Numerical analysis of mixed-mode rupture propagation of faults in reservoir-caprock system in CO2 storage

Gheibi, Sohrab; Vilarrasa, Víctor; Holt, R.M.

doi:10.1016/j.ijggc.2018.01.004

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Table 1, the buoyancy time-scale defining the maturity of the interface evolution, given by Equation (12), is 2.2 years. For all cases, we observe that the full numerical solution and the solution of the self-similar Equation (14) are in excellent agreement. As expected on general theoretical grounds (Section 2), the high buoyancy cases cause the CO 2 to accumulate from the early stages near the cap and extend to large distances in the porous formation, creating a relatively thin and long plume.…”

Section: Comparison Of Computational Results With the Solution Of Thementioning

confidence: 64%

“…In this section, we compare the results of the full numerical solutions with the numerical solutions of the self-similar Equation (14), as discussed in the work of [8]. Table 1, the buoyancy time-scale defining the maturity of the interface evolution, given by Equation (12), is 2.2 years.…”

Section: Comparison Of Computational Results With the Solution Of Thementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether Equation (19) or Equation 22applies depends on the mobility and buoyancy parameters, that is, the regime of the parameter space of the flow. The flow regimes of the problem with regard to the asymptotic solubility of the self-similarity Equation (14) have been discussed in the works of [9,21,43], shown on the parameter space in Figure 3. Below, we summarize these findings, in our notation, also calculating the injection pressure in each case.…”

Section: Pressure Analysis In the Flow Regimes Of Plume Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is expected to hold well for large buoyancy and mobility as long as Equation 43holds. Boundary curves for this regime, analogous to the ones shown in Figure 3, involve systematic comparison with the numerical solutions of exact self-similar Equation (14), and will be given in a separate publication. Figure 3.…”

Section: Pressure Analysis In the Flow Regimes Of Plume Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We present here a solution in terms of power series. The self-similarity Equation (14) in the large buoyancy limit takes the form [21,43]:…”

Section: Numerical Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flow Regime Analysis of the Pressure Build-Up during CO2 Injection in Saturated Porous Rock Formations

Sarris

Gravanis

2019

Energies

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In this work, we are concerned with the theoretical and numerical analysis of the pressure build-up on the cap of an aquifer during CO2 injection in saturated porous rock formations in all flow regimes of the problem. The latter are specific regions of the parameter space of the plume flow, defined by the CO2-to-brine relative mobility and the buoyancy parameter (injection pressure to buoyancy pressure scale ratio). In addition to the known asymptotic self-similar solutions for low buoyancy, we introduce two novel ones for the high buoyancy regimes via power series solutions of asymptotic self-similarity equations. The explicit results for the peak value of pressure on the cap, which arises in the vicinity of the well, are derived and discussed for all flow regimes. The analytical results derived in this work are applied for the purpose of cap integrity considerations in six test cases of CO2 geological storage from the PCOR partnership, most of which correspond to high buoyancy conditions. The validity of the self-similar solutions (late time asymptotics) is verified with CFD numerical simulations performed with the software Ansys-Fluent. The result is that the self-similar solutions and the associated pressure estimations are valid in typical injection durations of interest, even for early times.

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Section: Comparison Of Computational Results With the Solution Of Thementioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Comparison Of Computational Results With the Solution Of Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pressure Analysis In the Flow Regimes Of Plume Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pressure Analysis In the Flow Regimes Of Plume Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We present here a solution in terms of power series. The self-similarity Equation (14) in the large buoyancy limit takes the form [21,43]:…”

Section: Numerical Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Flow Regime Analysis of the Pressure Build-Up during CO2 Injection in Saturated Porous Rock Formations

Sarris

Gravanis

2019

Energies

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Thermo‐poroelastic responses of a pressure‐driven fracture in a carbon storage reservoir and the implications for injectivity and caprock integrity

