Department Seminar at Royal School of Mine, Imperial College London

A multiscale damage-plasticity model for compaction band and fractures in anisotropic fluid-infiltrating porous media

Abstract:
Many engineering applications, such as geological disposal of nuclear waste, require reliable predictions on the hydro-mechanical responses of porous media exposed to extreme environments. This presentation will discuss the relevant modeling techniques designed specific for porous media subjected to such harsh environments. In particular, we will provide an overview of (1) the variational eigen-deformation techniques used to model brittle fracture and compaction bands, (2) the usage of adaptive nonlocal multiscale techniques to link grain-scale simulations to macroscopic predictions and hence bypass the usage of any macroscopic phenomenological law, and the coupling of crystal plasticity and multi-phase-field model designed to replicate the thermal- and rate-dependent damage-plasticity of crystalline rock. Special emphasis is placed on how formation and propagation of flow barrier formed by array of compaction bands and the flow conduit formed by fractures interact and affected the macroscopic hydro-mechanical behavior of brittle porous media. 

​(hosted by Prof. Robert Zimmerman)