Material point method simulation of hydro-mechanical behaviour in twophase porous geomaterials: A state-of-the-art review

The material point method(MPM)has been gaining increasing popularity as an appropriate approach to the solution of coupled hydro-mechanical problems involving large deformation.In this paper,we survey the current state-of-the-art in the MPM simulation of hydro-mechanical behaviour in two-phase porous geomaterials.The review covers the recent advances and developments in the MPM and their extensions to capture the coupled hydro-mechanical problems involving large deformations.The focus of this review is aiming at providing a clear picture of what has or has not been developed or implemented for simulating two-phase coupled large deformation problems,which will provide some direct reference for both practitioners and researchers.

A 3D microseismic data-driven damage model for jointed rock mass under hydro-mechanical coupling conditions and its application

Rock mass is a fractured porous medium usually subjected to complex geostress and fluid pressure simultaneously.Moreover,the properties of rock mass change in time and space due to mining-induced fractures.Therefore,it is always challenging to accurately measure rock mass properties.In this study,a three-dimensional(3D)microseismic(MS)data-driven damage model for jointed rock mass under hydro-mechanical coupling conditions is proposed.It is a 3D finite element model that takes seepage,damage and stress field effects into account jointly.Multiple factors(i.e.joints,water and microseismicity)are used to optimize the rock mass mechanical parameters at different scales.The model is applied in Shirengou iron mine to study the damage evolution of rock mass and assess the crown pillar stability during the transition from open-pit to underground mining.It is found that the damage pattern is mostly controlled by the structure,water and rock mass parameters.The damage pattern is evidently different from the two-dimensional result and is more consistent with the field observations.This difference is caused by the MS-derived damage acting on the rock mass.MS data are responsible for gradually correcting the damage zone,changing the direction in which it expands,and promoting it to evolve close to reality.For the crown pillar,the proposed model yields a more trustworthy safety factor.In order to guarantee the stability of the pillar,it is suggested to take waterproof and reinforcement measures in areas with a high degree of damage.

Characteristics on Hydro-mechanical Transmission in Power Shift Process

To improve the vehicular power and acceleration performance and reduce the shift impact, the study of the characteristics on power shift is necessary. Based on the flexible hydraulic unit of hydro-mechanical transmission, this paper explores the feasibility of shift without power interruption. With the four models concerning displacement ratio, rotational speed, rotational torque and power at ideal shift point, the characteristics on power shift in different running conditions are analyzed, and the rules of power shift are revealed. The theoretical analysis and test results show that the hydro-mechanical transmission can shift without power interruption in different running conditions. Furthermore, there exists an ideal shift point in theory, at which point the cycle power in hydro-mechanical transmission can＇t be generated, and the impact on the system can be reduced to the minimum. However, if before or after this ideal shift point, a cycle power can be generated.

Investigation of SUS304 Stainless Steel with Warm Hydro-mechanical Deep Drawing

Basing on warm mechanical property of SUS304 stainless steel and hydro-mechanical deep drawing process, warm hydro-mechanical deep drawing process is proposed and discussed with experiments in this paper. The experiments are performed at four different temperatures. The results show that the formability of stainless steel is improved under the condition of warm temperature. Warm hydro-mechanical deep drawing raises limiting drawing ratio of SUS304 effectively, and limiting drawing ratio 3.3 is obtained, which is beyond 2.0 with conventional deep drawing. The temperature of 90℃ is beneficial to the forming of SUS304 stainless steel, the strain-induced martensite is controlled effectively, and the thickness distribution is more uniform.