Huang

et al. 2021

Num Anal Meth Geomechanics

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CO 2 injection into a reservoir with marginal permeability (≲ 10 −14 m 2 ) could induce pressure high enough to fracture the reservoir rock and/or caprock. A pressure-driven fracture can immensely enhance the injectivity and would not compromise the integrity of the overall storage complex as long as the fracture is contained vertically. Conventional models for geologic carbon storage simply treat fractures as high-permeability conduits, ignoring coupled interactions between the fluids, the fracture, the reservoir, and caprock. We employ a highfidelity model coupling multiphase flow, heat transport, poroelasticity, thermal contraction, as well as fracture mechanics to study thermo-poroelastic responses of a pressure-driven fracture in a carbon storage reservoir. We found that poroelasticity dictates that to maintain an open fracture in the reservoir rock requires a continuous and significant increase of pressure, potentially exceeding the fracturing pressure for the caprock. A closed-form equation is derived to conservatively compute the pressure increase. Although cooling in the near-well region could reduce the fracture-opening pressure, the fracture propagation pressure is still dictated by processes in the far-field rock unaffected by the cooling. This discrepancy causes a high net pressure near the injection well and could further drive the fracture into the caprock. However, while such fracturing is likely, we demonstrate that in many instances we can expect it to be contained. K E Y W O R D Scaprock integrity, geological carbon storage, hydraulic fracture, supercritical CO 2 , thermohydro-mechanical coupling INTRODUCTIONExisting pilot and experimental geologic carbon storage (GCS) projects mostly target storage reservoirs with favorable conditions, namely high porosity, high permeability, and the presence of thick seal formations. Reservoir permeabilities in these projects are typically in the range of hundreds of millidarcy (mD; > 10 −13 m 2 ) or even several darcies (> 10 −12 m 2 ) (see Michael et al. 1 for a list). However, to achieve the scale of GCS that could achieve substantial impact on global greenhouse gas emission, 2,3 less favorable reservoirs with relatively low permeability, such as the In Salah site 4 in Algeria, the Nagaoka

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Fracture Assessment of Quasi-brittle Rock Simulated by Modified Discrete Element Method

Gheibi

Holt

2020

Rock Mech Rock Eng

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New developments of an in-house hybrid code, named Modified Discrete Element Method (MDEM) are presented in the paper. The new developments are on the treatment of pre-existing and propagating fractures in quasi-brittle materials. These developments are the embedment of Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM) and elastic-softening crack band model-based methodologies in the MDEM and their application in lab and reservoir scale. Using the first methodology, MDEM can calculate stress intensity factors, K I and K II using the internal contact forces of particles. K I and K II are calculated independent of boundary conditions and geometrical configuration with acceptable accuracy level. The methodology has been also used in reservoir scale to study the rupture likelihood of faults and fractures due to fluid injection. This methodology enables the code to model mode I and mode II failures and propagation direction based on the fracturing model proposed by Rao et al. (Int J Rock Mech Min Sci 40(3): 355-375, 2003). Using the second methodology, the MDEM can model nonlinear behavior of quasi-brittle materials including or excluding preexisting cracks based on fracture energy. A model was verified against an experiment of a three point bend test with a notch. The numerically obtained force-crack mouth opening curve was reasonably comparable to the experimental test. The analysis was repeated for three other mesh sizes and the results are less mesh size dependent. Finally, it was shown that MDEM has the potential in studying fracture mechanics of quasi-brittle materials both in lab and large-scale investigations.

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Numerical analysis of mixed-mode rupture propagation of faults in reservoir-caprock system in CO2 storage

Cited by 15 publications

References 45 publications

Flow Regime Analysis of the Pressure Build-Up during CO2 Injection in Saturated Porous Rock Formations

Flow Regime Analysis of the Pressure Build-Up during CO2 Injection in Saturated Porous Rock Formations

Thermo‐poroelastic responses of a pressure‐driven fracture in a carbon storage reservoir and the implications for injectivity and caprock integrity

Fracture Assessment of Quasi-brittle Rock Simulated by Modified Discrete Element Method

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