• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.66-81
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• 2011

In this study, it was aimed to develop a thermal-hydraulic-mechanical coupled fracture mechanics code that models a fracture initiation, propagation and failure of underground rock mass due to thermal and hydraulic loadings. The development was based on a 2D FRACOD (Shen & Stephasson, 1993), and newly developed T-M and H-M coupled analysis modules were implemented into it. T-M coupling in FRACOD employed a fictitious heat source and time-marching method, and explicit iteration method was used in H-M coupling. The validity of developed coupled modules was verified by the comparison with the analytical result, and its applicability to the fracture initiation and propagation behavior due to temperature changes and hydraulic fracturing was confirmed by test simulations.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.144-159
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• 2022

The present study developed a sequential approach-based numerical simulator for modeling coupled thermal-hydrological-mechanical (THM) processes in the ground and investigated the computational performance of the coupling analysis algorithm. The present sequential approach linked the two different solvers: an open-source numerical code, OpenGeoSys for solving the thermal and hydrological processes in porous media and a commercial code, FLAC3D for solving the geomechanical response of the ground. A benchmark test of the developed simulator was carried out using a THM problem where an analytical solution is given. The benchmark problem involves the coupled behavior (variations in temperature, pore pressure, stress, and deformation with time) of a fully saturated porous medium which is subject to a point heat source. The results of the analytical solution and numerical simulation were compared and the validity of the numerical simulator was investigated.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.577-582
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• 2016

In this study, a multiscale method for solving a thermoelasticity problem for interphase in the polymeric nanocomposites is developed. Molecular dynamics simulation and finite element analysis were numerically combined to describe the geometrical boundaries and the local mechanical response of the interfacial region where the polymer networks were highly interacted with the nanoparticle surface. Also, the micrmechanical thermoelasticity equations were applied to the obtained equivalent continuum unit to compute the growth of interphase thickness according to the size of nanoparticles, as well as the thermal phase transition behavior at a wide range of temperatures. Accordingly, the equivalent continuum model obtained from the multiscale analysis provides a meaningful description of the thermoelastic behavior of interphase as well as its nanoparticle size effect on thermoelasticity at both below and above the glass transition temperature.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.297-307
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• 2014

Cavern Thermal Energy Storage system stores thermal energy in caverns to recover industrial waste heat or avoid the sporadic characteristics of renewable-energy resources, and its advantages include high injection-and-extraction powers and the flexibility in selecting a storage medium. In the present study, the structural stability of rock mass pillar between these silo-type storage caverns was assessed using a coupled thermal-mechanical model in $FLAC^{3D}$. The results of numerical simulations showed that thermal stresses due to long-term storage depended on pillar width and had significant effect on the pillar stability. A sensitivity analysis of main factors indicated that the influence on the pillar stability increased in the order cavern depth < pillar width < in situ condition. It was suggested that two identical caverns should be separated by at least one diameter of the cavern and small-diameter shaft neighboring the cavern should be separated by more than half of the cavern diameter. Meanwhile, when the line of centers of two caverns was parallel to the direction of maximum horizontal principal stress, the shielding effect of the caverns could minimize an adverse effect caused by a large horizontal stress.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.41-46
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• 2023

Numerical analysis of frost heave is challenging due to the influence of soil and environmental factors. Thermo-hydromechanical coupled analysis relies heavily on excessive input variables and primarily focuses on validating clayey soils, so it is limited to frost susceptible silty soils. An empirical approach based on thermodynamics offers relatively simple frost heave analysis and the advantage of linking constitutive equations with frost heave to enable geomechanical interpretations. In this paper, we introduce an empirical numerical model using the Segregation Potential (SP) and evaluate reliability through comparative analysis with experimental results of frost susceptible silty soils. While the SP model enables frost heave analysis for the given silty soils, further investigation on various silty soils is necessary to gather data on key input variables.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.568-585
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• 2022