Distribution characteristics and impact on pump＇s efficiency of hydro-mechanical losses of axial piston pump over wide operating ranges

A novel performance model of losses of pump was presented,which allows an explicit insight into the losses of various friction pairs of pump.The aim is to clarify that to what extent the hydro-mechanical losses affect efficiency,and to further gain an insight into the variation and distribution characteristics of hydro-mechanical losses over wide operating ranges.A good agreement is found in the comparisons between simulation and experimental results.At rated speed,the hydro-mechanical losses take a proportion ranging from 87% to 89% and from 68% to 97%,respectively,of the total power losses of pump working under 5 MPa pressure conditions,and 13% of full displacement conditions.Furthermore,within the variation of speed ranging from 48% to 100% of rated speed,and pressure ranging from 14% to 100% of rated pressure,the main sources of hydro-mechanical losses change to slipper swash plate pair and valve plate cylinder pair at low displacement conditions,from the piston cylinder pair and slipper swash plate pair at full displacement conditions.Besides,the hydro-mechanical losses in ball guide retainer pair are found to be almost independent of pressure.The derived conclusions clarify the main orientations of efforts to improve the efficiency performance of pump,and the proposed model can service for the design of pump with higher efficiency performance.

Hydro-mechanical behavior of an argillaceous limestone considered as a potential host formation for radioactive waste disposal

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission(CNSC), Canada’s nuclear regulator, conducts regulatory research in order to develop independent knowledge on safety aspects related to the deep geological disposal of radioactive wastes. In Canada, the Cobourg limestone of the Michigan Basin is currently considered as a potential host formation for geological disposal. The understanding of the hydromechanical behavior of such a host rock is one of the essential requirements for the assessment of its performance as a barrier against radionuclide migration. The excavation of galleries and shafts of a deep geological repository(DGR) can induce damage to the surrounding rock. The excavation damaged zone(EDZ) has higher permeability and reduced strength compared to the undisturbed rock and those factors must be considered in the design and safety assessment of the DGR. The extent and characteristics of the EDZ depend on the size of the opening, the rock type and its properties, and the in situ stresses, among other factors. In addition, the extent and characteristics of the EDZ can change with time due to rock strength degradation, evolution of fractures within the EDZ, and the redistribution of pore pressure around the excavation. In this research project initiated by the CNSC, the authors conducted experimental and theoretical research in order to assess the hydro-mechanical behavior of the Cobourg limestone under undamaged and damaged conditions, both in the short and long terms. The short-term behavior was investigated by a program of triaxial tests with the measurement of permeability evolution on specimens of Cobourg limestone. The authors formulate a coupled hydro-mechanical model to simulate the stress-strain response and evolution of the permeability during those triaxial tests. Using creep and relaxation data from a similar limestone, the model was extended to include its long-term strength degradation. The model successfully simulated both the short-and long-term hydro-mechanical behavior of the limestone during those tests. This provides confidence that the main physical processes have been adequately understood and formulated.

Hydro-mechanical coupling mechanism on joint of clay core-wall and concrete cut-off wall

The joint of clay core-wall and concrete cut-off wall is one of the weakest parts in high earth and rockftll dams.A kind of highly plastic clay is always fixed on the joint to fit the large shear deformation between clay core-wall and concrete cut-offwall,so the hydro-mechanical coupling mechanisms on the joint under high stress,high hydraulic gradient,and large shear deformation are of great importance for the evaluation of dam safety.The hydro-mechanical coupling characteristics of the joint of the highly plastic clay and the concrete cut-off wall in a high earth and rockfill dam in China were studied by using a newly designed soil-structure contact erosion apparatus.The experimental results indicate that：1） Shear failure on the joint is due to the hydro-mechanical coupling effect of stress and seepage failure.The seepage failure will induce the final shear failure when the ratio of deviatoric stress to confining pressure is within 1.0-1.2; 2） A negative exponential permeability empirical model for the joint denoted by a newly defined principal stress function,which considers the coupling effect of confining pressure and axial pressure on the permeability,is established based on hydro-mechanical coupling experiments.3） The variation of the settlement before and after seepage failure is very different.The settlement before seepage failure changes very slowly,while it increases significantly after the seepage failure.4） The stress-strain relationship is of a strain softening type.5） Flow along the joint still follows Darcian flow rule.The results will provide an important theoretical basis for the further evaluation on the safety of the high earth and rockfill dam.

