Numerical Simulation of Fluid-Solid Coupling in Fractured Porous Media with Discrete Fracture Model and Extended Finite Element Method

Abstract

Fluid-solid coupling is ubiquitous in the process of fluid flow underground and has a significant influence on the development of oil and gas reservoirs. To investigate these phenomena, the coupled mathematical model of solid deformation and fluid flow in fractured porous media is established. In this study, the discrete fracture model (DFM) is applied to capture fluid flow in the fractured porous media, which represents fractures explicitly and avoids calculating shape factor for cross flow. In addition, the extended finite element method (XFEM) is applied to capture solid deformation due to the discontinuity caused by fractures. More importantly, this model captures the change of fractures aperture during the simulation, and then adjusts fluid flow in the fractures. The final linear equation set is derived and solved for a 2D plane strain problem. Results show that the combination of discrete fracture model and extended finite element method is suited for simulating coupled deformation and fluid flow in fractured porous media.

Experimental and Nonlinear Analysis of Cracking in Concrete Arch Dams Due to Seismic Uplift Pressure Variations

“…The (XFEM) emerged from the cohesive segments method [40,41]. When it is employed in unison with the phantom node technique [42][43][44], it is possible to replicate crack initiation and proliferation in an indiscriminate direction.…”

Coupling mixed hybrid and extended finite element methods for the simulation of hydro-mechanical processes in fractured porous media

“…These properties improve computational efficiency greatly and make XFEM a promising approach for solving complex problems with fractures at reasonable computing costs. Recently, XFEM has been increasingly applied to the simulation of HM processes in fractured domains (Khoei et al, 2012;Lamb et al, 2013;Liu et al, 2015;Shao et al, 2014a;Yan et al, 2018;Zeng and Yao, 2015;Zheng and Luo, 2015). In several previous studies, XFEM has been used for solving the mechanical equations, combined with the FVM for fluid flow.…”

Preparation of a novel fracturing fluid with good heat and shear resistance

“…With the development of the oil and gas industry, lowpermeability reservoirs account for an increasing proportion of the total oil and gas resources. [1][2][3] In order to successfully exploit these resources, reservoir stimulation must be carried out. Hydraulic fracturing is a technique widely adopted to stimulate the production of low-permeability oil and gas wells.…”