• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.643-659
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• 2022

Geologic sequestration technologies such as CCS (carbon capture and storage), EGS (enhanced geothermal systems), and EOR (enhanced oil recovery) have been widely implemented in recent years, prompting evaluation of the mechanical stability of storage sites. As fluid injection can stimulate mechanical instability in storage layers by perturbing the stress state and pore pressure, poroelastic models considering various injection scenarios are required. In this study, we calculate the pore pressure, stress distribution, and vertical displacement along a surface using commercial finite element software (COMSOL); fault slips are subsequently simulated using PyLith, an open-source finite element software. The displacement fields, are obtained from PyLith is transferred back to COMSOL to determine changes in coseismic stresses and surface displacements. Our sequential use of COMSOL-PyLith-COMSOL for poroelastic modeling of fluid-injection and induced-earthquakes reveals large variations of pore pressure, vertical displacement, and Coulomb failure stress change during injection periods. On the other hand, the residual stress diffuses into the remote field after injection stops. This flow pattern suggests the necessity of numerical modeling and long-term monitoring, even after injection has stopped. We found that the time at which the Coulomb failure stress reaches the critical point greatly varies with the hydraulic and poroelastic properties (e.g., permeability and Biot-Willis coefficient) of the fault and injection layer. We suggest that an understanding of the detailed physical properties of the surrounding layer is important in selecting the injection site. Our numerical results showing the surface displacement and deviatoric stress distribution with different amounts of fault slip highlight the need to test more variable fault slip scenarios.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.55-66
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• 2009

At the mudstone slope located on the roadside of the Seokri area in Donghae-myeon, Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do, this study was performed to analyze the effects of rainfall on the stability of slope through seepage analysis according to the precipitation type of the mudstone slope, referring to the actual case of slope failure. For this, precise geological survey, geophysical exploration and drilling survey for the slope where the failure occurred were performed and followed by analysis of detailed soil layer. For the section where failure surface located, the durability reduction of rocks was measured through slaking/swelling tests and the permeability was measured through in-situ permeability tests for each soil layer. In addition, the change of strength parameter and process of instability were analyzed by back analysis, using Talren 97 and Slope/W programs, in the slope. By applying different precipitation conditions to the geographical conditions of the slope that had actual failure records, the slope stability was analyzed by seepage analysis according to duration of rainfall and rise of groundwater level resulting from the flow of rainfall caused by development of geological structures and the slope surface condition.