A fully coupled numerical model of thermo-hydro-mechanical processes and fracture contact mechanics in porous media

Abstract

Various phenomena in the subsurface are characterised by the interplay between deforming structures such as fractures and coupled thermal, hydraulic and mechanical processes. Simulation of subsurface dynamics can provide valuable phenomenological understanding, but requires models which faithfully represent the dynamics involved; these models therefore are themselves highly complex.

This paper presents a mixed-dimensional thermo-hydro-mechanical model designed to capture the process–structure interplay using a discrete–fracture–matrix framework. It incorporates tightly coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes based on balance laws for momentum, mass and energy in subdomains representing the matrix and the lower-dimensional fractures and fracture intersections. The deformation of explicitly represented fractures is modelled by contact mechanics relations and a Coulomb friction law, with a novel formulation consistently integrating fracture dilation in the governing equations.

The model is discretised using multi-point finite volume methods for the balance equations and a semismooth Newton scheme for the contact conditions and is implemented in the open-source fracture simulation toolbox PorePy. Finally, simulation studies demonstrate the model’s convergence, investigate process–structure coupling effects, explore different fracture dilation models and show an application of the model to stimulation and long-term cooling of a three-dimensional geothermal reservoir.