Choosing an appropriate modelling approach for fluid flow and stress field interaction in rocks belongs to the key problems within the context of several subsurface applications such as geothermal power generation, disposal of waste water, CO$_2$ storage or hydraulic fracturing. A central issue in this respect is the question of whether the equations for flow and geomechanics are solved in a...
Hydraulic fracturing is a subsurface stimulation technology that has been deployed at a massive scale in North America, and made it possible to produce hydrocarbons from low-permeability rocks, like oil shales and gas shales, which traditionally had been considered uneconomical. Despite this large-scale deployment, our understanding of the physics and controlling parameters in hydraulic...
Reactivation of fractures is a strongly coupled problem involving disparate
physical processes such as fluid flow, temperature and rock deformation. We present a coupled mixed dimensional model, where the main focus is on the deformation of fractures. We will discuss numerical solutions of friction models for the reactivation of pre-existing fracture networks, and the treatment of the...
In many applications such as geothermal energy, geological carbon sequestration, unconventional gas recovery, and injection induced seismicity (IIS), there is a need to model flow and transport phenomena in fractured rock. In fractured rock, the hydraulic and mechanical properties of the fractures are extremely sensitive to fluid pressure and other perturbations. Although the general problem...
Understanding fault reactivation as a result of subsurface fluid injection is critical in geologic CO2 sequestration (and other geo-energy applications such as wastewater injection) because it may result in enhanced fault permeability, potentially inducing CO2 leakage from the injection zone through the overlying caprock. Faults display a complex architecture characterized by a low...
Injection-induced seismicity (IIS) depends on pore pressure, in-situ stress state, and fault orientation; generally occurs in basement rock that contains fractures and faults; and moves away from the injection well as a nonlinear diffusion process. Therefore to numerically model IIS, a code should incorporate coupled flow and geomechanics, the presence of fractures and faults, and the...
