The results on frost jacking behavior of piles from this study can serve as a reference for the design,construction and maintenance of foundations.