Characterising a rock fracture rough surface using spatial continuity and kriging: a new approach to meshing coupled thermo–hydraulic–mechanical–chemical (THMC) models
Jackie E. Kendrick, Anthony Lamur, Julien Mouli-Castillo, Andrew P. Fraser-Harris, Alexander Lightbody, Katriona Edlmann, Christopher McDermott, and Zoe Shipton
By testing the strength of granite in compression and tension at a range of deformation rates, we found that the strength increases with faster deformation. This observation highlights that at these rates, relevant for example to geothermal exploration, we have to consider how the rate of deformation impacts the energy released when rocks crack. The results are promising for developing safe procedures for extracting resources from the subsurface.
In the context of hydraulic fracturing we constructed a comprehensive FEP database and applied it to six key focused scenarios defined under the scope of FracRisk project (www.fracrisk.eu). The FEP database is ranked to show the relevance of each item in the FEP list per scenario. The main goal of the work is to illustrate the FEP database applicability to develop a conceptual model for regional-scale stray gas migration.
The flow of water through fractured aquifers can be simulated with computer software. For a single fracture, a map of the empty space (aperture) between the two faces is required. Traditionally, this is fed to the software by sampling the frequency distribution or upscaling. This study analyses a greywacke's fracture roughness spatial continuity (how points are correlated in direction and distance) and creates an upscaled aperture map for computer simulations that better represents reality.
The flow of water through fractured aquifers can be simulated with computer software. For a...