剪胀对复杂裂隙岩体渗透性影响的离散元分析

裂隙岩体流固耦合问题是目前国内外研究热点之一,采用离散元软件UDEC对裂隙岩体发生节理剪胀的渗透性变化规律进行了模拟分析。基于现场调查的裂隙信息统计生成裂隙网络岩体模型。 通过固定垂直应力、不断增加应力比RS(RS=水平应力/垂直应力)使岩体出现剪胀,采用库伦滑移节理模式对岩体在剪胀过程中的渗透性变化情况进行模拟。结果发现:当应力比较小(RS3.1)时,节理水力隙宽、流速、渗透系数等参数都随着应力比的增加表现出明显的降低; 而当岩体出现剪胀现象之后(应力比大于3.1),发生剪切滑移和剪胀现象的节理控制着裂隙岩体的总体渗流行为,与不考虑节理剪胀的计算结果相比,岩体渗透能力出现了显著增长。这一结果表明,剪胀对裂隙岩体渗透性的影响是显著而不可忽视的。     

Numerical modelling of fluid flow tests in a rock fracture with a special algorithm for contact areas

The fluid flow in rock fractures during shear processes has been an important issue in rock mechanics and is investigated in this paper using finite element method (FEM), considering evolutions of aperture and transmissivity with shear displacement histories under different normal stress and normal stiffness conditions as measured during laboratory coupled shear-flow tests. The distributions of fracture aperture and its evolution during shearing were calculated from the initial aperture, based on the laser-scanned sample surface roughness results, and shear dilations measured in the laboratory tests. Three normal loading conditions were adopted in the tests: simple normal stress and mixed normal stress and normal stiffness to reflect more realistic in situ conditions. A special algorithm for treatment of the contact areas as zero-aperture elements was used to produce more accurate flow field simulations, which is important for continued simulations of particle transport but often not properly treated in literature. The simulation results agree well with the measured hydraulic apertures and flow rate data obtained from the laboratory tests, showing that complex histories of fracture aperture and tortuous flow fields with changing normal loading conditions and increasing shear displacements. With the new algorithm for contact areas, the tortuous flow fields and channeling effects under normal stress/stiffness conditions during shearing were more realistically captured, which is not possible if traditional techniques by assuming very small aperture values for the contact areas were used. These findings have an important impact on the interpretation of the results of coupled hydro-mechanical experiments of rock fractures, and on more realistic simulations of particle transport processes in fractured rocks.     

Gouge Particle Evolution in a Rock Fracture Undergoing Shear: a Microscopic DEM Study

The evolution of gouge materials in rock fractures or faults undergoing shear can change fracture properties in terms of shear strength and dilation, fluid transmissivity and retardation for contaminants. In order to conceptually understand gouge mechanical behaviors including movement, microcracking, abrasion and redistribution, particle mechanics models were used to simulate single- and multi-gouge particles in a rough fracture segment undergoing shear. The results show that gouge particles behave in two different ways under low and high normal stresses, respectively. Under low normal stress, gouge particles mainly roll with the moving fracture walls, with little surface damage and small dilation during the shear process. Under high normal stress, gouge particles can be crushed into a few major pieces and a large number of minor comminuted particles, accompanied by more severe damage (abrasion and microcracking) in fracture walls and continuous fracture closure. The modeling results were also compared with published experiments and used to explain the observed macroscopic behaviors of rock fracture undergoing shear. The effects of microparameters used in the particle mechanics models on the simulation of gouge behaviors were also investigated through sensitivity analysis.     

