A phase-field model for simulating the propagation behavior of mixed-mode cracks during the hydraulic fracturing process in fractured reservoirs

A novel phase-field model for the propagation of mixed-mode hydraulic fractures,characterized by the formation of mixed-mode fractures due to the interactions between fluids and solids,is proposed.In this model,the driving force for the phase field consists of both tensile and shear components,with the fluid contribution primarily manifesting in the tension driving force.The displacement and pressure are solved simultaneously by an implicit method.The numerical solution's iterative format is established by the finite element discretization and Newton-Raphson(NR)iterative methods.The correctness of the model is verified through the uniaxial compression physical experiments on fluid-pressurized rocks,and the limitations of the hydraulic fracture expansion phase-field model,which only considers mode I fractures,are revealed.In addition,the influence of matrix mode II fracture toughness value,natural fracture mode II toughness value,and fracturing fluid injection rate on the hydraulic fracture propagation in porous media with natural fractures is studied.

A new mixed-mode phase-field model for crack propagation of brittle rock

Study on crack propagation process of brittle rock is of most significance for cracking-arrest design and cracking-network optimization in rock engineering.Phase-field model(PFM)has advantages of simplicity and high convergence over the common numerical methods(e.g.finite element method,discrete element method,and particle manifold method)in dealing with three-dimensional and multicrack problems.However,current PFMs are mainly used to simulate mode-I(tensile)crack propagation but difficult to effectively simulate mode-II(shear)crack propagation.In this paper,a new mixed-mode PFM is established to simulate both mode-I and mode-II crack propagation of brittle rock by distinguishing the volumetric elastic strain energy and deviatoric elastic strain energy in the total elastic strain energy and considering the effect of compressive stress on mode-II crack propagation.Numerical solution method of the new mixed-mode PFM is proposed based on the staggered solution method with self-programmed subroutines UMAT and HETVAL of ABAQUS software.Three examples calculated using different PFMs as well as test results are presented for comparison.The results show that compared with the conventional PFM(which only simulates the tensile wing crack but not mode-II crack propagation)and the modified mixed-mode PFM(which has difficulty in simulating the shear anti-wing crack),the new mixed-mode PFM can successfully simulate the whole trajectories of mixed-mode crack propagation(including the tensile wing crack,shear secondary crack,and shear anti-wing crack)and mode-II crack propagation,which are close to the test results.It can be further extended to simulate multicrack propagation of anisotropic rock under multi-field coupling loads.

Fracture of two three-dimensional parallel internal cracks in brittle solid under ultrasonic fracturing

Similar to hydraulic fracturing(HF), the coalescence and fracture of cracks are induced within a rock under the action of an ultrasonic field, known as ultrasonic fracturing(UF). Investigating UF is important in both hard rock drilling and oil and gas recovery. A three-dimensional internal laser-engraved crack(3D-ILC) method was introduced to prefabricate two parallel internal cracks within the samples without any damage to the surface. The samples were subjected to UF. The mechanism of UF was elucidated by analyzing the characteristics of fracture surfaces. The crack propagation path under different ultrasonic parameters was obtained by numerical simulation based on the Paris fatigue model and compared to the experimental results of UF. The results show that the 3D-ILC method is a powerful tool for UF research.Under the action of an ultrasonic field, the fracture surface shows the characteristics of beach marks and contains powder locally, indicating that the UF mechanism includes high-cycle fatigue fracture, shear and friction, and temperature load. The two internal cracks become close under UF. The numerical result obtained by the Paris fatigue model also shows the attraction of the two cracks, consistent with the test results. The 3D-ILC method provides a new tool for the experimental study of UF. Compared to the conventional numerical methods based on the analysis of stress-strain and plastic zone, numerical simulation can be a good alternative method to obtain the crack path under UF.

