Three-dimensional Modeling of Cracking with Thermo-hydromechanical Process by Considering Rock Heterogeneity.

This study is part of numerical simulations performed on an in-situ heating test conducted by the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra) at the Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (URL) to study the thermo-hydromechanical behavior of the host Callovo-Oxfordian COx claystone in quasi real conditions, through the international research project DECOVALEX. We present a numerical study of damage and cracking process in saturated claystone subjected to thermo-hydromechanical coupling by considering material heterogeneity distribution. For this purpose, a macroscopic elastic model is first determined by using two steps of homogenization by taking into account the effects of porosity and mineral inclusions. This model is implemented into a finite element code devoted to solving thermo-hydromechanical coupling problems. The nucleation and propagation of cracks are described by using an extended phase-field method, considering the effects of temperature and fluid pressure on the evolution of phase-field. The proposed model is applied to the numerical analysis of cracking process due to excavation and heating around a group of boreholes (CRQ). The numerical results of the 3D simulation are compared with in-situ measurements of temperature and pore pressure distribution. The excavation damage zone and heating fracture is reproduced and analysed according to the structure of the heating position and the heterogeneity of the rock. Highlights: A phase-field model is developed with thermo-hydromechanical processes; Both tensile and shear cracks are taken into account; Crack nucleation is emphasized by spatial heterogeneity of material properties; Cracking processes due to thermal-hydraulic interaction are analyzed in three-dimensional conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]