A model for coupled mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of a rock joint

Constitutive laws for rock joints should be able to reproduce the fundamental mechanical behaviour of real joints, such as dilation under shear and strain softening due to surface asperity degradation. In this work, we extend the model of Plesha to include hydraulic behaviour. During shearing, the joint can experience dilation, leading to an initial increase in its permeability. Experiments have shown that the rate of increase of the permeability slows down as shearing proceeds, and, at later stages, the permeability could decrease again. The above behaviour is attributed to gouge production. The stress–strain relationship of the joint is formulated by appeal to classical theories of interface plasticity. It is shown that the parameters of the model can be estimated from the Barton–Bandis empirical coefficients; the Joint Roughness Coefficient (JRC) and the Joint Compresive strength (JSC). We further assume that gouge production is also related to the plastic work of the shear stresses, which enables the derivation of a relationship between the permeability of the joint and its mechanical aperture. The model is implemented in a finite element code (FRACON) developed by the authors for the simulation of the coupled thermal–hydraulic–mechanical behaviour of jointed rock masses. Typical laboratory experiments are simulated with the FRACON code in order to illustrate the trends predicted in the proposed model. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons. Ltd.     

Cubic law with aperture-length correlation: implications for network scale fluid flow

Previous studies have computed and modeled fluid flow through fractured rock with the parallel plate approach where the volumetric flow per unit width normal to the direction of flow is proportional to the cubed aperture between the plates, referred to as the traditional cubic law. When combined with the square root relationship of displacement to length scaling of opening-mode fractures, total flow rates through natural opening-mode fractures are found to be proportional to apertures to the fifth power. This new relationship was explored by examining a suite of flow simulations through fracture networks using the discrete fracture network model (DFN). Flow was modeled through fracture networks with the same spatial distribution of fractures for both correlated and uncorrelated fracture length-to-aperture relationships. Results indicate that flow rates are significantly higher for correlated DFNs. Furthermore, the length-to-aperture relations lead to power-law distributions of network hydraulic conductivity which greatly influence equivalent permeability tensor values. These results confirm the importance of the correlated square root relationship of displacement to length scaling for total flow through natural opening-mode fractures and, hence, emphasize the role of these correlations for flow modeling.     

Hydromechanical properties and alteration of natural fracture surfaces in the Soultz granite (Bas-Rhin, France)

Natural fractures are characterized by rough surfaces and complex fluid flows. A large distribution of apertures (residual voids) within their walls and the presence of contact points (in situ normal loads) produce heterogeneous flows (channeling). The resulting permeabilities, porosities or fluid–rock exchange surfaces cannot be realistically modeled by parallel and smooth plate models. Four natural fractures are sampled at different depths and degrees of alteration in the Soultz sandstone and granite (EPS1 drillhole, Soultz-sous-Forêts, Bas-Rhin, France). The fracture surfaces are measured with mechanical profilometry and maps of asperity heights (XYZ). Resulting local apertures (XYe) are then calculated. A statistical study of the surface profiles (XZ) show that the fractures are more or less rough and tortuous according to the types of alteration. Altered samples are characterized by smoother surfaces of fractures. Such differences imply that (i) the average fracture aperture is not representative for the whole fracture and that (ii) the different local apertures should be integrated in hydraulic and mechanical models. A hydraulic model (finite difference calculations) of fluid flow, taking into account the elastic closure (Hertz contact theory) of fractures with depth, is used. Maps of contact points and relative local loads within the fracture planes are compared to flow maps. They show different channeling of fluid flows. Strongly altered fractures are characterized by homogeneous fluxes despite the presence of numerous contact zones during the closure of fracture. By contrast, fresh fractures develop, increasing fluid flow channels with depth.Fracture closure (increasing normal stress) does not systematically increase the channeling of fluid flow. There is evidence for a general smoothing out of the irregularities of the fracture walls due to precipitation of secondary minerals, indicating that the cubic law can be commonly valid, also at great crustal depth but this validity depends on the degree of fracture alteration. Mineralogical and geochemical observations, thus, should be taken into account to perform more accurate permeability calculations and models of fluid circulation in fracture networks.     