A dissolution-diffusion sliding model for soft rock grains with hydro-mechanical effect

The deformation and failure of soft rock affected by hydro-mechanical（HM） effect are one of the most concerns in geotechnical engineering, which are basically attributed to the grain sliding of soft rock. This study tried to develop a dissolution-diffusion sliding model for the typical red bed soft rock in South China. Based on hydration film, mineral dissolution and diffusion theory, and geochemical thermodynamics, a dissolution-diffusion sliding model with the HM effect was established to account for the sliding rate. Combined with the digital image processing technology, the relationship between the grain size of soft rock and the amplitude of sliding surface was presented. An equation for the strain rate of soft rocks under steady state was also derived. The reliability of the dissolution-diffusion sliding model was verified by triaxial creep tests on the soft rock with the HM coupling effect and by the relationship between the inversion average disjoining pressure and the average thickness of the hydration film. The results showed that the sliding rate of the soft rock grains was affected significantly by the waviness of sliding surface, the shear stress, and the average thickness of hydration film. The average grain size is essential for controlling the steady-state creep rate of soft rock. This study provides a new idea for investigating the deformation and failure of soft rock with the HM effect.

Accounting for anisotropic effects in the prediction of the hydro-mechanical response of a ventilated tunnel in an argillaceous rock

In order to investigate the hydro-mechanical （HM） and chemical perturbations induced in an argillaceous formation by forced ventilation during the operational period of a nuclear waste repository, a specific experiment has been performed in a tunnel, at Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory （URL） in Switzerland. This experiment has been selected in the international project DECOVALEX for model vali- dation and the numerical simulation of this ventilation experiment （VE） is the object of the present paper. Since the argillaceous rock exhibits anisotropic properties, particular attention is given to the evaluation of the effects of various anisotropic features on the predicted results. In situ measurements such as relative humidity （RH）, global water mass extracted, pore water pressure, water content, and relative displace- ments are compared to predictions using both isotropic and anisotropic parameters. Water permeability anisotropy is shown to be the most influencing parameter by far, whereas in situ stress anisotropy has an effect only during the excavation phase. The anisotropy for mechanical parameterization has also some influence, in particular through HM couplings. These HM couplings have the potential to be very significant in terms of providing confidence in describing the experimental observation, and should be considered for further investigation.

Calibration of coupled hydro-mechanical properties of grain-based model for simulating fracture process and associated pore pressure evolution in excavation damage zone around deep tunnels

The objective of this paper is to develop a methodology for calibration of a discrete element grain-based model(GBM)to replicate the hydro-mechanical properties of a brittle rock measured in the laboratory,and to apply the calibrated model to simulating the formation of excavation damage zone(EDZ)around underground excavations.Firstly,a new cohesive crack model is implemented into the universal distinct element code(UDEC)to control the fracturing behaviour of materials under various loading modes.Next,a methodology for calibration of the components of the UDEC-Voronoi model is discussed.The role of connectivity of induced microcracks on increasing the permeability of laboratory-scale samples is investigated.The calibrated samples are used to investigate the influence of pore fluid pressure on weakening the drained strength of the laboratory-scale rock.The validity of the Terzaghi’s effective stress law for the drained peak strength of low-porosity rock is tested by performing a series of biaxial compression test simulations.Finally,the evolution of damage and pore pressure around two unsupported circular tunnels in crystalline granitic rock is studied.

