NUMERICAL MODELING FOR COUPLED THERMO-HYDRO-MECHANICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES (THMC) OF GEOLOGICAL MEDIA——INTERNATIONAL AND CHINESE EXPERIENCES

The coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical and chemical (THMC) processes of stress/deformation,fluid flow,temperature and geochemical reactions of the geological media,namely fractured rocks and soils,play an important role in design,construction,operation and environmental impact assessments of rock and soil engineering works such as underground nuclear waste repositories,oil/gas production and storage,geothermal energy extraction,landslides and slope stability,hydropower and water conservancy complexes,etc. This paper presents an overview of the international and Chinese experiences in numerical modeling of the coupled THMC processes for both the state-of-the-knowledge,remaining challenges and possible future prospects.

Modelling thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical interactions for nuclear waste disposal

A fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechano-chemical（THMC） formulation is described in this paper.Special attention is paid to phenomena likely to be encountered in clay barriers used as engineered barriers in the disposal of nuclear radioactive waste.The types of processes considered in the chemical formulation include hydrolysis,complex formation,oxidation/reduction reactions,acid/base reactions,precipitation/dissolution of minerals and cation exchange.Both kinetics-and equilibrium-controlled reactions are incorporated.The formulation is implemented in a numerical code.An application is presented concerning the performance of a large-scale in-situ heating test simulating high-level radioactive waste repository conditions.

A fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical model for unsaturated porous media

In examining potential host rocks for such purposes as the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes,it is important to understand the coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical（THM） behavior of a porous medium.A rigorous and fully unified coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical model for unsaturated porous media is required to simulate the complex coupling mechanisms involved.Based on modified Darcy＇s and Fourier＇s laws,equations of mechanical equilibrium,mass conservation and energy conservation are derived by introducing void ratio and volumetric liquid water content into the model.The newly derived model takes into account the effects of temperature on the dynamic viscosity of liquid water and void ratio,the influence of liquid flow on temperature gradient（thermo-osmosis）,the influence on mass and heat conservation equations,and the influence of heat flow on water pressure gradient and thermal convection.The new coupled THM constitutive model is constructed by a finite element program and is used to simulate the coupled behavior of a tunnel during excavation,ventilation and concrete lining stages.Oil and gas engineering,underground disposal of nuclear waste and tunnel engineering may be benefited from the development of the new model.

Numerical modeling of coupled thermo-mechanical response of a rock pillar

Understanding the rock mass response to excavation and thermal loading and improving the capability of the numerical models for simulating the progressive failure process of brittle rocks are important for safety assessment and optimization design of nuclear waste repositories.The international cooperative DECOVALEX-2011 project provides a platform for development,validation and comparison of numerical models,in which the sp pillar stability experiment（APSE） was selected as the modeling target for Task B.This paper presents the modeling results of Wuhan University（WHU） team for stages 1 and 2 of Task B by using a coupled thermo-mechanical model within the framework of continuum mechanics.The rock mass response to excavation is modeled with linear elastic,elastoplastic and brittle-plastic models,while the response to heating is modeled with a coupled thermo-elastic model.The capabilities and limitations of the model for representation of the thermo-mechanical responses of the rock pillar are discussed by comparing the modeling results with experimental observations.The results may provide a helpful reference for the stability and safety assessment of the hard granite host rock in China＇s Beishan preselected area for high-level radioactive waste disposal.

Thermo-mechanical coupled analysis of hot ring rolling process

A 3D rigid-plastic and coupled thermo-mechanical FE model for hot ring rolling(HRR) was developed based on DEFORM 3D software,then coupled heat transferring,material flow and temperature distribution of the ring in HRR were simulated and the effects of process parameters on them were analyzed.The results show that the deformation nonuniformity of ring blank increases with the increase of the rotational speed of driver roll and friction factor or the decrease of the feed rate of idle roll and initial temperature of ring blank.The temperature nonuniformity of ring blank decreases with the increase of the feed rate of idle roll or the decrease of initial temperature of ring blank and friction factor.There is an optimum rotational speed of driver roll under which the temperature distribution of ring blank is the most uniform.The results obtained can provide a guide for forming parameters optimization and quality control.

Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical simulation of CO2 enhanced gas recovery with an extended equation of state module for TOUGH2MP-FLAC3D

As one of the most important ways to reduce the greenhouse gas emission,carbon dioxide（CO2）enhanced gas recovery（CO2-EGR） is attractive since the gas recovery can be enhanced simultaneously with CO2sequestration.Based on the existing equation of state（EOS） module of TOUGH2 MP,extEOS7C is developed to calculate the phase partition of H2O-CO2-CH4-NaCl mixtures accurately with consideration of dissolved NaCI and brine properties at high pressure and temperature conditions.Verifications show that it can be applied up to the pressure of 100 MPa and temperature of 150℃.The module was implemented in the linked simulator TOUGH2MP-FLAC3 D for the coupled hydro-mechanical simulations.A simplified three-dimensional（3D）1/4 model（2.2 km×1 km×1 km） which consists of the whole reservoir,caprock and baserock was generated based on the geological conditions of a gas field in the North German Basin.The simulation results show that,under an injection rate of 200,000 t/yr and production rate of 200,000 sm3/d,CO2breakthrough occurred in the case with the initial reservoir pressure of 5 MPa but did not occur in the case of 42 MPa.Under low pressure conditions,the pressure driven horizontal transport is the dominant process;while under high pressure conditions,the density driven vertical flow is dominant.Under the considered conditions,the CO2-EGR caused only small pressure changes.The largest pore pressure increase（2 MPa） and uplift（7 mm） occurred at the caprock bottom induced by only CO2injection.The caprock had still the primary stress state and its integrity was not affected.The formation water salinity and temperature variations of ±20℃ had small influences on the CO2-EGR process.In order to slow down the breakthrough,it is suggested that CO2-EGR should be carried out before the reservoir pressure drops below the critical pressure of CO2.

THM Coupled Modeling in Near Field of an Assumed HLW Deep Geological Disposal Repository

One of the most suitable ways under study for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is isolation in deep geological repositories. It is very important to research the thermo-hydro- mechanical (THM) coupled processes associated with an HLW disposal repository. Non-linear coupled equations, which are used to describe the THM coupled process and are suited to saturated-unsaturated porous media, are presented in this paper. A numerical method to solve these equations is put forward, and a finite element code is developed. This code is suited to the plane strain or axis-symmetry problem. Then this code is used to simulate the THM coupled process in the near field of an ideal disposal repository. The temperature vs. time, hydraulic head vs. time and stress vs. time results show that, in this assumed condition, the impact of temperature is very long (over 10 000 a) and the impact of the water head is short (about 90 d). Since the stress is induced by temperature and hydraulic head in this condition, the impact time of stress is the same as that of temperature. The results show that THM coupled processes are very important in the safety analysis of an HLW deep geological disposal repository.

Coupled thermo-hydro analysis of steam flow in a horizontal wellbore in a heavy oil reservoir

A novel model for dynamic temperature distribution in heavy oil reservoirs is derived from the principle of energy conservation.A difference equation of the model is firstly separated into radial and axial difference equations and then integrated.Taking into account the coupling of temperature and pressure in the reservoir and wellbore,models for calculating distributions of the reservoir temperature,reservoir pressure,and water saturation are also developed.The steam injected into the wellbore has a more significant effect on reservoir pressure than on reservoir temperature.Calculation results indicate that the reservoir temperature and pressure decrease exponentially with increasing distance from the horizontal wellbore.The radial variation range of the pressure field induced by steam is twice as wide as that of the temperature field,and both variation ranges decrease from the wellbore heel to the toe.Variation of water saturation induced by steam is similar to the temperature and pressure fields.The radial variation ranges of the reservoir temperature and pressure increase with steam injection time,but rate of increase diminishes gradually.

高地应力-化学侵蚀耦合作用下炭质板岩蠕变试验及非线性蠕变损伤模型

为克服高程障碍并降低施工风险,可采用长大隧道穿越崇山峻岭,但这些隧道往往处于深埋高地应力环境,并受到化学侵蚀影响。为了解决此问题,以丽江—香格里拉炭质板岩大变形隧道为研究对象,采用室内试验和理论推导,研究深埋炭质板岩隧道受化学侵蚀作用下的围岩变形特性。在Poyting-Thomson体蠕变体的基础上,根据模型元件的力学特性,叠加了损伤元件、化学损伤元件和非线性元件,提出高地应力-化学侵蚀耦合作用下炭质板岩非线性蠕变损伤本构关系。研究结果表明:1)炭质板岩试样受化学侵蚀影响显著,侵蚀90 d试样所产生的轴向蠕变应变为侵蚀0 d试样的2.02倍,侵蚀60 d试样所产生的径向蠕变为侵蚀0 d试样的1.85倍;2)受侵蚀的炭质板岩试样在三轴压缩状态下破裂以斜向贯通裂隙为主,并产生一定的滑移错动裂隙,且沿轴线的拉伸劈裂破坏受围压作用抑制明显,未产生竖向贯通裂隙。

