Multiscale simulation of inelastic creep deformation for geological rocks

Abstract

Subsurface geological formations provide giant capacities for large-scale (TWh) storage of renewable energy, once this energy (e.g. from solar and wind power plants) is converted to green gases, e.g. hydrogen. The critical aspects of developing this technology to full-scale will involve estimation of storage capacity, safety, and efficiency of a subsurface formation. Geological formations are often highly heterogeneous and, when utilized for cyclic energy storage, entail complex nonlinear rock deformation physics. In this work, we present a novel computational framework to study rock deformation under cyclic loading, in presence of nonlinear time-dependent creep physics. Both classical and relaxation creep methodologies are employed to analyze the variation of the total strain in the specimen over time. Implicit time-integration scheme is employed to preserve numerical stability, due to the nonlinear process. Once the computational framework is consistently defined using finite element method on the fine scale, a multiscale strategy is developed to represent the nonlinear deformation not only at fine but also coarser scales. This is achieved by developing locally computed finite element basis functions at coarse scale. The developed multiscale method also allows for iterative error reduction to any desired level, after being paired with a fine-scale smoother. Numerical test cases are studied to investigate various aspects of the developed computational workflow, from benchmarking with experiments to analysing the impact of nonlinear deformation for a field-scale relevant environment. Results indicate the applicability of the developed multiscale method in order to employ nonlinear physics in their laboratory-based scale of relevance (i.e., fine scale), yet perform field-relevant simulations. The developed simulator is made publicly available at https://gitlab.tudelft.nl/ADMIRE_Public/mechanics.