Research and Design of Hydro-mechanical Continuously Variable Transmission for Tractors

A new type continuous variable transmission device, a hydro-mechanical continuously variable transmission （HMCVT） for agricultural tractors is developed, which is composed of a single planetary gear differential train, a hydraulic transmission system consisted of variable displacement pump and fixed displacement motor and a multi-gear fixed step radio transmission. Based on the analysis of types of hydrostatic mechanical transmission （HMT） and styles of hydraulic transmission, the general drive scheme for HMCVT is obtained. The method of selecting mechanical parameters and hydraulic units is explained, and the stepless speed regulation characteristic of HMCVT is analyzed. This paper also specializes the calculating method of transmission efficiency. It shows that tractors assembled with HMCVT can obtain a continuously variable speed and achieve high drive efficiency.

Numerical simulation of sanding using a coupled hydro-mechanical sand erosion model

Mechanical failure of materials adjacent to the production cavity and material disaggregation caused by fluid drag are considered as the most important parameters that affect sand production.In light of such factors,the coupling of two mechanisms-mechanical instability and hydrodynamic erosion-is indispensable in order to model this phenomenon successfully.This paper examines the applicability of a coupled hydro-mechanical erosion criterion for simulating sand production using the finite element method.The porous medium was considered fully saturated.The onset of sanding and production of sand were predicted by coupling mechanical failure and subsequent erosion of the grain particles utilizing a sanding model.To consider the erosion process,the Papamichos and Stavropoulou(1998)’s sand erosion criterion was incorporated into the finite element code.Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian(ALE)adaptive mesh approach was used to account for large amounts of erosive material loss.Besides,in order to address the problem of severe mesh distortion,the“mesh mapping technique”was employed.Sand production in a horizontal wellbore and in a field case was simulated to demonstrate capabilities of the proposed model.In addition,principal parameters affecting sand production,including in situ stresses,cohesion,perforation orientation,and drawdown were examined.The results indicated the efficiency of the model used in evaluation of sanding in the field.Parametric studies indicated that in situ stresses and formation cohesion could be considered as dominant factors affecting the amount of sand production.

Analysis of hydro-mechanical processes in a ventilated tunnel in an argillaceous rock on the basis of different modelling approaches

In this paper, a modelling benchmark exercise from the DECOVALEX-2011 project is presented. The bench- mark is based on the performance and results of a laboratory drying test and of the ventilation experiment （VE） carried out in the Mont Terri Underground Rock Laboratory （URL）. Both tests involve Opalinus clay. The work aims at the identification, understanding and quantification of mechanisms taking place during the ventilation of a gallery in argillaceous host rocks on one hand and at investigating the capacity of different codes and individuals to reproduce these processes on the other hand. The 4-year in situ VE took place in a 1.3 m diameter unlined tunnel and included two resaturation-desaturation cycles. The test area was equipped with over one hundred sensors （including the global water mass balance of the system, relative humidity （RH）, water content, liquid pressure, relative displacement and concentration of some chemical species） to monitor the rock behaviour during ventilation. The laboratory drying experiment, carried out before the VE, was designed to mimic the in situ conditions. The work was organized in a progressive manner in terms of complexity of the computations to be performed, geared towards the full hydro-mechano-chemical （HMC） understanding of the VE, the final objective. The main results from the modelling work reported herein are that the response of the host rock to ventilation in argillaceous rocks is mainly governed by hydraulic processes （advective Darcy flow and non-advective vapour diffu- sion） and that the hydro-mechanical （TM） back coupling is weak. A ventilation experiment may thus be regarded as a large scale-long time pump test and it is used to determine the hydraulic conductivity of the rock mass.