多年冻土斜坡稳定性的模拟分析

气候变暖改变了多年冻土活动层的水热状态和物理特性,降低了斜坡的稳定性。目前多年冻土斜坡的稳定性分析多采用极限平衡方法,然而这种方法难以分析活动层水分场、温度场、应力场和位移场及其耦合效应下的斜坡稳定性。因此,将Mohr-Coulomb准则整合加入到冻土热-水-力模型之中,建立了多年冻土斜坡的热水力耦合模型(coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical model,THM),定量分析了夏季极端高温对多年冻土斜坡稳定性的影响。为了验证模型的有效性,选择了青藏高原东部多年冻土区某一滑坡为研究对象,通过构建极限平衡模型和THM模型计算了其稳定性,并对比分析了模拟结果和现场观测数据的关系。研究结果表明,THM模型模拟结果与传统极限平衡方法计算结果相吻合,且数值模拟得到的滑移面位置、位移量级和最终形态与现场实测资料相一致;在夏季极端高温条件下,当多年冻土活动层融化至1.45 m时,斜坡将沿着融化锋面失稳,且滑移面基本平行于坡面。研究结果对寒区各类工程边坡塌陷和热融滑塌的过程认识具有一定的参考价值。

考虑热-化学耦合的NEPE推进剂固化过程数值模拟

采用热-化学耦合模型表征热传导和固化动力学反应,利用物理试验测定硝酸酯增塑聚醚(NEPE)推进剂在不同固化度下的热参数和密度,研究了NEPE推进剂药柱在固化过程中温度场和固化度的分布和演变规律。结果表明,因推进剂固化反应的生热速率与外界热量传递速率存在差异,导致固化过程中出现内部温度场和固化度场分布不均匀的现象。固化时间为1~4 d时,药柱中心位置的温度较高(最高57.6℃),外侧较低;固化时间大于等于5 d时,药柱温度场慢慢与环境温度(50℃)趋向于平衡。推进剂固化度-时间曲线近似为“S”型,固化时间小于1 d时和大于4 d时,固化速率缓慢;固化时间2~4 d时,固化速率快。固体发动机的m数对推进剂固化温度和固化速率有一定影响,m数越大,推进剂的最高温度越高,同时温差也越大,温度差会导致推进剂药柱内部固化速率产生差异,造成推进剂达到指定固化度的时间变长。

天然气水合物注热分解诱发储层变形破坏的正交数值模拟研究

针对天然气水合物热分解而引起的储层失稳破坏机理及影响因素不明确的问题,考虑因水合物热分解引起的地层传热、孔隙流体渗流和固体骨架的变形破坏,建立了水合物沉积层的热-流-固耦合模型及其作用下储层固体骨架的弹塑性本构模型。基于ABAQUS软件的USDFLD子程序进行二次开发,开展正交实验数值模拟,分析注热温度差、水合物沉积层的绝对渗透率和有效主应力差对水合物沉积层近井储层变形破坏影响的敏感性及影响机理。结果表明:对近井储层变形破坏影响的敏感程度由大到小依次为有效主应力差、绝对渗透率、注热温度差;水合物热分解引起的近井储层力学性质劣化和有效应力下降是导致其发生变形破坏的主要原因;有效主应力差越大,等效塑性应变最大值越大,并且受水平地应力非均匀性的影响,近井储层变形破坏最严重的位置始终位于井眼最小水平地应力方向上。该研究成果可为热激法开采天然气水合物或含水合物地层的钻井作业提供借鉴。

管式PECVD设备腔内大容量石墨舟力学性能的数值分析

提高等离子体增强化学气相沉积(PECVD)法制备的氮化硅薄膜品质在太阳电池光电转换效率领域有举足轻重的作用。承载大量硅片的石墨舟是管式PECVD设备中的关键核心部件,随着生产效率的不断提升,热力耦合环境下腔内大容量石墨舟力学性能的稳定性引人关注。通过CAD软件建立石墨舟有限元模型并使用ANSYS仿真软件进行热力学仿真研究,综合分析其在高温条件下受力、受热后的变形情况。研究结果显示:结构自重是石墨舟形变及应力集中产生的主要因素,温度产生的影响并不明显;采用结构增强设计可有效提升石墨舟整体的力学性能。

基于电-热-结构耦合分析的SiC MOSFET可靠性研究

作为应用前景广阔的功率器件,SiC金属氧化物半导体场效应晶体管(MOSFET)的可靠性分析至关重要。基于结构几何、材料特性和边界条件的建模方法可以显著缩短失效分析周期。考虑器件电阻随温度变化的特性,构建电-热-结构耦合的有限元模型,针对健康状态及不同失效模式进行温度和应力研究。结果表明,功率循环过程中键合线与芯片连接处受到的热应力最大,焊料层与芯片接触面的边缘位置次之;键合线失效对器件寿命影响最大,且焊料层中心空洞产生的应力大于边缘空洞产生的应力。仿真结果可为提升器件可靠性提供重要参考。

