“Transverse Action” – A model benchmark exercise for numerical analysis of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone hydromechanical response to excavation operations

The Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (COx) is considered as a potential geological formation to host an industrial radioactive waste repository in France. A detailed understanding of the thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behavior of the COx is a key issue for design of different repository structures and the safety calculations of the project. More particularly, numerical modeling of induced fracture networks around drifts excavated at the main level of the Andra’s Meuse/Haut-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (M/HM URL) and short and long term behavior of the COx around these drifts are of great interest. Several constitutive models have been developed/used in the framework of the R&D and simulation programs of Andra. A model benchmark exercise has been launched since 2012 to provide an overall view of the developed models regarding the in situ observations. In this view, two series of test cases, respectively at material point scale and at drift excavation scale are defined. Different kinds of constitutive models based on the elasto-visco-plasticity concept, continuum damage mechanics, the rigid block spring method and two-scale computational homogenized model (CHM) are used within this exercise. The obtained results show that accounting for material anisotropy and strain localization treatment techniques can improve the obtained results when elasto-visco-plastic models are used. Damage mechanics based approaches and methods accounting for discontinuities through discrete elements provide also interesting insights especially when fracturing processes must be modeled. However, more efforts are necessary to improve the robustness of these kinds of approaches in the complex context of COx response to excavation works.     

渤海湾盆地惠民凹陷滚动背斜与顶部垮塌断层形成的构造物理模拟

伸展盆地中发育的复杂断裂体系的结构样式、形成过程及成因机制一直是含油气盆地分析中的难点。利用构造物理模拟方法,研究了渤海湾盆地惠民凹陷典型剖面中滚动背斜与顶部垮塌断层的发育过程与形成机制。通过设计2组对照实验（E1和E2）,分别研究了惠民凹陷中拆离断层和内部洼陷断裂对上盘褶皱和断裂结构影响和控制机制。其中,E1为预设断层模型,主要模拟弯曲的宁南拆离断层;E2实验采用双底板相对伸展模型和预设正断层模型相结合的方案,主要考虑了伸展盆地中后期次级洼陷的活动。构造物理模拟E1实验再现了渤海湾盆地惠民凹陷滚动背斜与顶部垮塌断层的形成过程,表明宁南断层实际控制了上盘一级褶皱的形态和次级断裂体系的发育。顶部垮塌断层体系由顺向和反向正断层构成,总体为不对称的结构特征,新发育的共轭断层具有同期的活动性,随后呈现侧向迁移的规律。断层位移量演化统计表明,实验存在同时活动、呈共轭关系的2组破裂面,与伸展楔体预测的2组库伦破裂一致,反映其处于或接近临界楔体状态。另一组实验显示,临邑和夏口断层的发育切割了早期形成的顶部垮塌断层,临南洼陷开始形成并不断加宽,最终形成的样式与现今构造剖面一致。本次研究对其他类似的伸展断层相关褶皱中的滚动背斜及其相关垮塌断裂发育机制具有一定的启示意义。     

储层建模中几种原型模型的建立

储层地质知识库的建立是储层建模过程中极为重要的一步，它为建模提供基本的条件数据及各种统计参数。本文总结了建立地质知识库的主要步骤及基本内容。在资料较少的情况下，需要借助原型模型来提供一些无法直接获得但对建模十分重要的参数，如砂体宽厚比、水平方向变差函数等。文中用3个实例较详细的介绍了建立原型模型的3种主要方法，分别是利用露头、成熟油田和沉积模拟实验建立原型模型，并比较了各自的优缺点。     

Hydrodynamic modeling of flushing time in a small estuary of North Bay, Florida, USA

Freshwater fraction method is popular for cost-effective estimations of estuarine flushing time in response to freshwater inputs. However, due to the spatial variations of salinity, it is usually expensive to directly estimate the long-term freshwater fraction in the estuary from field observations. This paper presents the application of the 3D hydrodynamic model to estimate the distributions of salinity and thus the freshwater fractions for flushing time estimation. For a case study in a small estuary of the North Bay in Florida, USA, the hydrodynamic model was calibrated and verified using available field observations. Freshwater fractions in the estuary were determined by integrating freshwater fractions in model grids for the calculation of flushing time. The flushing time in the North Bay is calculated by the volume of freshwater fraction divided by the freshwater inflow, which is about 2.2 days under averaged flow conditions. Based on model simulations for a time series of freshwater inputs over a 2-year period, a power regression equation has been derived from model simulations to correlate estuarine flushing time to freshwater inputs. For freshwater input varying from 12 m³/s to 50 m³/s, flushing time in this small estuary of North Bay changes from 3.7 days to 1.8 days. In supporting estuarine management, the model can be used to examine the effects of upstream freshwater withdraw on estuarine salinity and flushing time.     