Coupled hydro-mechanical effect of a fractured rock mass under high water pressure

To explore the variation of permeability and deformation behaviors of a fractured rock mass in high water pressure,a high pressure permeability test（HPPT）,including measuring sensors of pore water pressure and displacement of the rock mass,was designed according to the hydrogeological condition of Heimifeng pumped storage power station.With the assumption of radial water flow pattern in the rock mass during the HPPT,a theoretical formula was presented to estimate the coefficient of permeability of the rock mass using water pressures in injection and measuring boreholes.The variation in permeability of the rock mass with the injected water pressure was studied according to the suggested formula.By fitting the relationship between the coefficient of permeability and the injected water pressure,a mathematical expression was obtained and used in the numerical simulations.For a better understanding of the relationship between the pore water pressure and the displacement of the rock mass,a 3D numerical method based on a coupled hydro-mechanical theory was employed to simulate the response of the rock mass during the test.By comparison of the calculated and measured data of pore water pressure and displacement,the deformation behaviors of the rock mass were analyzed.It is shown that the variation of displacement in the fractured rock mass is caused by water flow passing through it under high water pressure,and the rock deformation during the test could be calculated by using the coupled hydro-mechanical model.

Approaches for representing hydro-mechanical coupling between sub-surface excavations and argillaceous porous media at the ventilation experiment, Mont Terri

At the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory （Switzerland）, a field-scale investigation has been conducted in order to investigate the hydro-mechanical and chemical perturbations induced in the argilla- ceous formation by forced ventilation through a tunnel. This experiment has been selected to be used for processing model development and validation in the international project DECOVALEX-2011. The con- ceptual and mathematical representation of the engineered void, which itself forms a major part of the experiment and is not simply a boundary condition, is the subject of this paper. A variety of approaches have been examined by the contributors to DECOVALEX and a summary of their findings is presented here. Two major aspects are discussed. Firstly, the approaches for the treatment of the surface condition at the porous media/tunnel interface are examined, with two equivalent but differing formulations successfully demonstrated. Secondly, approaches for representing the tunnel with associated air and water vapour movement, when coupled with the hydro-mechanical （HM） representation of the porous medium, are also examined. It is clearly demonstrated that, for the experimental conditions of the ventilation experiment （VE） that abstracted physical and empirical models of the tunnel, can be used successfully to represent the hydraulic behaviour of the tunnel and the hydraulic interaction between the tunnel and the surrounding rock mass.

Coupled hydro-mechanical analysis of expansive soils:Parametric identification and calibration

A methodology for identifying and calibrating the material parameters for a coupled hydro-mechanical problem is presented in this pape r.For validation purpose,a laboratory-based water infiltration test was numerically simulated using finite element method(FEM).The test was conducted using a self-designed column-type experimental device,which mimicked the wetting process of a candidate backfill material in a nuclear waste repository.The real-time measurements of key state variables(e.g.water content,relative humidity,temperature,and total stresses)were performed with the monitoring sensors along the height of cylindrical soil sample.For numerical simulation,the modified Barcelona Basic Model(BBM)along with soil-water retention model for compacted bentonite was used.It shows that the identified model parameters successfully captured the moisture migration process under an applied hydraulic gradient in a bentonite-based compacted soil sample.A comparison between the measured and predicted values of total stresses both in axial and lateral directions along with other state variables revealed that heterogeneous moisture content was distributed along the hydration-path,resulting in non-uniform stress-deformation characteristics of soil.

The coupled hydro-mechanical behaviours of compacted crushed Callovo-Oxfordian argillite

Callovo-Oxfordian （COx） argillite obtained from the excavation of high-level radioactive waste geological disposal has been evaluated as an alternative sealing/backfill material in France. This paper presents an experimental investigation into the hydro-mechanical behaviour of compacted crushed COx argillite. A series of oedorneter compressive tests including various loading-unloading cycles were conducted on COx argillite powders at different initial water contents. After reaching the desired dry density （2.0 Mg/m^3）, the vertical stress was reduced to different levels （7.0 and 0.5 MPa） and the compacted sample was then flooded under constant volume conditions while measuring the changes in the vertical stress. It was found that the initial water content significantly affects the compressive behaviour. The measured saturated hydraulic conductivity is less than 1×10^-10m/s.