Discrete Element Modeling of Asphalt Concrete Cracking Using a User-def ined Three-dimensional Micromechanical Approach

We established a user-defined micromechanical model using discrete element method （DEM） to investigate the cracking behavior of asphalt concrete （AC）. Using the ＂Fish＂ language provided in the particle flow code in 3-Demensions （PFC3D）, the air voids and mastics in asphalt concrete were realistically built as two distinct phases. With the irregular shape of individual aggregate particles modeled using a clump of spheres of different sizes, the three-dimensional （3D） discrete element model was able to account for aggregate gradation and fraction. Laboratory uniaxial complex modulus test and indirect tensile strength test were performed to obtain input material parameters for the numerical simulation. A set of the indirect tensile test were simulated to study the cracking behavior of AC at two levels of temperature, i e, -10 ℃ and 15 ℃. The predicted results of the numerical simulation were compared with laboratory experimental measurements. Results show that the 3D DEM model is able to predict accurately the fracture pattern of different asphalt mixtures. Based on the DEM model, the effects of air void content and aggregate volumetric fraction on the cracking behavior of asphalt concrete were evaluated.

THREE-DIMENSIONAL ELLIPTIC CRACK UNDER IMPACT LOADING

The dynamic stress intensity factor of a three-dimensionalelliptic crack under impact loading is determined with the finiteelement method. The computation results can take into account theinfluence of time and the ratio of the wave speeds on the stressintensity factor. The present method is suitable not only forthree-dimensional dynamic crack, but also for three-dimensionaldynamic contact.

Development of X-FEM methodology and study on mixed-mode crack propagation

The extended finite element method（X-FEM） is a novel numerical methodology with a great potential for using in multi-scale computation and multi-phase coupling problems. The algorithm is discussed and a program is developed based on X-FEM for simulating mixed-mode crack propagation. The maximum circumferential stress criterion and interaction integral are deduced. Some numerical results are compared with the experimental data to prove the capability and efficiency of the algorithm and the program. Numerical analyses of sub-interfacial crack growth in bi-materials give a clear description of the effiect on fracture made by interface and loading condition.

Interactions of penny-shaped cracks in three-dimensional solids

The interaction of arbitrarily distributed penny-shaped cracks in three-dimensional solids is analyzed in this paper. Using oblate spheroidal coordinates and displacement functions, an analytic method is devel- oped in which the opening and the sliding displacements on each crack surface are taken as the basic unknown functions. The basic unknown functions can be expanded in series of Legendre polynomials with unknown coefficients. Based on superposition technique, a set of governing equations for the unknown coefficients are formulated from the traction free conditions on each crack surface. The boundary collocation procedure and the average method for crack-surface tractions are used for solving the governing equations. The solution can be obtained for quite closely located cracks. Numerical examples are given for several crack problems. By comparing the present results with other existing results, one can conclude that the present method provides a direct and efficient approach to deal with three-dimensional solids containing multiple cracks.

MESHLESS METHOD FOR 2D MIXED-MODE CRACK PROPAGATION BASED ON VORONOI CELL

A meshless method integrated with linear elastic fracture mechanics(LEFM)is presented for 2D mixed-mode crack propagation analysis.The domain is divided automatically into sub-domains based on Voronoi cells,which are used for quadrature for the potential energy. The continuous crack propagation is simulated with an incremental crack-extension method which assumes a piecewise linear discretization of the unknown crack path.For each increment of the crack extension,the meshless method is applied to carry out a stress analysis of the cracked structure.The J-integral,which can be decomposed into mode Ⅰ and mode Ⅱ for mixed-mode crack,is used for the evaluation of the stress intensity factors(SIFs).The crack-propagation direction,predicted on an incremental basis, is computed by a criterion defined in terms of the SIFs. The flowchart of the proposed procedure is presented and two numerical problems are analyzed with this method.The meshless results agree well with the experimental ones,which validates the accuracy and efficiency of the method.

