Thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical(THMC)coupling fracture criterion of brittle rock

Based on analysis of thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical(THMC)coupling mechanism for brittle rock,THMC coupling indicator in terms of rock porosity was introduced to represent the influencing degree of THMC coupling field on stress field in order to establish THMC coupling fracture criterion.A novel real-time measurement method of permeability(related to porosity)was proposed to determine the THMC coupling indicator,and self-designed THMC coupling tests and scanning electron microscope tests were conducted on pre-cracked red sandstone specimens to study the macroscopic and microscopic fracture mechanism.Research results show that the higher the hydraulic pressure is,the smaller the crack initiation load is and the easier the Mode I fracture occurs.Test results are in good agreement with prediction results(crack initiation load and angle,and fracture mode),which can verify the effectiveness of the newly established THMC coupling fracture criterion.This new fracture criterion can be also further extended to predict THMC coupling fracture of multi-crack problem.

Numerical Simulation of Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical Response Caused by CO_(2)Injection into Saline Geological Formations:A Case Study from the Ordos Project,China

Thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical(THMC)interactions are prevalent during CO_(2)geological sequestration(CGS).In this study,a sequential coupling THMC numerical simulation program was constructed,which can be used to explore the following issues of CGS:fluid and heat flow,solute transport;stresses,displacements and rock failures related to geo-mechanical effects;equilibrium and kinetic chemical reactions;chemical damage to mechanical properties of the rock.Then,the coupling program was applied to the Ordos CGS Project to study the formation response under the multifield interaction caused by CO_(2)injection.The simulation results show that the mechanical process dominates the short CO_(2)injection period.Specifically,the formation’s permeability near the injection well increases by 43%,due to the reduction of effective stress,which significantly promotes the lateral migration of CO_(2).When the injection rate exceeds 0.15 million tons per year,the cohesion of the reservoir rock is not enough to resist the shear force inside the rock and rock failure may occur.During the subsequent long-term sequestration period(200 years),the influence of mineral reactions gradually increases.Due to calcite dissolution,the shear modulus of caprock is predicted to decrease by 7.6%,which will to some extent increase the risk of rock failure.

A multiphysics-viscoplastic cap model for simulating blast response of cemented tailings backfill

Although a large number of previous researches have significantly contributed to the understanding of the quasi-static mechanical behavior of cemented tailings backfill,an evolutive porous medium used in underground mine cavities,very few efforts have been made to improve the knowledge on its response under sudden dynamic loading during the curing process.In fact,there is a great need for such information given that cemented backfill structures are often subjected to blast loadings due to mine exploitations.In this study,a coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical(THMC)-viscoplastic cap model is developed to describe the behavior of cementing mine backfill material under blast loading.A THMC model for cemented backfill is adopted to evaluate its behavior and evolution of its properties in curing processes with coupled thermal,hydraulic,mechanical and chemical factors.Then,the model is coupled to a Perzyna type of viscoplastic model with a modified smooth surface cap envelope and a variable bulk modulus,in order to reasonably capture the nonlinear and rate-dependent behaviors of the cemented tailings backfill under blast loading.All of the parameters required for the variable-modulus viscoplastic cap model were obtained by applying the THMC model to reproducing evolution of cemented paste backfill(CPB)properties in the curing process.Thus,the behavior of hydrating cemented backfill under high-rate impacts can be evaluated under any curing time of concern.The validation results of the proposed model indicate a good agreement between the experimental and the simulated results.The authors believe that the proposed model will contribute to a better understanding of the performance of hydrating cemented backfill under blasting,and also to practical risk management of backfill structures associated with such a dynamic condition.

Research advances in multi-field coupling model for geothermal reservoir heat extraction

As a kind of clean renewable energy,the production and utilization of geothermal resources can make a great contribution to optimizing the energy structure and energy conservation and emission reduction.The circulating heat extraction process of working fluid will disturb the equilibrium state of physical and chemical fields inside the reservoir,and involve the mutual coupling of heat transfer,flow,stress,and chemical reaction.Revealing the coupling mechanism of flow and heat transfer inside the reservoir during geothermal exploitation can provide important theoretical support for the efficient exploitation of geothermal resources.This paper reviews the research advances of the multi-field coupling model in the reservoir during geothermal production over the past 40 years.The thrust of this paper is on objective analysis and evaluation of the importance of each coupling process and its influence on reservoir heat extraction performance.Finally,we discuss the existing challenges and perspectives to promote the future development of the geothermal reservoir multi-field coupling model.An accurate understanding of the multi-field coupling mechanism,an efficient cross-scale modeling method,as well as the accurate characterization of reservoir fracture morphology,are crucial for the multi-field coupling model of geothermal production.