• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.437-454
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• 2022

The hydro-mechanical (HM) two-way sequential coupling in the TOUGH2-FLAC3D linking algorithm is validated completely and successfully in both M to H and H to M directions, which are initiated by mechanical surface loading for geomechanical validation and hydrological groundwater pumping for hydrogeological validation, respectively. For such complete and successful validation, a TOUGH2-FLAC3D linked numerical model is developed first by adopting the TOUGH2-FLAC3D linking algorithm, which uses the two-way (fixed-stress split) sequential coupling scheme and the implicit backward time stepping method. Two geomechanical and two hydrogeological validation problems are then simulated using the linked numerical model together with basic validation strategies and prerequisites. The second geomechanical and second hydrogeological validation problems are also associated with the Mandel effect and the Noordbergum and Rhade effects, respectively, which are three phenomenally well-known but numerically challenging HM effects. Finally, sequentially coupled numerical solutions are compared with either analytical solutions (verification) or fully coupled numerical solutions (benchmarking). In all the four validation problems, they show almost perfect to extremely or very good agreement. In addition, the second geomechanical validation problem clearly displays the Mandel effect and suggests a proper or minimum geometrical ratio of the height to the width for the rectangular domain to maximize agreement between the numerical and analytical solutions. In the meantime, the second hydrogeological validation problem clearly displays the Noordbergum and Rhade effects and implies that the HM two-way sequential coupling scheme used in the linked numerical model is as rigorous as the HM two-way full coupling scheme used in a fully coupled numerical model.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.143-154
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• 2014

In this study, we simulated both dissociation of gas hydrate and mechanical deformation of hydrate-bearing sedimentary formation using geomechanical model. The geomechanical model analysis consists of two distinct codes of TOUGH+Hydrate and FLAC3D. The model is characterized by the fact that changes of temperature, pressure, saturation and their influence on the consequent evolution of effective stress, stiffness and strength of hydrate-bearing sediments during gas production could be well simulated. We compared the results of simulation for two different production methods, and showed that combination of depressurization and thermal stimulation results in the enhancement of production rate especially at early stage. We also presented that the hydrate dissociation-induced geomechanical deformation in unconsolidated clay is much larger than that in sandstone.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.697-707
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• 2012

The quantitative landslide susceptibility assessment methods can be divided into statistical approaches and geomechanical approaches based on the consideration of the triggering factors and landslide models. The geomechanical approach is considered as one of the most effective approaches since this approach proposes physical slope model and considers geomorphological and geomechanical properties of slope materials. Therefore, the geomechanical approaches has been used widely in landslide susceptibility analysis using the infinite slope model as physical slope model. However, the previous studies assumed constant groundwater level for broad study area without the consideration of rainfall intensity and hydraulic properties of soil materials. Therefore, in this study, landslide susceptibility assessment was implemented using the coupled infinite slope model with hydrologic model. For the analysis, geomechanical and hydrualic properties of slope materials and rainfall intensity were measured from the soil samples which were obtained from field investigation. For the practical application, the proposed approach was applied to Jinbu area, Gangwon-Do which was experienced large amount of landslides in July 2006. In order to compare to the proposed approach, the previous approach was used to analyze the landslide susceptibility using randomly selected groundwater level. Comparison of the results shows that the accuracy of the proposed method was improved with the consideration of the hydrologic model.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.66 no.4
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• pp.505-513
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• 2018

Steam flooding is widely used in heavy oil reservoir with coupling effects among the formation temperature change, fluid flow and solid deformation. The effective stress, porosity and permeability in this process can be affected by the multi-physical coupling of thermal, hydraulic and mechanical processes (THM), resulting in a complex interaction of geomechanical effects and multiphase flow in the porous media. Quantification of the state of deformation and stress in the reservoir is therefore essential for the correct prediction of reservoir efficiency and productivity. This paper presents a coupled fluid flow, thermal and geomechanical model employing a program (MATLAB interface code), which was developed to couple conventional reservoir (ECLIPSE) and geomechanical (ABAQUS) simulators for coupled THM processes in multiphase reservoir modeling. In each simulation cycle, time dependent reservoir pressure and temperature fields obtained from three dimensional compositional reservoir models were transferred into finite element reservoir geomechanical models in ABAQUS as multi-phase flow in deforming reservoirs cannot be performed within ABAQUS and new porosity and permeability are obtained using volumetric strains for the next analysis step. Finally, the proposed approach is illustrated on a complex coupled problem related to steam flooding in an oil reservoir. The reservoir coupled study showed that permeability and porosity increase during the injection scenario and increasing rate around injection wells exceed those of other similar comparable cases. Also, during injection, the uplift occurred very fast just above the injection wells resulting in plastic deformation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1997.09a
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• pp.21-50
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• 1997

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.331-339
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• 2018

Worldwide growth in hydrocarbon and energy demand is driving the oil and gas companies to drill more wells in complex situations such as areas with high-pressure, high-temperature conditions. As a result, in recent years the number of wells in these conditions have been increased significantly. Wellbore instability is one of the main issues during the drilling operation especially for directional and horizontal wells. Many researchers have studied the wellbore stability in complex situations and developed mathematical models to mitigate the instability problems before drilling operation. In this work, a fully coupled thermoporoelastic model is developed to study the well stability in high-pressure, high-temperature conditions. The results show that the performance of the model is highly dependent on the truly evaluated rock mechanical properties. It is noted that the rock mechanical properties should be evaluated at elevated pressures and temperatures. However, in many works, this is skipped and the mechanical properties, which are evaluated at room conditions, are entered into the model. Therefore, an accurate stability analysis of high-pressure, high-temperature wells is achieved by measuring the rock mechanical properties at elevated pressures and temperatures, as the difference between the model outputs is significant.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.223-241
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• 2024

