Modelling gas fracturing in saturated clay samples using triple-node zero-thickness interface elements

Geological Disposal Facilities (GDF) for radioactive waste will generally rely on clay-rich materials as a host geological formation and/or engineered barrier. Gas will be produced within the GDF, which can build up significant gas pressure and will activate the migration of gas through the clay materials via different transport mechanisms....

Rate-dependent behaviour of fracture propagation in salt rock: Proceedings of the 10th Conference on the Mechanical Behavior of Salt (SaltMech X), Utrecht, The Netherlands, 06-08 July 2022

This paper describes an on-going experimental and numerical modelling<br/>research project on salt rock specimens. The experimental part of the study consists of a number of Mode I fracture tests with the WST (Wedge-Splitting Test) configuration, which are performed at different loading rates and complemented by a series of standard uniaxial...

Effect of long-term pore pressure evolution on the integrity of cement plugs of abandoned oil wells in CCS sites

In Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) sites, an important element of risk to be considered is the integrity of the cement seals of the abandoned wells in the reservoir [1]. The main goal of abandonment procedure once the life of a well is completed is to provide an effective isolation of the reservoir fluids in order to reduce environmental risk of...

Numerical Modelling of Two-Phase Flow in Fractured Rock Masses Using Zero-Thickness Interface Elements

In recent years, the authors and co-workers have developed a 3D finite element model for coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) problems in fractured rock masses. Zero-thickness interface elements are used for taking into account explicitly the effect of fractures and discontinuities in the fluid flow as well as the effect of fluid pressure in...

Numerical modelling of discrete gas flow pathways in water saturated clay

3D zero-thickness interface model for fracture of cement-based materials with chemical degradation

In the framework of the Finite Element Method, zero-thickness interface elements have been widely used to model fracturing processes in quasi-brittle materials in a broad variety of problems. In particular, interface elements equipped with elastoplastic constitutive laws that account for the softening of the material strength parameters due...

Experimental and numerical study of the time dependent behavior of fracture propagation in salt rock

In underground salt and potash mines, such as the ones in the region of Bages in central Catalonia, long-term deformations and stability of the mine tunnels are strongly influenced by the viscous (creep) behavior of saline rock. Tunnel excavation causes deviatoric stresses which in turn trigger creep strain in the salt rock. It has been often...

Model for alkali-silica reaction expansions in concrete using zero-thickness chemo-mechanical interface elements

Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) is a particular type of chemical reaction in concrete, which produces cracking and overall expansion of the affected structural element due to the formation of expansive reaction products within the cracks. This paper develops the formulation of a coupled Chemo-Mechanical (C-M) Finite Element (FE) model for...