Coupled hydro-mechanical evolution of fracture permeability in sand injectite intrusions

Sandstone“injectite”intrusions are generally developed by the fluidization of weakly cemented sandstones and their subsequent injection into fractured reservoirs.In this work,a continuum coupled hydromechanical model TOUGH-FLAC3D is applied to simulate the discrete fracture network in large-scale sand injectite complexes.A sand production constitutive model is incorporated to consider the formation of sand through plastic deformation and its influence on evolution of fracture permeability.Overpressures in the fluidized sand slurry drives the injection with sand dikes intruded upwards,typically into previously low permeability“tight”mudstone formations.The contrast in poroelastic properties of the underlying weak sandstone and overlying injectite receptor directly affects the evolution of fracture aperture both during and after intrusion.Fluid drainage into the unconsolidated matrix may reduce the extent of fracture aperture growth,through the formation of shear bands.The results of this work have broad implications related to the emplacement of sandstone intrusions and subsequent hydrocarbon accumulation,maturation and then production.

Axisymmetric alternating direction explicit scheme for efficient coupled simulation of hydro-mechanical interaction in geotechnical engineering-Application to circular footing and deep tunnel in saturated ground

Explicit solution techniques have been widely used in geotechnical engineering for simulating the coupled hydro-mechanical(H-M) interaction of fluid flow and deformation induced by structures built above and under saturated ground, i.e. circular footing and deep tunnel. However, the technique is only conditionally stable and requires small time steps, portending its inefficiency for simulating large-scale H-M problems. To improve its efficiency, the unconditionally stable alternating direction explicit(ADE)scheme could be used to solve the flow problem. The standard ADE scheme, however, is only moderately accurate and is restricted to uniform grids and plane strain flow conditions. This paper aims to remove these drawbacks by developing a novel high-order ADE scheme capable of solving flow problems in nonuniform grids and under axisymmetric conditions. The new scheme is derived by performing a fourthorder finite difference(FD) approximation to the spatial derivatives of the axisymmetric fluid-diffusion equation in a non-uniform grid configuration. The implicit Crank-Nicolson technique is then applied to the resulting approximation, and the subsequent equation is split into two alternating direction sweeps,giving rise to a new axisymmetric ADE scheme. The pore pressure solutions from the new scheme are then sequentially coupled with an existing geomechanical simulator in the computer code fast Lagrangian analysis of continua(FLAC). This coupling procedure is called the sequentially-explicit coupling technique based on the fourth-order axisymmetric ADE scheme or SEA-4-AXI. Application of SEA-4-AXI for solving axisymmetric consolidation of a circular footing and of advancing tunnel in deep saturated ground shows that SEA-4-AXI reduces computer runtime up to 42%-50% that of FLAC’s basic scheme without numerical instability. In addition, it produces high numerical accuracy of the H-M solutions with average percentage difference of only 0.5%-1.8%.

Polynomial chaos surrogate and bayesian learning for coupled hydro-mechanical behavior of soil slope

As rainfall infiltrates into soil slopes,the hydraulic and mechanical behaviors of soils are interacted.In this study,an efficient probabilistic parameter estimation method for coupled hydro-mechanical behavior in soil slope is proposed.This method integrates the Polynomial Chaos Expansion(PCE)method,the coupled hydro-mechanical modeling,and the Bayesian learning method.A coupled hydro-mechanical numerical model is established for the simulation of behaviors of unsaturated soil slope under rainfall infiltration,following by training a cheap-to-run PCE surrogate to replace it.Probabilistic estimation of soil parameters is conducted based on the Bayesian learning technique with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo(MCMC)simulation.A numerical example of an unsaturated slope under rainfall infiltration is presented to illustrate the proposed method.The effects of measurement durations and response types on parameter estimation are addressed.The result shows that with the increase of measurement duration,the uncertainties of soil parameters are significantly reduced.The uncertainties of hydraulic properties are reduced significantly using the pore water pressure data,while the uncertainties of soil strength parameters are reduced greatly using the measured displacement data.