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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Utah FORGE Well 16A(78)-32 Simplified Discrete Fracture Network Data

The FORGE team is making these fracture models available to researchers wanting a set of natural fractures in the FORGE reservoir for use in their own modeling work. They have been used to predict stimulation distances during hydraulic stimulation at the open toe section of well 16A(78)-32. This is a simplified DFN (discrete fracture network) dataset, that was generated using FracMan, for Utah FORGE well 16A(78)-32. A short, well-illustrated, report describing the data is also included in the provided archive file.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Utah FORGE: Documentation on Discrete Fracture Network and Fracture Propagation Modelling

This dataset includes reports and a slide presentation on discrete fracture network (DFN) generation and hydraulic fracture modeling at the Utah FORGE site. It details the characterization of natural fractures using well log and core data, as well as stochastic modeling techniques. The reports describe simulations of hydraulic fracture propagation, fluid-mechanical interactions, and induced microseismicity. The dataset also includes history-matching of net pressure and analyses of fracture growth in naturally fractured geothermal reservoirs. The slides summarize key findings and future research directions.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Development of Upscaling Techniques and Construction of Calibrated Models for Fractured Rocks Using Discrete Fracture Network Approaches

The Pahute Mesa Corrective Action Unit on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) contains several fractured aquifers that can potentially provide high-permeability pathways for radionuclides to migrate away from underground nuclear testing locations. Although the geometric properties of fractures, such as length and orientation, can be found using geophysical methods and borehole image analyses, the hydraulic property of fractures (which are primarily influenced by apertures) are often unknown or have a high degree of uncertainty attached to their values. The aperture values have a profound impact on groundwater velocity and are critical to understanding transport scales at Pahute Mesa. Fracture aperture values and their distributions also have dominant control over radionuclide transport with potential for long-range correlations or scale-invariant dynamics. Understanding of the small-scale transport variability in fractures could lead to identification of distinct characteristics on larger scales. Furthermore, upscaling techniques need to be developed to adequately predict transport behavior at field scales by capturing the transport trends of smaller scale networks. This report explores these vital modeling needs to understand the role of fractures in Pahute Mesa. Discrete fracture network (DFN) models are the basis for constructing a well-calibrated model to ascertain aperture values of fractures in lava-flow aquifers. These models are also used to develop and compare the usefulness of several random-walk-based models to perform transport upscaling.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Fracture size and transmissivity correlations: Implications for transport simulations in sparse three-dimensional discrete fracture networks following a truncated power law distribution of fracture size

We characterize how different fracture size-transmissivity relationships influence flow and transport simulations through sparse three-dimensional discrete fracture networks. Although it is generally accepted that there is a positive correlation between a fracture's size and its transmissivity/aperture, the functional form of that relationship remains a matter of debate. Relationships that assume perfect correlation, semicorrelation, and noncorrelation between the two have been proposed. To study the impact that adopting one of these relationships has on transport properties, we generate multiple sparse fracture networks composed of circular fractures whose radii follow a truncated power law distribution. The distribution of transmissivities are selected so that the mean transmissivity of the fracture networks are the same and the distributions of aperture and transmissivity in models that include a stochastic term are also the same. We observe that adopting a correlation between a fracture size and its transmissivity leads to earlier breakthrough times and higher effective permeability when compared to networks where no correlation is used. While fracture network geometry plays the principal role in determining where transport occurs within the network, the relationship between size and transmissivity controls the flow speed. Lastly, these observations indicate DFN modelers should be aware that breakthrough times and effective permeabilities can be strongly influenced by such a relationship in addition to fracture and network statistics.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Characterizing Reactive Transport Behavior in a Three-Dimensional Discrete Fracture Network

While several studies have linked network and in-fracture scale properties to conservative transport behavior in subsurface fractured media, studies on reactive transport cases remain relatively underdeveloped. In this study, we explore the behavior of an irreversible kinetic reaction during the interaction of two solute plumes, one consisting of species A and the other species B. When the plumes converge, these species react kinetically to form a new species C via A+B→kC. This reactive system is studied using a three-dimensional discrete fracture network (DFN) model coupled with reactive Lagrangian particle tracking. We find that the interplay of network topology and chemical properties of the reactive solutes controls reactive transport processes. The network topology drives species A and B together, and the chemical properties dictate whether and how quickly a reaction occurs. Results demonstrate that reactions are most likely to occur in high-velocity fractures that make up the network backbone. The interplay between species’ chemical properties and transport is characterized by a non-dimensional Damköhler (Da) number. We show that the spatial distribution of reactions is sensitive to Da, which subsequently influences late-time tailing behavior in outlet breakthrough time distributions. The results of this study provide initial insights into how an irreversible reaction occurs during transport in a fracture network, using a methodology that can be applied to study reactive transport in a wide range of fractured media environments and contexts.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Parallelized hybrid optimization methods for nonsmooth problems using NOMAD and linesearch

Two parallelized hybrid methods are presented for single-function optimization problems with side constraints. The optimization problems are difficult not only due to possible existence of local minima and nonsmoothness of functions, but also due to the fact that objective function and constraint values for a solution vector can only be obtained by querying a black box whose execution requires considerable computational effort. Examples are optimization problems in Engineering where objective function and constraint values are computed via complex simulation programs, and where local minima exist and smoothness of functions is not assured. The hybrid methods consist of the well-known method NOMAD and two new methods called DENCON and DENPAR that are based on the linesearch scheme CS-DFN. The hybrid methods compute for each query a set of solution vectors that are evaluated in parallel. The hybrid methods have been tested on a set of difficult optimization problems produced by a certain seeding scheme for multiobjective optimization. We compare computational results with solution by NOMAD, DENCON, and DENPAR as stand-alone methods. It turns out that among the stand-alone methods, NOMAD is significantly better than DENCON and DENPAR. However, the hybrid methods are definitely better than NOMAD.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2016

