Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces
Purpose Thermal fractures initiated under cooling at the surfaces of a 2-D or 3-D structure propagate, arrest and coalesce, leading to its structural failure and material-property changes, while the same processes can happen in the rock mass between parallel hydraulic fractures filled with cold flui...
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cremerald:10.1108/ec-10-2022-0634 2024-06-09T07:47:35+00:00 Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces Chen, Bin Zhou, Quanlin Wang, Yuan 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ec-10-2022-0634 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EC-10-2022-0634/full/xml https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EC-10-2022-0634/full/html en eng Emerald https://www.emerald.com/insight/site-policies Engineering Computations volume 40, issue 9/10, page 2288-2302 ISSN 0264-4401 journal-article 2023 cremerald https://doi.org/10.1108/ec-10-2022-0634 2024-05-15T13:25:27Z Purpose Thermal fractures initiated under cooling at the surfaces of a 2-D or 3-D structure propagate, arrest and coalesce, leading to its structural failure and material-property changes, while the same processes can happen in the rock mass between parallel hydraulic fractures filled with cold fluid, leading to enhanced fracture connectivity and permeability. Design/methodology/approach This study used a 2-D plane strain fracture model for mixed-mode thermal fractures from two parallel cooling surfaces. Fracture propagation was governed by the theory of linear elastic fracture mechanics, while the displacement and temperature fields were discretized using the adaptive finite element method. This model was validated using two numerical benchmarks with strong fracture curvature and then used to simulate the propagation and coalescence of thermal fractures in a long rock mass. Findings Modeling results show two regimes: (1) thermal fractures from a cooling surface propagate and arrest by following the theoretical solutions of half-plane fractures before the unfractured portion decreases to 20% rock-mass width and (2) some pairs of fractures from the opposite cooling surfaces tend to eventually coalesce. The fracture coalescence time is in a power law with rock-mass width. Originality/value These findings are relevant to both subsurface engineering and material engineering: structure failure is a key concern in the latter, while fracture coalescence can enhance the connectivity of thermal and hydraulic fractures and thus reservoir permeability in the former. Article in Journal/Newspaper Long Rock Emerald Long Rock ENVELOPE(-61.198,-61.198,-62.689,-62.689) Engineering Computations |
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Open Polar |
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Emerald |
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cremerald |
language |
English |
description |
Purpose Thermal fractures initiated under cooling at the surfaces of a 2-D or 3-D structure propagate, arrest and coalesce, leading to its structural failure and material-property changes, while the same processes can happen in the rock mass between parallel hydraulic fractures filled with cold fluid, leading to enhanced fracture connectivity and permeability. Design/methodology/approach This study used a 2-D plane strain fracture model for mixed-mode thermal fractures from two parallel cooling surfaces. Fracture propagation was governed by the theory of linear elastic fracture mechanics, while the displacement and temperature fields were discretized using the adaptive finite element method. This model was validated using two numerical benchmarks with strong fracture curvature and then used to simulate the propagation and coalescence of thermal fractures in a long rock mass. Findings Modeling results show two regimes: (1) thermal fractures from a cooling surface propagate and arrest by following the theoretical solutions of half-plane fractures before the unfractured portion decreases to 20% rock-mass width and (2) some pairs of fractures from the opposite cooling surfaces tend to eventually coalesce. The fracture coalescence time is in a power law with rock-mass width. Originality/value These findings are relevant to both subsurface engineering and material engineering: structure failure is a key concern in the latter, while fracture coalescence can enhance the connectivity of thermal and hydraulic fractures and thus reservoir permeability in the former. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chen, Bin Zhou, Quanlin Wang, Yuan |
spellingShingle |
Chen, Bin Zhou, Quanlin Wang, Yuan Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces |
author_facet |
Chen, Bin Zhou, Quanlin Wang, Yuan |
author_sort |
Chen, Bin |
title |
Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces |
title_short |
Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces |
title_full |
Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces |
title_fullStr |
Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces |
title_full_unstemmed |
Coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces |
title_sort |
coalescence of thermal fractures initiated at parallel cooling surfaces |
publisher |
Emerald |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ec-10-2022-0634 https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EC-10-2022-0634/full/xml https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/EC-10-2022-0634/full/html |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-61.198,-61.198,-62.689,-62.689) |
geographic |
Long Rock |
geographic_facet |
Long Rock |
genre |
Long Rock |
genre_facet |
Long Rock |
op_source |
Engineering Computations volume 40, issue 9/10, page 2288-2302 ISSN 0264-4401 |
op_rights |
https://www.emerald.com/insight/site-policies |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1108/ec-10-2022-0634 |
container_title |
Engineering Computations |
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1801378794529882112 |