Three-dimensional finite element simulation of fracture propagation in rock specimens with pre-existing fissure(s) under compression and their strength analysis

A FORTRAN program, consistent with the commercially available finite element (FE) code ABAQUS, is developed based on a three-dimensional (3D) linear elastic brittle damage constitutive model with two damage criteria. To consider the heterogeneity of rock, the developed FORTRAN program is used to set the stiffness and strength properties of each element of the FE model following a Weibull distribution function. The reliability of the program is assessed against available experimental results for granite cylindrical specimens with a throughgoing, flat and inclined fissure. The calibration procedure of the material parameters is explained in detail, and it is shown that the compressive to tensile strength ratio can have a substantial influence on the failure response of the specimens. Numerical simulations are conducted for models with different levels of heterogeneity. The results show a smaller load bearing capacity for models with less homogeneity, representing gradual coalescence of fully damaged elements forming throughout the models during loading. The maximum load bearing capacity is studied for various combinations of inclination angles of two centrally aligned, throughgoing and flat fissures of equal length embedded in cylindrical models under uniaxial and multiaxial loading conditions. The key role of the compressive to tensile strength ratio is highlighted by repeating certain simulations with a lower compressive to tensile strength ratio. It is proven that the peak loads of the rock models with sufficiently small compressive to tensile strength ratios containing two throughgoing fissures of equal length are similar, provided that the minimum inclination angles of the models are the same. The results are presented and discussed with respect to the existing experimental findings in the literature, suggesting that the numerical model applied in this study can provide useful insight into the failure behaviour of rock-like materials.     

Effects of the geometry of two‐dimensional fractures on their hydraulic aperture and on the validity of the local cubic law

Flow through rough fractures is investigated numerically in order to assess the validity of the local cubic law for different fracture geometries. Two‐dimensional channels with sinusoidal walls having different geometrical properties defined by the aperture, the amplitude, and the wavelength of the walls' corrugations, the corrugations asymmetry, and the phase shift between the two walls are considered to represent different fracture geometries. First, it is analytically shown that the hydraulic aperture clearly deviates from the mean aperture when the walls' roughness, the phase shift, and/or the asymmetry between the fracture walls are relatively high. The continuity and the Navier–Stokes equations are then solved by means of the finite element method and the numerical solutions compared to the theoretical predictions of the local cubic law. Reynolds numbers ranging from 0.066 to 66.66 are investigated so as to focus more particularly on the effect of flow inertial effects on the validity of the local cubic law. For low Reynolds number, typically less than 15, the local cubic law properly describes the fracture flow, especially when the fracture walls have small corrugation amplitudes. For Reynolds numbers higher than 15, the local cubic law is valid under the conditions that the fracture presents a low aspect ratio, small corrugation amplitudes, and a moderate phase lag between its walls.     

Solution for a plane strain rough‐walled hydraulic fracture driven by turbulent fluid through impermeable rock

The impact of turbulent flow on plane strain fluid‐driven crack propagation is an important but still poorly understood consideration in hydraulic fracture modeling. The changes that hydraulic fracturing has experienced over the past decade, especially in the area of fracturing fluids, have played a major role in the transition of the typical fluid regime from laminar to turbulent flow. Motivated by the increasing preponderance of high‐rate, water‐driven hydraulic fractures with high Reynolds number, we present a semianalytical solution for the propagation of a plane strain hydraulic fracture driven by a turbulent fluid in an impermeable formation. The formulation uses a power law relationship between the Darcy‐Weisbach friction factor and the scale of the fracture roughness, where one specific manifestation of this generalized friction factor is the classical Gauckler‐Manning‐Strickler approximation for turbulent flow in a rough‐walled channel. Conservation of mass, elasticity, and crack propagation are also solved simultaneously. We obtain a semianalytical solution using an orthogonal polynomial series. An approximate closed‐form solution is enabled by a choice of orthogonal polynomials embedding the near‐tip asymptotic behavior and thus giving very rapid convergence; a precise solution is obtained with 2 terms of the series. By comparison with numerical simulations, we show that the transition region between the laminar and turbulent regimes can be relatively small so that full solutions can often be well approximated by either a fully laminar or fully turbulent solution.     

Micromechanical approach to effective viscoelastic properties of micro‐fractured geomaterials

The aim of this paper is to formulate a micromechanics‐based approach to non‐aging viscoelastic behavior of materials with randomly distributed micro‐fractures. Unlike cracks, fractures are discontinuities that are able to transfer stresses and can therefore be regarded from a mechanical viewpoint as interfaces endowed with a specific behavior under normal and shear loading. Making use of the elastic‐viscoelastic correspondence principle together with a Mori‐Tanka homogenization scheme, the effective viscoelastic behavior is assessed from properties of the material constituents and damage parameters related to density and size of fractures. It is notably shown that the homogenized behavior thus formulated can be described in most cases by means of a generalized Maxwell rheological model. For practical implementation in structural analyses, an approximate model for the isotropic homogenized fractured medium is formulated within the class of Burger models. Although the approximation is basically developed for short‐term and long‐term behaviors, numerical applications indicate that the approximate Burger model accurately reproduce the homogenized viscoelastic behavior also in the transient conditions.     