FATIGUE GROWTH MODELING OF MIXED-MODE CRACK IN PLANE ELASTIC MEDIA

This paper presents an extension of a displacement discontinuity method with cracktip elements （a boundary element method） proposed by the author for fatigue crack growth analysis in plane elastic media under mixed-mode conditions. The boundary element method consists of the non-singular displacement discontinuity elements presented by Crouch and Starfield and the crack-tip displacement discontinuity elements due to the author. In the boundary element implementation the left or right crack-tip element is placed locally at the corresponding left or right crack tip on top of the non-singular displacement discontinuity elements that cover the entire crack surface and the other boundaries. Crack growth is simulated with an incremental crack extension analysis based on the maximum circumferential stress criterion. In the numerical simulation, for each increment of crack extension, remeshing of existing boundaries is not required because of an intrinsic feature of the numerical approach. Crack growth is modeled by adding new boundary elements on the incremental crack extension to the previous crack boundaries. At the same time, the element characteristics of some related elements are adjusted according to the manner in which the boundary element method is implemented. As an example, the fatigue growth process of cracks emanating from a circular hole in a plane elastic plate is simulated using the numerical simulation approach.

Simulation of three-dimensional tension-induced cracks based on cracking potential function-incorporated extended finite element method

In the finite element method,the numerical simulation of three-dimensional crack propagation is relatively rare,and it is often realized by commercial programs.In addition to the geometric complexity,the determination of the cracking direction constitutes a great challenge.In most cases,the local stress state provides the fundamental criterion to judge the presence of cracks and the direction of crack propagation.However,in the case of three-dimensional analysis,the coordination relationship between grid elements due to occurrence of cracks becomes a difficult problem for this method.In this paper,based on the extended finite element method,the stress-related function field is introduced into the calculation domain,and then the boundary value problem of the function is solved.Subsequently,the envelope surface of all propagation directions can be obtained at one time.At last,the possible surface can be selected as the direction of crack development.Based on the aforementioned procedure,such method greatly reduces the programming complexity of tracking the crack propagation.As a suitable method for simulating tension-induced failure,it can simulate multiple cracks simultaneously.

Analysis of Three-dimensional Crack Propagation by Using Displacement Discontinuity Method

A technique for modelling of three-dimensional(3D)quasi-statically propagating cracks in elastic bodies by the displacement discontinuity method(DDM)was described.When the crack is closed,the Mohr-coulomb rule on the two contacted surfaces of the crack must be satisfied.A simple iterative method was adopted in order to consider three different states of cracks.Under the assumption that the advance of the point on the crack front would occur only in the normal plane which is through this edge point,the maximum energy release rate criterion is modified to be used as the criterion for the crack growth.With discretization,the process of crack propagation can be seen as the advance of the vertices of the crack front.The program MCP3D was developed based on these theories to simulate the 3D quasi-static crack propagation.A numerical example of a penny-shaped crack subject to tension and compression in an infinite elastic media was analyzed with MCP3D,and the results in comparison with others' show that the present method for 3D crack propagation is effective.

A modified maximum tangential tensile stress criterion for three-dimensional crack propagation

The three-dimensional （3D） crack propagation is a hot issue in rock mechanics. To properly simulate 3D crack propagation, a modified maximum tangential tensile stress criterion is proposed. In this modified criterion, it is supposed that cracks propagate only at crack front in the principal normal plane. The tangential tensile stress at crack front in the principal normal plane in local coordinates is employed to determine crack propagation, which is calculated through coordinate transformation from global to local coordinates. New cracks will propagate when the maximum tangential tensile stress at crack front in the principal normal plane reaches the tensile strength of rock-like materials. Compared with the previous crack propagation criteria, the modified crack propagation criterion is helpful in calculating 3D crack stress intensity factor, and can overcome the limitations of propagation step determined by individual experiences in previous studies. Finally, the 3D crack propagation process is traced by element-free Galerkin method. The numerical results agree well with the experimental ones for a frozen resin sample with prefabricated 3D cracks.

INTERFACIAL CRACK ANALYSIS IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL TRANSVERSELY ISOTROPIC BI-MATERIALS BY BOUNDARY INTEGRAL EQUATION METHOD

The integral-differential equations for three-dimensional planar interfacial cracks of arbitrary shape in transversely isotropic bimaterials were derived by virtue of the Somigliana identity and the fundamental solutions, in which the displacement discontinuities across the crack faces are the unknowns to be determined. The interface is parallel to both the planes of isotropy. The singular behaviors of displacement and stress near the crack border were analyzed and the stress singularity indexes were obtained by integral equation method. The stress intensity factors were expressed in terms of the displacement discontinuities. In the non-oscillatory case, the hyper-singular boundary integral-differential equations were reduced to hyper-singular boundary integral equations similar to those of homogeneously isotropic materials.

A STUDY ON STRESS INTENSITY FACTORS AND SINGULAR STRESS FIELDS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL INTERFACE CRACK

By using the finite-part integral concepts and limit technique,the hypersingular inte- grodifferential equations ofthree-dimensional(3D)planar interface crack were obtained; then thedominant-part analysis of 2D hypersingular integral was further usedto investigate the stress fields near the crack front theoretically,and the accurate formulae were obtained for the singular stressfields and the complex stress intensity factors.

CONVOLUTION OF THE IMPACT THREE-DIMENSIONAL ELASTO-DYNAMICS AND DYNAMIC STRESS INTENSITY FACTOR FOR AN ELLIPTIC CRACK

This paper presents a formulation for three-dimensional elasto-dynamics with an elliptic crack based on the Laplace and Fourier transforms and the convolution theorem. The dynamic stress intensity factor for the crack is determined by solving a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. The results of this paper are very close to those given by the two-dimensional dual integral equation method.

The Mixed-Mode Fatigue Crack Propagation Model of Piezoelectric Materials Under Electric Fatigue Loading by the J_(k)-Integral

The electric fatigue load has a significant effect on the crack propagation behavior and failure life of piezoelectric materials and devices. In this paper, an electrical mixed-mode fatigue crack propagation model for piezoelectric materials is proposed based on the piezoelectric J_(k)-integral theory. The crack initiation, propagation, and life prediction criteria of piezoelectric materials under electric fatigue loading are given by this model, and the finite element simulation model is established to study the electrical mixed-mode crack propagation behavior of piezoelectric structures. Meanwhile, the electrical mixed-mode fatigue crack propagation model is applied to the fatigue crack propagation behavior of a piezoelectric typical defective structure, the crack–hole interference model. The mixed-mode crack propagation, fatigue life, and the interference behavior between the crack and hole at various hole locations of the crack–hole interference model are well recognized by this model. The crack propagation behavior under different electrical load intensities is also considered. The results show that the hole in front of the crack tip inhibits crack propagation to a certain extent, and the strength of electrical load affects the fatigue life of piezoelectric materials and structures. Therefore, the proposed electrical mixed-mode fatigue crack propagation model provides a reference for predicting the mixed-mode fatigue crack propagation behavior and fatigue life of piezoelectric structures under electric fatigue loading.

Characteristic Tensor for Evaluation of Singular Stress Field Under Mixed-Mode Loadings

A characteristic tensor is defined using stress tensor averaged in a small circular domain at the crack tip and multiplied by the root of domain radius.It possesses the original stress tensor characteristics and has a simple relationship with conventional fracture-mechanics parameters.Therefore,it can be used to estimate stress intensity factors(SIFs)for cracks of arbitrary shape subjected to multiaxial stress loads.A characteristic tensor can also be used to estimate SIFs for kinked cracks.This study examines the relation between a characteristic tensor and SIFs to demonstrate the correlation between the characteristic tensor and fracture-mechanics parameters.Consequently,a single straight crack and a kinked crack of finite length existing in a twodimensional,infinite isotropic elastic body in a plane stress state,were considered to investigate the properties of the characteristic tensor under mixed-mode loadings.To demonstrate the practical utility of the characteristic tensor,the stress distribution obtained through finite element analysis(FEA)was used to estimate mixed-mode SIFs,and the values of estimated SIFs were compared with those obtained using an analytical solution.Results demonstrate that SIFs estimated under mixed-mode loadings exhibit a good agreement with the analytical values.This indicates that the proposed characteristictensor-based approach is effective in extracting features of singular stress fields at crack tips,and can be employed to estimate values of fracture-mechanics parameters,such as SIFs.Owing to its simplicity,the proposed approach can be easily incorporated in commercial FE codes for practical applications to simulate the crack-growth problem under both static and dynamic loading scenarios.The excellent applicability of the characteristic tensor greatly contributes to efficiency of the design process in industries.

Experimental Study on Mixed-Mode(Ⅰ–Ⅱ)Fracture Toughness of Freshwater Ice

In recent years,the issue of aircraft icing has gained widespread recognition.The breaking and detachment of dynamic ice can pose a threat to flight safety.However,the shedding and fracture mechanisms of dynamic ice are unclear and cannot meet the engineering needs of ice-shedding hazard assessment.Therefore,studying the fracture toughness of ice bodies has extremely important practical significance.To address this issue,this article uses a centrally cracked Brazilian disk(CCBD)specimen to measure the pure modeⅠtoughness and pure modeⅡfracture toughness of freshwater ice at different loading rates.The mixed-mode(Ⅰ–Ⅱ)fracture characteristics of ice are discussed,and the experimental results are compared and analyzed with the theoretical values of the generalized maximum tangential stress(GMTS)criterion considering the influence of T-stress.The results indicated that as the loading rate increases,the pure modeⅠtoughness and pure modeⅡfracture toughness of freshwater ice decrease,and the fracture toughness of freshwater ice is more sensitive to the loading rate.Ⅰn terms of fracture criteria,the theoretical value of the ratio of pure modeⅡfracture toughness to pure modeⅠfracture toughness based on the GMTS criterion is in good agreement with the experimental value,while the theoretical value based on the maximum tangential stress(MTS)criterion deviates significantly from the experimental value,indicating that the GMTS criterion considering the influence of T-stress can better predict the experimental results.

Experimental investigation of three-dimensional mixed-mode fracture of a titanium alloy at room and elevated temperatures

Damage tolerance of titanium alloy structures is very important for the safety of modern aircraft under complex loading and environmental conditions. However, there is no available systematic knowledge about the effect of alloy thickness under mixed-mode loading at elevated temperatures. In the present study, a newly developed fracture experimental technique based on high-temperature moiré interferometry was employed to investigate experimentally I-II mixed-mode fracture in titanium alloy TC11 of various thicknesses at room and elevated temperatures. Compact shear specimens with thickness ranging from 1.8 to 7.1 mm were tested. The effects of temperature, thickness, and loading angle on the load capacity and crack initiation angle were investigated systematically. The TC11 alloy was shown to possess varied fracture performance at elevated tem-perature, and an opposite thickness effect at room temperature. Increasing temperature would enhance the fracture load capacity of thick specimens but reduce the fracture load capacity of thin specimens. Crack initiation angles under I-II mixed-mode loading showed the thickness-temperature coupling effects. These complex effects call for new development in three-dimensional mixed-mode fracture theory and technologies for damage tolerance assessment.

Three dimensional K-Tz stress fields around the embedded center elliptical crack front in elastic plates

Through detailed three-dimensional （3D） finite element （FE） calculations, the out-of-plane constraints Tz along embedded center-elliptical cracks in mode I elastic plates are studied. The distributions of Tz are obtained near the crack front with aspect ratios （a/c） of 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0. Tz decreases from an approximate value of Poisson ratio v at the crack tip to zero with increasing normalized radial distances （r/a） in the normal plane of the crack front line, and increases gradually when the elliptical parameter angle φ changes from 0° to 90°at the same r/a. With a/c rising to 1.0, Tz is getting nearly independent of φ and is only related to r/a. Based on the present FE calculations for Tz, empirical formulas for Tz are obtained to describe the 3D distribution of Tz for embedded center-elliptical cracks using the least squares method in the range of 0.2 ≤ a/c ≤ 1.0. These Tz results together with the corresponding stress intensity factor K are well suitable for the analysis of the 3D embedded centerelliptical crack from field, and a two-parameter K-Tz principle is proposed.