Related papers: Why Fracking Works and How to Optimize It
The phase field paradigm, in combination with a suitable variational structure, has opened a path for using Griffith's energy balance to predict the fracture of solids. These so-called phase field fracture methods have gained significant…
Cracks in clay are significant in geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering (e.g., embankment erosion and stability of landfill cover systems). This article studies the mechanism of nucleation and growth of cracks in clay at the…
Magma-driven fractures are the main mechanism for magma emplacement in the crust. A fundamental question is how the released fluid controls the propagation dynamics and fracture geometry (depth and breadth) in three dimensions. Analog…
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) using high pressures and a low viscosity fluid allow the extraction of large quantiles of oil and gas from very low permeability shale formations. The initial production of oil and gas at depth leads to high…
Soil liquefaction is a significant natural hazard associated with earthquakes. Some of its devastating effects include tilting and sinking of buildings and bridges, and destruction of pipelines. Conventional geotechnical engineering…
Displacement flows are common in hydraulic fracturing, as fracking fluids of different composition are injected sequentially in the fracture. The injection of an immiscible fluid at the center of a liquid-filled fracture results in the…
Many geo-engineering applications, e.g., enhanced geothermal systems, rely on hydraulic fracturing to enhance the permeability of natural formations and allow for sufficient fluid circulation. Over the past few decades, the phase-field…
A continuum model of crack propagation is presented and discussed. We obtain steady state solutions with a self-consistently selected propagation velocity and shape of the crack, provided that elastodynamic and viscoelastic effects are…
The propagation of cracks driven by a pressurized fluid emerges in several areas of engineering, including structural, geotechnical, and petroleum engineering. We present a robust numerical framework to simulate fluid-driven fracture…
Hydraulic fracturing increases reservoir permeability by opening fractures and triggering slip on natural fractures and faults. While seismic slip of small faults or fault patches is detectable as microseismic events, the role of aseismic…
Small fluid leaks are common and frequently troublesome. We often consider how to stop a leak, but here we ask a different question: how might a leak stop itself? We experimentally study leaking flow transitions from continuous drainage to…
For solving the longstanding materials science problem of correlating elastic properties of a solid material to the formation of cracks we present a new general concept. This concept is applied to the technologically most important cracks…
Fractures are ubiquitous in the subsurface. The flow and mechanical properties of these fractures are controlled by its compliance or stiffness. Characterizing fracture compliance and conductivity is crucial in applications such as fault…
The dynamic energy balance is essential for earthquake studies. The energy balance approach is one of the most famous developments in fracture mechanics. To interpret seismological data, crack models and sliding on a frictional surface…
Brittle materials fail catastrophically. In consequence of their limited flaw-tolerance, failure occurs by localized fracture and is typically a dynamic process. Recently, experiments on epithelial cell monolayers have revealed that this…
Friction is ubiquitous in daily life, from nanoscale machines to large engineering components. By probing the intricate interplay between system parameters and frictional behavior, scientists seek to unveil the underlying mechanisms that…
Earthquakes are produced by the propagation of rapid slip along tectonic faults. The propagation dynamics is governed by a balance between elastic stored energy in the surrounding rock, and dissipated energy at the propagating tip of the…
Loss of circulation while drilling is a challenging problem that may interrupt operations, reduce efficiency, and may contaminate the subsurface. When a drilled borehole intercepts conductive faults or fractures, lost circulation manifests…
Potential energy stored during the inter-seismic period by tectonic loading around faults is released during earthquakes as radiated energy, heat and fracture energy. The latter is of first importance since it controls the nucleation,…
Simulations of fluid flow in naturally fractured rocks have implications for several subsurface applications, including energy storage and extraction, and waste storage. We are interested in flow in discrete fracture networks, which…