Imperial College London
Portrait Picture

Dr Adriana Paluszny

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

Reader in Computational Geomechanics
 
 
 
//

Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7435apaluszn

 
 
//

Location

 

RSM 2.48Royal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

//

Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Thomas:2020:10.1029/2019jb018899,
author = {Thomas, RN and Paluszny, A and Zimmerman, RW},
doi = {10.1029/2019jb018899},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth},
title = {Permeability of threedimensional numerically grown geomechanical discrete fracture networks with evolving geometry and mechanical apertures},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2019jb018899},
volume = {125},
year = {2020}
}
Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Fracture networks significantly alter the mechanical and hydraulic properties of subsurface rocks. The mechanics of fracture propagation and interaction control network development. However, mechanical processes are not routinely incorporated into discrete fracture network (DFN) models. A finite element, linear elastic fracture mechanicsbased method is applied to the generation of threedimensional geomechanical discrete fracture networks (GDFNs). These networks grow quasistatically from a set of initial flaws in response to a remote uniaxial tensile stress. Fracture growth is handled using a stress intensity factorbased approach, where extension is determined by the local variations in the three stress intensity factor modes along fracture tips. Mechanical interaction between fractures modifies growth patterns, resulting in nonuniform and nonplanar growth in dense networks. When fractures are close, stress concentration results in the reactivation of fractures that were initially inactive. Therefore, GDFNs provide realistic representations of subsurface networks that honor the physical process of concurrent fracture growth. Hydraulic properties of the grown networks are quantified by computing their equivalent permeability tensors at each growth step. Compared to two sets of stochastic DFNs, GDFNs with uniform fracture apertures are strongly anisotropic and have relatively higher permeabilities at high fracture intensities. In GDFN models, where fracture apertures are based on mechanical principles, fluid flow becomes strongly channeled along distinct flow paths. Fracture orientations and interactions significantly modify apertures, and in turn, the hydraulic properties of the network. GDFNs provide a new way of understanding subsurface networks, where fracture mechanics is the primary influence on their geometric and hydraulic properties.
AU  - Thomas,RN
AU  - Paluszny,A
AU  - Zimmerman,RW
DO  - 10.1029/2019jb018899
PY  - 2020///
SN  - 2169-9313
TI  - Permeability of threedimensional numerically grown geomechanical discrete fracture networks with evolving geometry and mechanical apertures
T2  - Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2019jb018899
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/79073
VL  - 125
ER  -
Download