大象传媒

Fractures in the Earth's subsurface are crucial for operations such as geothermal energy extraction and CO2 storage. Changes to fluid pressure and rock temperature during operation may cause fractures to form and evolve, in turn affecting fluid flow. Understanding this interplay is essential for optimising operations and ensuring safety.

Project overview

The DifFracS project aims to improve simulations of underground processes involving evolving fractures. We do this by accounting for how sensitive other processes are to the size, shape and orientation of fractures By treating the fracture geometry as a differentiable part of the model, we overcome limitations of traditional models.

Objectives

Primary Objective: Develop a model that includes both fractures and the surrounding rock, with a differentiable fracture geometry.

Secondary Objectives: Simulate multiphysics problems involving fracture propagation, including thermal stress and fluid pressure effects, as well as fractures joining, splitting, and forming.

Methodology

We use a simulation technique called automatic differentiation to compute derivatives. We use those to assess how changes in fracture geometry affect system. We will integrate the new model with an existing simulation toolbox for subsurface operations.

Impact

The DifFracS project will provide a powerful new tool for simulating fracture propagation, with applications in various fields. By making the framework open-source (free for anyone to use and improve) we aim to foster collaboration and further advancements.