Geo-Mechanical Modeling for Management of Geologic Carbon Sequestration Risk

The proposed work will involve the development of a fully coupled Thermal-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) model to study the behavior of cold CO2 fluid injection with surrounding rock. The numerical solution is based on the 2-D thermo-poroelastic displacement discontinuity method (DDM), which is a nonlinear joint deformation model, coupled with the finite element method (FEM) for solving the heat and fluid transport within a natural fracture. These simulations will encompass all phases of the stick-slip cycles on natural fractures surrounding carbon storage sites, from aseismic slip to rupture propagation and interseismic periods. Earthquake frictional properties will be simulated using the rate-state formulation to understand the initiation of micro-earthquakes, specifically to answer the question of when earthquakes occur in relation to fluid storage volume within the target reservoir. These models, which are derived based on experimental studies, can accurately represent the frictional response of sliding interfaces to the variations in slip rate or normal stress. Numerical experiments will focus on the possibility of seismic risk mitigation by different injection schemes and their contributions to irrecoverable increase in the fracture conductivity.

Faculty Supervisor:

Bing Li

Student:

Partner:

Amirkabir University of Technology

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: