Interaction of 3D parallel internal cracks in brittle solids under thermal loading: Experiment and numerical simulation

Wang, Yunfei; Wang, Haijun; Xi-nan, Zhao; Tang, Lei; Pan, Jianwu

doi:10.1007/s11771-022-5212-5

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 43 publications

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“…Thermal fracturing is a common phenomenon when a manmade structure under no confining stress subjects to a sudden and significant temperature change (Bahr et al, 2010;Greco et al, 2021;He et al, 2021;Memari and Khoshravan Azar, 2019;Wang et al, 2023) or a natural rock formation under subsurface stresses experiences significant cooling/heating by injected or flowing fluid (Barr, 1980;Enayatpour et al, 2019;Hu et al, 2021;Murphy, 1978;Wu et al, 2021;Yan et al, 2020). The propagation and arrest of thermal shock fractures under no confining stress have been studied experimentally, numerically and theoretically (Guo et al, 2018;Hofmann et al, 2011;Shao et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces

Chen,

Zhou,

Wang

2023

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PurposeThermal fractures initiated under cooling at the surfaces of a 2-D or 3-D structure propagate, arrest and coalesce, leading to its structural failure and material-property changes, while the same processes can happen in the rock mass between parallel hydraulic fractures filled with cold fluid, leading to enhanced fracture connectivity and permeability.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a 2-D plane strain fracture model for mixed-mode thermal fractures from two parallel cooling surfaces. Fracture propagation was governed by the theory of linear elastic fracture mechanics, while the displacement and temperature fields were discretized using the adaptive finite element method. This model was validated using two numerical benchmarks with strong fracture curvature and then used to simulate the propagation and coalescence of thermal fractures in a long rock mass.FindingsModeling results show two regimes: (1) thermal fractures from a cooling surface propagate and arrest by following the theoretical solutions of half-plane fractures before the unfractured portion decreases to 20% rock-mass width and (2) some pairs of fractures from the opposite cooling surfaces tend to eventually coalesce. The fracture coalescence time is in a power law with rock-mass width.Originality/valueThese findings are relevant to both subsurface engineering and material engineering: structure failure is a key concern in the latter, while fracture coalescence can enhance the connectivity of thermal and hydraulic fractures and thus reservoir permeability in the former.

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