浙西北江山─绍兴断裂带构造演化特征

江山—绍兴断裂带是中国南方最重要的构造带之一。它是江南陆块与华夏陆块神功运动形成的碰撞拼贴带。它表现出明显的多期变形、构造叠加的特征：神功运动形成近东西向平卧褶皱；印支运动沿断裂带有向北西强烈的推覆挤压。断裂带不同时期的活动反映了不同特征的构造环境，形成不同的构造变形特征，并对两侧的地质历史具有明显的控制作用。     

Numerical manifold method for dynamic nonlinear analysis of saturated porous media

It is well known that the Babuska–Brezzi stability criterion or the Zienkiewicz–Taylor patch test precludes the use of the finite elements with the same low order of interpolation for displacement and pore pressure in the nearly incompressible and undrained cases, unless some stabilization techniques are introduced for dynamic analysis of saturated porous medium where coupling occurs between the displacement of solid skeleton and pore pressure. The numerical manifold method (NMM), where the interpolation of displacement and pressure can be determined independently in an element for the solution of u–p formulation, is derived based on triangular mesh for the requirement of high accurate calculations from practical applications in the dynamic analysis of saturated porous materials. The matrices of equilibrium equations for the second‐order displacement and the first‐order pressure manifold method are given in detail for program coding. By close comparison with widely used finite element method, the NMM presents good stability for the coupling problems, particularly in the nearly incompressible and undrained cases. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the validity and stability of the manifold element developed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

元岭金矿蚀变破碎带特征及其找矿意义

根据对元岭金矿三条蚀变破碎带一般地质特征、微量元素特征的对比研究，并借鉴邻近矿区蚀变破碎带的矿化特征，本文阐明了元岭蚀变破碎带矿化的有利构造部位，总结了蚀变破碎带特征与矿化强度之间的关系，指出蚀变破碎带的矿化蚀变元素为中低温组合，矿化蚀变愈强则参与元素的种类愈多、数量愈大。围岩性质对矿化蚀变有一定影响，围岩中的易迁移亲铜元素和亲硫铁族无素对矿化有利。据此，为进一步成矿预测、评价蚀变破碎带的含矿性提供依据。     

Restricted Three-Body Problem: An Approximation of its General Solution – Part One – the Manifold of Symmetric Periodic Solutions

This paper gives the results of a programme attempting to exploit ‘la seule bréche’ (Poincaré, 1892, p. 82) of non-integrable systems, namely to develop an approximate general solution for the three out of its four component-solutions of the planar restricted three-body problem. This is accomplished by computing a large number of families of ‘solutions précieuses’ (periodic solutions) covering densely the space of initial conditions of this problem. More specifically, we calculated numerically and only for μ = 0.4, all families of symmetric periodic solutions (1st component of the general solution) existing in the domain D:(x ₀ ∊ [−2,2],C ∊ [−2,5]) of the (x ₀, C) space and consisting of symmetric solutions re-entering after 1 up to 50 revolutions (see graph in Fig. 4). Then we tested the parts of the domain D that is void of such families and established that they belong to the category of escape motions (2nd component of the general solution). The approximation of the 3rd component (asymmetric solutions) we shall present in a future publication. The 4th component of the general solution of the problem, namely the one consisting of the bounded non-periodic solutions, is considered as approximated by those of the 1st or the 2nd component on account of the `Last Geometric Theorem of Poincaré' (Birkhoff, 1913). The results obtained provoked interest to repeat the same work inside the larger closed domain D:(x ₀ ∊ [−6,2], C ∊ [−5,5]) and the results are presented in Fig. 15. A test run of the programme developed led to reproduction of the results presented by Hénon (1965) with better accuracy and many additional families not included in the sited paper. Pointer directions construed from the main body of results led to the definition of useful concepts of the basic family of order n, n = 1, 2,… and the completeness criterion of the solution inside a compact sub-domain of the (x ₀, C) space. The same results inspired the ‘partition theorem’, which conjectures the possibility of partitioning an initial conditions domain D into a finite set of sub-domains D i that fulfill the completeness criterion and allow complete approximation of the general solution of this problem by computing a relatively small number of family curves. The numerical results of this project include a large number of families that were computed in detail covering their natural termination, the morphology, and stability of their member solutions. Zooming into sub-domains of D permitted clear presentation of the families of symmetric solutions contained in them. Such zooming was made for various values of the parameter N, which defines the re-entrance revolutions number, which was selected to be from 50 to 500. The areas generating escape solutions have being investigated. In Appendix A we present families of symmetric solutions terminating at asymptotic solutions, and in Appendix B the morphology of large period symmetric solutions though examples of orbits that re-enter after from 8 to 500 revolutions. The paper concludes that approximations of the general solution of the planar restricted problem is possible and presents such approximations, only for some sub-domains that fulfill the completeness criterion, on the basis of sufficiently large number of families.