压剪作用下裂隙扩展过程渗流与应力耦合模型研究

裂隙的剪胀特性及扩展演化规律对岩体的渗流特性具有重要影响。为揭示裂隙剪胀及扩展演化对岩体渗流的影响,基于残余强度提出了一种能较好描述岩石硬化-软化特性的全剪切本构关系;结合剪切变形与裂隙开度的关系,利用最小势能原理和立方定律,建立了压剪作用下考虑裂隙剪胀特性的渗流应力耦合模型;假定压剪作用下裂隙发生Ⅰ型扩展,提出了伴有翼型裂纹的渗流模型,该模型不仅考虑了岩石的剪胀特性,更反映了裂隙扩展过程渗流的演化规律。对不同裂隙粗糙度的剪切应力-位移曲线进行分析,全剪切本构模型表现出较高的拟合精度。在剪切应力-位移关系基础上,通过剪切渗流试验数据对压剪作用下渗流模型进行验证,结果表明,该模型能较好地描述岩体剪胀阶段渗透性演化规律。利用等效裂隙简化裂隙网络,并通过试验数据进行验证,证实了裂隙扩展过程渗流-应力耦合模型的准确性与适用性。     

岩体裂隙网络等效渗透系数方向性的数值计算

采用渗流力学理论并结合Monte Carlo方法描述岩体裂隙的随机分布,研究渗流模型的尺寸效应并确定表征单元体积（REV）,得到了3种开口度分布形式的等效渗透系数椭圆曲线,建立了等效渗透系数方向性的判别标准。离散裂隙网络（DFN）模型假定流体只在岩体裂隙内部流动,而不通过岩体本身渗流。基于二维离散元程序UDEC并进行二次开发,建立DFN模型,通过改变流体的流动方向,得到不同流动方向下岩体裂隙网络的等效渗透系数,并分析不同的开口度分布形式对岩体裂隙网络等效渗透系数方向性的影响。计算结果表明,表征单元体积存在的条件是等效渗透系数保持稳定且渗透椭圆比较光滑。等效渗透系数的方向性受开口度分布形式的影响很大：当开口度-长度关联分布时,等效渗透系数各向异性;当开口度对数正态分布时,等效渗透系数各向同性;当开口度恒定分布时,等效渗透系数的特性介于二者之间。变化系数（CV）是否大于5%是判定岩体裂隙网络渗透系数是否具有方向性的判别标准。     

Influence of rock mass properties on tunnel inflow using hydromechanical numerical study

One of the primary geotechnical problems encountered during tunnel construction involves the inflow of groundwater into the tunnel. Heavy inflows make tunnel construction difficult and result in higher costs and delays in construction period. Therefore, it is essential to estimate the volume and rate of water inflow that is likely to appear in the tunnel. In this research, water inflow to the tunnel was calculated using numerical hydromechanical analysis. Effect of rock mass properties including fracture characteristics (normal and shear stiffness, hydraulic aperture, dilation angle, and fracture nonlinear behavior) on inflow was studied using a two-dimensional distinct element method. Results show that fracture properties play important role in inflow to the tunnel and must be considered in prediction of inflow to the tunnel. Based on numerical analysis results, inflow of groundwater into the tunnel increases with the increasing of normal and shear stiffness, dilation angle, and hydraulic aperture of rock mass fractures. The measured inflow with considering nonlinear fracture behavior was more than the calculated inflow with linear constitutive behavior.     