In the present study, we proposed a numerical method for simulating thermally induced fracture slip using a grain-based distinct element model (GBDEM). As a part of DECOVALEX-2023, the thermo-mechanical loading test on a saw-cut rock fracture conducted at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology was simulated. In the numerical model, the rock sample including a saw-cut fracture was represented as a group of random Voronoi polyhedra. Then, the coupled thermo-mechanical behavior of grains and their interfaces was calculated using 3DEC. The key concerns focused on the temperature evolution, thermally induced principal stress increment, and fracture normal and shear displacements under thermo-mechanical loading. The comparisons between laboratory experimental results and the numerical results revealed that the numerical model reasonably captured the heat transfer and heat loss characteristics of the rock specimen, the horizontal stress increment due to constrained displacement, and the progressive shear failure of the fracture. However, the onset of the fracture slip and the magnitudes of stress increment and fracture displacement showed discrepancies between the numerical and experimental results. We expect the numerical model to be enhanced by continuing collaboration and interaction with other research teams of DECOVALEX-2023 Task G and validated in further study.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.9
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• pp.45-52
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• 2022

Because discontinuity in the rock mass and contact of soil-structure interaction exhibits coupled thermal-hydromechanical (THM) behavior, it is necessary to develop an interface element based on the full governing equations. In this study, we derive force equilibrium, fluid continuity, and energy equilibrium equations for the interface element. Additionally, we present a stiffness matrix of the elastoplastic mechanical model for the interface element. The developed interface element uses six nodes for displacement and four nodes for water pressure and temperature in a two-dimensional analysis. The fully coupled THM analysis for fluid injection into a fault can model the complicated evolution of injection pressure due to decreasing effective stress in the fault and thermal contraction of the surrounding rock mass. However, the result of hydromechanical analysis ignoring thermal phenomena overestimates hydromechanical variables.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.468-479
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• 2019

It is essential to comprehend coupled hydro-mechanical behavior to utilize subsurface for the recent demand for underground space usage. In this study, we developed a new simulator for numerical simulation as a tool for researching to consider the various domestic field and subsurface conditions. To develop the new module, we combined OpenGeoSys, one of the scientific software package that handles fluid mechanics (H), thermodynamics (T), and rock and soil mechanics (M) in the subsurface with FLAC3D, one of the commercial software for geotechnical engineering problems reinforced. In this simulator development, we design OpenGeoSys as a master and FLAC3D as a slave via a file-based sequential coupling. We have chosen Terzaghi's consolidation problem related to single-phase fluid flow at a saturated condition as a benchmark model to verify the proposed module. The comparative results between the analytical solution and numerical analysis showed a good agreement.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.394-405
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• 2011

In this paper, we applied coupled non-isothermal, multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical numerical modeling using TOUGH-FLAC coupled analysis to study the complex thermodynamic and geomechanical performance of underground lined rock caverns (LRC) for compressed air energy storage (CAES). Mechanical stress in concrete linings as well as pressure and temperature within a storage cavern were examined during initial and long-term operation of the storage cavern for CAES. Our geomechanical analysis showed that effective stresses could decrease due to air penetration pressure, and tangential tensile stress could develop in the linings as a result of the air pressure exerted on the inner surface of the lining, which would result in tensile fracturing. According to the simulation in which the tensile tangential stresses resulted in radial cracks, increment of linings' permeability and air leakage though the linings, tensile fracturing occurred at the top and at the side wall of the cavern, and the permeability could increase to $5.0{\times}10^{-13}m^2$ from initially prescribed $10{\times}10^{-20}m^2$. However, this air leakage was minor (about 0.02% of the daily air injection rate) and did not significantly impact the overall storage pressure that was kept constant thanks to sufficiently air tight surrounding rocks, which supports the validity of the concrete-lined underground caverns for CAES.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.29-34
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• 2024

Frost heave is one of the significant engineering characteristics of frozen ground and causes severe damages on geo-structures. Although thermo-hydro coupled analyses have been developed to predict frost heave behavior, these analyses involve excessive input parameters and have primarily been validated for frost heave in clayey soils. Frost heave mainly occurs in silty soils, which have relatively higher permeability compared to clayey soils, necessitating careful attention. This study introduces empirical models and verifies their reliability for silty soils. By using the validated model, the correlation of key input parameters is derived, which is expected to enhance the applicability of thermal-mechanical analysis for geo-structures on frozen ground in the future.