枞树形榫结构参数对应力的影响

航空发动机枞树形榫结构在工作时的应力状态较复杂,容易发生疲劳破坏。本文通过有限元分析研究拉削角、楔形角、接触长度对榫结构应力的影响,为榫结构的设计和优化提供参考。根据四齿枞树形榫结构的几何特点,提取典型设计参数建立枞树形榫结构的参数化模型;考虑榫结构在实际工作中的受载形式及温度的影响,采用三维接触分析方法建立枞树榫结构热-力耦合分析流程;通过调整拉削角、楔形角和接触线长度的取值,计算榫齿接触区域应力分布情况,得到各设计参量对结构应力的影响规律。结果表明:拉削角增大会导致榫槽局部应力集中加剧以及榫头两侧榫齿应力差值增大,楔形角增大会导致榫头榫槽承担的应力载荷增加,接触长度增大会导致接触应力减小;航空发动机枞树形榫结构在设计时,拉削角在20°以下,楔形角18°、20°为宜,接触长度应适当增大。

基于耦合水化模型的超高掺粉煤灰混凝土性能研究

为通过数值手段模拟高粉煤灰掺量的水工混凝土的性能演化过程,探讨超高掺粉煤灰混凝土的应用价值,以相关试验成果为基准,采用热-化-力耦合方法模拟粉煤灰掺量为35%,80%的水工混凝土的水化放热过程,建立热力学参数与水化度的关系。在此基础上,引入流固共轭传热方程模拟大坝浇筑及通水冷却过程,并比较了两种混凝土在大岗山高拱坝施工中的温控特性。结果表明:耦合模型可准确模拟混凝土在不同外部环境下的性能演化过程;采用超高掺粉煤灰混凝土可有效降低温控费用和人力成本。

A COUPLED THERMO-HYDRAULIC MODEL FOR STEAM FLOW IN PIPE NETWORKS

This article aims to establish a coupled thermo-hydraulic mathematical model for steam network by adopting a set of equations, i.e., the continuity equation, motion equation, energy equation, state equation and enthalpy equation and considering the interaction of hydraulic and thermal working conditions. The model is simplified according to steam flow features in pipe networks. The unsteady flow model is simplified to a steady one with considering engineering practice and the solution to the governing equations are obtained by using the standard fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Many factors of steam flow are generally considered, such as condensability, change of state, friction and heat transfer in the model. It is concluded that coupled iteration can be employed in steam network thermo-hydraulic computation. The numerical results with the model are basically in accordance with practical operation data.

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.

A new,direct approach toward modeling thermo-coupled fatigue failure behavior of metals and alloys

The objective of this study is two-fold. Firstly, new finite strain elastoplasticity models are proposed from a fresh standpoint to achieve a comprehensive representation of thermomechanical behavior of metals and alloys over the whole deformation range up to failure. As contrasted with the usual elastoplasticity models, such new models of much simpler structure are totally free, in the sense that both the yield condition and the loading–unloading conditions need not be introduced as extrinsic coercive conditions but are automatically incorporated as inherent constitutive features into the models. Furthermore, the new models are shown to be thermodynamically consistent, in a further sense that both the specific entropy function and the Helmholtz free energy function may be presented in explicit forms, such that the thermodynamic restriction stipulated by Clausius–Duhem inequality for the intrinsic dissipation may be identically satisfied. Secondly, it is then demonstrated that the thermo-coupled fatigue failure behavior under combined cyclic changes of stress and temperature may be derived as direct consequences from the new models. This novel result implies that the new model can directly characterize the thermo-coupled fatigue failure behavior of metals and alloys, without involving any usual damage-like variables as well as any ad hoc additional criteria for failure. In particular, numerical examples show that, under cyclic changes of temperature, the fatigue characteristic curve of fatigue life versus temperature amplitude may be obtained for the first time from model prediction both in the absence and in the presence of stress. Results are in agreement with the salient features of metal fatigue failure.

A Thermo-Magneto-Mechanically Coupled Constitutive Model of Magnetic Shape Memory Alloys

A macroscopic phenomenological constitutive model considering the martensite transformation and its reverse is constructed in this work to describe the thermo-magneto- mechanically coupled deformation of polycrystalline magnetic shape memory alloys （MSMAs） by referring to the existing experimental results. The proposed model is established in the frame- work of thermodynamics by introducing internal state variables. The driving force of martensite transformation, the internal heat production and the thermodynamic constraints on constitutive equations are obtained by Clausius dissipative inequality and constructed Gibbs free energy. The spatiotemporal evolution equation of temperature is deduced from the first law of thermodynam- ics. The demagnetization effect occurring in the process of magnetization is also addressed. The proposed model is verified by comparing the predictions with the corresponding experiments. It is concluded that the thermo-magneto-mechanically coupled deformation of MSMAs including the magnetostrietive and magnetocaloric effects at various temperatures can be reasonably described by the proposed model, and the magnetocaloric effect can be significantly improved over a wide range of temperature by introducing an additional applied stress.