壁面局部接触裂隙岩体水流-传热的一种理论模型及计算分析

核废物地质处置、地热开发、石油开采等工程领域都可能涉及稀疏裂隙岩体中的水流-传热过程。现有的裂隙岩体水流-传热理论模型和计算方法基本上都是以平行光滑壁面裂隙模型为基础的,没有考虑裂隙的壁面局部接触对水流、水-岩热交换以及岩体传热的影响。针对粗糙壁面裂隙水流过程,阐述了基于Stokes方程的Reynolds润滑方程及Hele-Shaw裂隙模型,采用MATLAB软件中的PDE工具求解,并与Walsh的等效水力开度公式进行对比;分析壁面局部接触裂隙水流-传热与填充裂隙水流-传热的相似性,提出了瞬时局部热平衡假设的适用条件,并在裂隙局部接触体传热满足Biot数条件的前提下,计算分析裂隙局部接触体与水流之间的局部热平衡时间及其影响因素;在裂隙局部接触体与水流之间满足瞬时热平衡假设的前提下,利用填充裂隙水流-传热的解析解,计算了壁面局部接触裂隙水及两侧岩石的温度分布,并分析了裂隙局部接触面积率、裂隙开度、裂隙水平均流速对岩石温度和裂隙水温度的影响特征,结果表明：（1）在设定条件下,由于裂隙局部接触体与裂隙水流之间的热交换,裂隙水流对其两侧岩石温度的影响范围随接触面积率的增大而减小,裂隙两侧岩石对裂隙水流温度的影响程度随接触面积率的增大而增大;（2）裂隙开度和裂隙水流速对岩石温度和裂隙水温度的影响方式的影响是一致的,即由于裂隙水流量随裂隙开度和裂隙水流速的增大而增大,裂隙水流对其两侧岩石温度的影响范围随裂隙开度和裂隙水流速的增大而增大,裂隙两侧岩石对裂隙水流温度的影响程度随裂隙开度和裂隙水流速的增大而减小。     

岩石裂隙的非饱和渗透特性及其演化规律研究

岩石裂隙的非饱和渗透特性是岩土、能源和环境等领域科学研究中的热点问题。采用三维激光扫描获取花岗岩裂隙的表面形貌特征,分析裂隙微观形貌特征对非饱和渗透特性的影响。研究在张拉、压缩、剪切等复杂荷载作用下裂隙开度分布的演化规律,建立复杂荷载作用下岩石裂隙非饱和毛细压力曲线演化模型。基于裂隙的微观形貌特征推导了岩石裂隙非饱和相对渗透系数模型,通过与试验数据对比,验证了模型的准确性和有效性,并在此基础上建立了复杂荷载作用下岩石裂隙非饱和相对渗透系数演化模型。研究成果对非饱和条件下裂隙岩体的水-力耦合机制研究具有一定指导意义。     

Permeability tensor and representative elementary volume of fractured rock masses

Based on a simulation of three-dimensional fracture networks and a superposition principle of liquid dissipation energy for fractured rock masses, a model of the fracture permeability tensor is proposed. An elastic constitutive model of rock fractures, considering fracture closure and dilation during shearing, is also proposed, based on the dilation angle of the fracture. Algorithms of flow-path searching and calculation of the effective flow coefficients for fracture networks are presented, together with a discussion on the influence of geometric parameters of the fractures (trace length, spacing, aperture, orientation and the number of fracture sets) on magnitude, anisotropy of hydraulic permeability and the size of a representative elementary volume (REV). The anisotropy of hydraulic permeability of fractured rock masses is mainly affected by orientation and the number of fracture sets, and the REV size is mainly influenced by trace length, spacing and the number of fracture sets. The results of studies on REV size and the influence of in-situ stress on hydraulic conductivity of the rock mass on the slope of Jinping-I hydropower station, China, are presented using the developed models and methods. The simulation results agreed well with the results obtained from field water-pressure measurements, with an error of less than 10 %.     

A Laboratory Shear Cell Used for Simulation of Shear Strength and Asperity Degradation of Rough Rock Fractures

Different failure modes during fracture shearing have been introduced including dilation, sliding, asperity cut-off and degradation. Several laboratory studies have reported the complexity of these failure modes during shear tests performed under either constant normal load (CNL) or constant normal stiffness (CNS) conditions. This paper is concerned with the mechanical behaviour of synthetic fractures during direct shear tests using a modified shear cell and related numerical simulation studies. The modifications made to an existing true triaxial stress cell (TTSC) in order to use it for performing shear tests under CNL conditions are presented. The large loading capacity and the use of accurate hydraulic pumps capable of applying a constant shear velocity are the main elements of this cell. Synthetic mortar specimens with different fracture surface geometries are tested to study the failure modes, including fracture sliding, asperity degradation, and to understand failure during shearing. A bonded particle model of the direct shear test with the PFC2D particle flow code is used to mimic the tests performed. The results of a number of tests are presented and compared with PFC2D simulations. The satisfactory results obtained both qualitatively and quantitatively are discussed.     