同构造沉积速率对先存被动盐底辟挤压变形的影响:库车坳陷西秋里塔格构造带盐构造分析及物理模拟

文中构建了两组构造物理实验,对存在先存被动盐底辟构造的含盐盆地的厚皮挤压构造演化特征进行模拟,研究揭 示了库车坳陷西段秋里塔格构造带新生代盐相关构造演化过程。实验结果表明,同构造沉积速率对库车坳陷西段秋里塔格 构造带博孜-却勒区域（西段） 和秋里塔格-克拉苏区域（东段） 盐相关构造横向分段差异变形具有重要的控制影响作 用。在挤压过程中,博孜-却勒区域慢速同构造沉积使得先存被动盐底辟北翼（拜城凹陷南翼） 向南逆冲到底辟南翼之 上,并促使却勒盐推覆体和米斯坎塔克盐背斜形成;而秋里塔格-克拉苏区域快速同构造沉积使得先存被动盐底辟北翼快 速下沉,而其南翼在挤压应力作用下向北逆冲到底辟北翼（拜城凹陷南翼） 之上,形成南秋里塔格盐背斜。     

Major and trace element geochemistry of neutral and acidic thermal springs at El Chichón volcano,Mexico: Implications for monitoring of the volcanic activity

Four groups of thermal springs with temperatures from 50 to 80 °C are located on the S–SW–W slopes of El Chichón volcano, a composite dome-tephra edifice, which exploded in 1982 with a 1 km wide, 160 m deep crater left. Very dynamic thermal activity inside the crater (variations in chemistry and migration of pools and fumaroles, drastic changes in the crater lake volume and chemistry) contrasts with the stable behavior of the flank hot springs during the time of observations (1974–2005). All known groups of hot springs are located on the contact of the basement and volcanic edifice, and only on the W–SW–S slopes of the volcano at almost same elevations 600–650 m asl and less than 3 km of direct distance from the crater. Three groups of near-neutral (pH ≈ 6) springs at SW–S slopes have the total thermal water outflow rate higher than 300 l/s and are similar in composition. The fourth and farthest group on the western slope discharges acidic (pH ≈ 2) saline (10 g/kg of Cl) water with a much lower outflow rate (< 10 l/s).     

Numerical modeling calculation for the spatial distribution characteristics of horizontal field transfer functions

Introduction There are two kinds of methods for the mathematic study on electro-magnetic induction in geo-field: one is analytic method, such as integral equation method; the other is numerical model-ing method, such as finite difference method and finite element method. The analytic method can only be applied to the conductor with very simple shape, such as sphere, circular cylinder, etc. With the increasing of computing speed and popularity of computer, the numerical modeling methods are use…     

北淮阳及其邻接区地壳稳定性研究

运用多学科、多技术相结合的研究方法,从现今构造应力场特征、现代地壳形变特征、主干断裂构造以及区域断裂活动性分析、新构造运动、地震活动、数值模拟等方面入手,对北淮阳及其邻接区地壳稳定性进行了全面而系统的研究,指出本区地震活动受走滑活动断裂控制,中、强地震集中于区内东南部和西北部NW向与NE向断裂交汇处;第四纪无大规模差异升降运动;数值模拟等综合分析表明,信阳地区的区域构造稳定性高,现代地壳形变量小,应力平缓,地震活动少且弱。     

Influence of the zone of weakness on dip angle and shear heating of subducted slabs

We study the importance of the zones of weakness and the pattern of downgoing flow in steady-state models of subducting lithosphere, which interacts mechanically and thermally with the ambient mantle. The non-linear system of governing equations consists of (i) the momentum equation in stream function formulation and (ii) the steady-state heat transfer equation including conduction and advection of heat and dissipation. A finite element method has been applied to this system. We consider the viscosity to be a non-linear function of both the temperature and the stream function. In steady-state two-dimensional (2D) flow, the stream function isolines follow material trajectories. They are used to follow the top of the subducting slab, which because of its possible increase in water content, is assumed to have a lower viscosity. The zone of weakness has been thus obtained in the self-consistent fashion since the stream function as well as the temperature are the output from our modeling and no a priori assumptions about the shape of the bending lithosphere are taken into account. It was shown that several orders decrease of viscosity in the zone of weakness is required to obtain the dip angle of about 45°. If the decrease of viscosity is not sufficient enough, the subducted slab either sinks almost vertically or does not exhibit a plate-like behavior. We have also demonstrated that shear heating can unrealistically increase at the zone of weakness for fast subductions if decrease of viscosity is underestimated.     

济阳坳陷孤东油田曲流河河道储集层构型三维建模

济阳坳陷孤东油田七区西馆陶组上段为典型的曲流河沉积,其中Ng522单层发育2个大型点坝砂体,在系统的点坝砂体构型表征的基础上,探索了储集层构型界面的几何建模方法,将构型界面模型嵌入到基于三维结构化网格体的相模型中,建立了研究区26-295井区真正意义上的、更符合地下实际的三维储集层构型模型,再现了成因微相内部构型单元及界面的空间分布特征,满足了三维油藏数值模拟的需要。点坝内部的侧积层向废弃河道方向倾斜,延伸到距点坝顶三分之二的位置,点坝砂体表现为“半连通体”特征。建立了点坝内部剩余油分布模式,并指出挖潜措施。该方法在研究区应用效果较好,并可以推广到其他相似油田,这对丰富储集层地质学理论及提高油田开发效率均具有重要意义。