Evaluating the performance of Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) stands as a pivotal juncture in the domain of hard rock mechanized tunneling, essential for achieving both a dependable construction timeline and utilization rate. In this investigation, three advanced artificial neural networks namely, gated recurrent unit (GRU), back propagation neural network (BPNN), and simple recurrent neural network (SRNN) were crafted to prognosticate TBM-rate of penetration (ROP). Drawing from a dataset comprising 1125 data points amassed during the construction of the Alborze Service Tunnel, the study commenced. Initially, five geomechanical parameters were scrutinized for their impact on TBM-ROP efficiency. Subsequent statistical analyses narrowed down the effective parameters to three, including uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), peak slope index (PSI), and Brazilian tensile strength (BTS). Among the methodologies employed, GRU emerged as the most robust model, demonstrating exceptional predictive prowess for TBM-ROP with staggering accuracy metrics on the testing subset (R² = 0.87, NRMSE = 6.76E-04, MAD = 2.85E-05). The proposed models present viable solutions for analogous ground and TBM tunneling scenarios, particularly beneficial in routes predominantly composed of volcanic and sedimentary rock formations. Leveraging forecasted parameters holds the promise of enhancing both machine efficiency and construction safety within TBM tunneling endeavors.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.601-618
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• 2024

The joint probability distribution of uncertain geomechanical parameters of geotechnical strata is a crucial aspect in constructing the reliability functional function for roof structures. However, due to the limited number of on-site exploration and test data samples, it is challenging to conduct a scientifically reliable analysis of roof geotechnical strata. This study proposes a Copula method based on small sample exploration and test data to construct the intensity characteristics of roof geotechnical strata. Firstly, the theory of multidimensional copula is systematically introduced, especially the construction of four-dimensional Gaussian copula. Secondly, data from measurements of 176 groups of geomechanical parameters of roof geotechnical strata in 31 coal mines in China are collected. The goodness of fit and simulation error of the four-dimensional Gaussian Copula constructed using the Pearson method, Kendall method, and Spearman methods are analyzed. Finally, the fitting effects of positive and negative correlation coefficients under different copula functions are discussed respectively. The results demonstrate that the established multidimensional Gaussian Copula joint distribution model can scientifically represent the uncertainty of geomechanical parameters in roof geotechnical strata. It provides an important theoretical basis for the study of reliability functional functions for roof structures. Different construction methods for multidimensional Gaussian Copula yield varying simulation effects. The Kendall method exhibits the best fit in constructing correlations of geotechnical parameters. For the bivariate Copula fitting ability of uncertain parameters in roof geotechnical strata, when the correlation is strong, Gaussian Copula demonstrates the best fit, and other Copula functions also show remarkable fitting ability in the region of fixed correlation parameters. The research results can offer valuable reference for the stability analysis of roof geotechnical engineering.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.359-374
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• 2022

Geology conditions are crucial in decision-making during the planning and design phase of a tunnel project. Estimation of the geology conditions of road tunnels is subject to significant uncertainties. In this work, the effectiveness of a novel regression method in estimating geological or geotechnical parameters of road tunnel projects was explored. This method, called Gaussian process regression (GPR), formulates the learning of the regressor within a Bayesian framework. The GPR model was trained with data of old tunnel projects. To verify its feasibility, the GPR technique was applied to a road tunnel to predict the state of three geological/geomechanical parameters of Rock Mass Rating (RMR), Rock Structure Rating (RSR) and Q-value. Finally, in order to validate the GPR approach, the forecasted results were compared to the field-observed results. From this comparison, it was concluded that, the GPR is presented very good predictions. The R-squared values between the predicted results of the GPR vs. field-observed results for the RMR, RSR and Q-value were obtained equal to 0.8581, 0.8148 and 0.8788, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 2021

During multi-stage fracturing in a low permeable shale formation, stress interference occurs between the stages which is called the "stress shadow effect(SSE)". The effect may alter the fracture propagation direction and induce ununiform geometry. In this study, the stress shadow effect on the hydraulic fracture geometry and the well productivity were investigated by the commercial full-3D fracture model, GOHFER. In a homogeneous reservoir model, a multi-stage fracturing process was performed with or without the SSE. In addition, the fracturing was performed on two shale reservoirs with different geomechanical properties(Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio) to analyze the stress shadow effect. In the simulation results, the stress change caused by the fracture created in the previous stage switched the maximum/minimum horizontal stress and the lower productivity L-direction fracture was more dominating over the T-direction fracture. Since the Marcellus shale is more brittle than more dominating over the T-direction fracture. Since the Marcellus shale is more brittle than the relatively ductile Eagle Ford shale, the fracture width in the former was developed thicker, resulting in the larger fracture volume. And the Marcellus shale's Young's modulus is low, the stress effect is less significant than the Eagle Ford shale in the stage 2. The stress shadow effect strongly depends on not only the spacing between fractures but also the geomechanical properties. Therefore, the stress shadow effect needs to be taken into account for more accurate analysis of the fracture geometry and for more reliable prediction of the well productivity.