Numerical Investigations of the Dynamic Shear Behavior of Rough Rock Joints

The dynamic shear behavior of rock joints is significant to both rock engineering and earthquake dynamics. With the discrete element method (DEM), the dynamic direct-shear tests on the rough rock joints with 3D (sinusoidal or random) surface morphologies are simulated and discussed. Evolution of the friction coefficient with the slip displacement shows that the 3D DEM joint model can accurately reproduce the initial strengthening, slip-weakening, and steady-sliding responses of real rock joints. Energy analyses show that the strengthening and weakening behavior of the rock joint are mainly attributed to the rapid accumulation and release of the elastic energy in the joint. Then, effects of the surface roughness and the normal stress on the friction coefficient and the micro shear deformation mechanisms, mainly volume change and asperity damage, of the rock joint are investigated. The results show that the peak friction coefficient increases logarithmically with the increasing surface roughness, but decreases exponentially with the increasing normal stress. In addition, the rougher rock joint exhibits both higher joint dilation and asperity degradation. However, high normal stress constrains the joint dilation, but promotes the degree of asperity degradation significantly. Lastly, the effects of the 3D surface morphology on the shear behavior of the rock joint are investigated with a directional roughness parameter. It is observed that the anisotropy of the surface roughness consequently results in the variation of the peak friction coefficient of the joint corresponding to different shearing directions as well as the micro shear deformation mechanisms, e.g., the extent of joint dilation.     

Normal-stress dependence of fracture hydraulic properties including two-phase flow properties

A systematic approach has been developed for determining relationships between normal stress and fracture hydraulic properties, including two-phase flow properties. The development of a relationship between stress and fracture permeability (or fracture aperture and fracture closure) is based on a two-part Hooke’s model (TPHM) that captures heterogeneous elastic-deformation processes at a macroscopic scale by conceptualizing the rock mass (or a fracture) into two parts with different mechanical properties. The developed relationship was verified using a number of datasets in the literature for fracture closure versus stress, and satisfactory agreements were obtained. TPHM was previously shown to be able to accurately represent testing data for porous media as well. Based on the consideration that fracture–aperture distributions under different normal stresses can be represented by truncated-Gaussian distributions, closed-form constitutive relationships were developed between capillary pressure, relative permeability and saturation, for deformable horizontal fractures. The usefulness of these relationships was demonstrated by their consistency with a laboratory dataset.     

A Fractal-Based Model for Fracture Deformation Under Shearing and Compression

This study presents an improved model for calculating mechanical deformation of individual fractures subject to shearing and compression processes. Considering that the fracture-surface roughness can be characterized by fractals, a relationship between asperity angle and size of a fracture with fractal surfaces is derived. In addition, plastic work is employed to account for the effects of fracture-asperity degradation during the shearing process. Based on these developments, a scale-dependent relationship between shear stress and displacement is proposed, and also a formulation to calculate fracture aperture during shearing and compression processes is developed, by relating normal displacement to shear displacement for fractal surfaces. The usefulness of this model is demonstrated by agreements between calculated results and observations from laboratory experiments under different test conditions.     

Effects of Scale and Normal Stress on Shear Behavior of a Soft Fracture Replica

The effects of the fracture scale (size) and normal stress on the shear behavior of a fracture were investigated in direct shear rig using mortar fracture replicas of different sizes (100–200 mm), which were reproduced from a tensile fracture created in granite. Monotonic shear loading was applied at normal stresses of 0.3 and 1 MPa for shear displacements of 2 and 20 mm. The change in surface topography was measured by using a profile measurement system with a laser profilometer to determine the changes in surface damage and the aperture during shear. Additionally, the effect of gouge material on the non-linearity of the closure curve during shear was investigated. The results show that the standard deviation of the initial aperture during shear increases not only with scale but also with the normal stress, since the matedness decreases due to the fact that asperities are more damaged with normal stress, and accordingly, the non-linearity in the closure curve during shear increases with normal stress. The results also show that the non-linearity of the closure curve during shear increases with the presence of gouge material/debris that is produced in the shearing process. This is mainly because gouge is soft and easily deforms under the application of normal stress. Moreover, gouge material is distributed non-uniformly around the contact areas. Thus, the normal stiffness during shear decreases not only with a decrease in the matedness between the surfaces, but also with the presence of gouge material.     

Flow–stress coupled permeability tensor for fractured rock masses

In this paper a new analytical model is proposed to determine the permeability tensor for fractured rock masses based on the superposition principle of liquid dissipation energy. This model relies on the geometrical characteristics of rock fractures and the corresponding fracture network, and demonstrates the coupling effect between fluid flow and stress/deformation. This model empirically considers the effect of pre‐peak shear dilation and shear contraction on the hydraulic behavior of rock fractures and can be used to determine the applicability of the continuum approach to hydro‐mechanical coupling analysis. Results of numerical analysis presented in this paper show that the new model can effectively describe the permeability of fractured rock masses, and can be applied to the coupling analysis of seepage and stress fields. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling of shear failure in fractured reservoirs with a porous matrix

A finite volume-based numerical modeling framework using a hierarchical fracture representation (HFR) has been developed to compute flow-induced shear failure. To accurately capture the mechanics near fracture manifolds, discontinuous basis functions are employed which ensure continuity of the displacement gradient across fractures. With these special basis functions, traction and compressive forces on the fracture segment can be calculated without any additional constraints, which is extremely useful for estimating the irreversible displacement along the fracture (slip) based on a constitutive friction law. The method is further extended to include slip-dependent hydraulic aperture change and grid convergent results are obtained. Further, the change in hydraulic aperture is modeled using an asymptotic representation which respects the experimentally observed behavior of pore volume dilation due to shear slip. The model allows the initial rapid increase in hydraulic aperture due to shear slip and asymptotically approaches a finite value after repeated shearing of a fracture segment. This aperture increase is the only feedback for mechanics into the fluid flow for a linear elastic mechanics problem. The same model is also extended to include poroelastic relations between flow and mechanics solver. The grid convergence result in the case of poroelastic flow-mechanics coupling for flow-induced shear failure is also obtained. This proves the robustness of the numerical and analytical modeling of fracture and friction in the extended finite volume method (XFVM) set-up. Finally, a grid convergent result for seismic moment magnitude for single fracture and fracture network with random initial hydraulic and friction properties is also obtained. The b-value, which represents the slope of seismic moment occurrence frequency decay vs seismic moment magnitude, which is approximately constant in a semi-logarithmic plot, is estimated. The numerical method leads to converged b-values for both single fracture and fracture network simulations, as grid and time resolutions are increased. For the resulting linear system, a sequential approach is used, that is, first, the flow and then the mechanics problems are solved. The new modeling framework is very useful to predict seismicity, permeability, and flow evolution in geological reservoirs. This is demonstrated with numerical simulations of enhancing a geothermal system.     

An Elasto-Plastic Constitutive Model for Rock Joints Under Cyclic Loading and Constant Normal Stiffness Conditions

An elasto-plastic constitutive model is introduced for rock joints under cyclic loading, considering the additional shear resistance generated by the asperity damage in the first forward shear cycle and sliding mechanism for further shearing. A series of cyclic loading direct shear tests was conducted on artificial joints with triangular asperities and replicas of a real rock asperity surface under constant normal stiffness (CNS) conditions. The model was calibrated and then validated using selected data sets from the experimental results. Model simulations were found to be in good agreement with the rock joints behaviour under cyclic loading and CNS conditions both in stress prediction and dilation behaviour. In addition, dynamic stability analysis of an underground structure was carried out, using Universal Distinct Element Code and the proposed constitutive model.