Evaluating the effect of internal aperture variability on transport in kilometer scale discrete fracture networks

The apertures of natural fractures in fractured rock are highly heterogeneous. However, in-fracture aperture variability is often neglected in flow and transport modeling and individual fractures are assumed to have uniform aperture distribution. The relative importance of in-fracture variability in flow and transport modeling within kilometer18 scale field–scale fracture networks has been under a matter of debate for a long time because the flow in each single fracture is controlled not only by in-fracture variability but also by boundary conditions. Computational limitations have previously prohibited researchers from investigating the relative importance of in-fracture variability in flow and transport modeling within large-scale fracture networks. We address this question by incorporating internal heterogeneity of individual fractures into 23 flow simulations within kilometer scale three-dimensional fracture networks, where fracture intensity, P32 (ratio between total fracture area and domain volume) is between 0.027 and 0.031 [1/m]. A recently developed discrete fracture network (DFN) simulation capability, dfnWorks, is used to generate DFNs that include in-fracture aperture variability represented by a stationary log-normal stochastic field with various correlation lengths and variances. The Lagrangian transport parameters, non-reacting travel time and cumulative retention, are calculated along particles streamlines. It is observed that due to local flow channeling early particle travel times are more sensitive to in-fracture variability than the tails of travel time distributions, where no significant effect of the in-fracture transmissivity variations and spatial correlation length is observed.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

TOUGH–RBSN simulator for hydraulic fracture propagation within fractured media: Model validations against laboratory experiments

This study presents coupled hydro-mechanical modeling of hydraulic fracturing processes in complex fractured media using a discrete fracture network (DFN) approach. The individual physical processes in the fracture propagation are represented by separate program modules: the TOUGH2 code for multiphase flow and mass transport based on the finite volume approach; and the rigid-body-spring network (RBSN) model for mechanical and fracture-damage behavior, which are coupled with each other. Fractures are modeled as discrete features, of which the hydrological properties are evaluated from the fracture deformation and aperture change. The verification of the TOUGH–RBSN code is performed against a 2D analytical model for single hydraulic fracture propagation. Subsequently, modeling capabilities for hydraulic fracturing are demonstrated through simulations of laboratory experiments conducted on rock-analogue (soda-lime glass) samples containing a designed network of pre-existing fractures. Sensitivity analyses are also conducted by changing the modeling parameters, such as viscosity of injected fluid, strength of pre-existing fractures, and confining stress conditions. The hydraulic fracturing characteristics attributed to the modeling parameters are investigated through comparisons of the simulation results.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Role of interaction between hydraulic and natural fractures on production

One of the main purposes of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional resources such as shale is to improve the connectivity between existing natural fractures and the production well. Since the inherent permeability of shale is extremely low, this newly formed fracture connectivity provides faster paths for the hydrocarbon stored in preexisting natural fractures. In this study, we performed numerical simulations of the free gas production at large scale fractured reservoir with different pre-existing natural fracture network intensities and with variable hydraulic fracture sizes and staging. We explored production characteristics as a function of the properties of both, natural fractures (intensity) and hydraulic fractures (size and staging). Our hypothesis is that once maximum fracture connectivity is achieved, additional stimulation does not increase production significantly. In this numerical study we use an advanced modeling tool to study fractures connectivity, Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) approach, which can represent fracture networks similar to those observed on individual reservoir sites. In our model the horizontal production well and vertical hydraulic fractures were deterministically defined and surrounded by stochastically generated natural fracture networks. The performed numerical experiments show how fracture connectivity depends on hydraulic fracture settings in fractured reservoir with different preexisting fracture densities. We numerically showed that cumulative free gas production is not affected significantly by hydraulic fractures size (25 m–150 m) or spacing (15 m–45 m) for dense natural fracture networks. However, the hydraulic fracture size is important in reservoirs with sparse natural fractures, although spacing (number of stages) does not play a significant role.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Discontinuities in effective permeability due to fracture percolation

Motivated by a triaxial coreflood experiment with a sample of Utica shale where an abrupt jump in permeability was observed, possibly due to the creation of a percolating fracture network through the sample, we perform numerical simulations based on the experiment to characterize how the effective permeability of otherwise low-permeability porous media depends on fracture formation, connectivity, and the contrast between the fracture and matrix permeabilities. While a change in effective permeability due to fracture formation is expected, the dependence of its magnitude upon the contrast between the matrix permeability and fracture permeability and the fracture network structure is poorly characterized. We use two different high-fidelity fracture network models to characterize how effective permeability changes as percolation occurs. The first is a dynamic two-dimensional fracture propagation model designed to mimic the laboratory settings of the experiment. The second is a static three-dimensional discrete fracture network (DFN) model, whose fracture and network statistics are based on the fractured sample of Utica shale. Once the network connects the inflow and outflow boundaries, the effective permeability increases non-linearly with network density. In most networks considered, a jump in the effective permeability was observed when the embedded fracture network percolated. We characterize how the magnitude of the jump, should it occur, depends on the contrast between the fracture and matrix permeabilities. For small contrasts between the matrix and fracture permeabilities the change is insignificant. However, for larger contrasts, there is a substantial jump whose magnitude depends non-linearly on the difference between matrix and fracture permeabilities. A power-law relationship between the size of the jump and the difference between the matrix and fracture permeabilities is observed. In conclusion, the presented results underscore the importance of fracture network topology on the upscaled properties of the porous medium in which it is embedded.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Linking structural and transport properties in three-dimensional fracture networks

Here, we investigate large scale particle motion and solute breakthrough in sparse three-dimensional discrete fracture networks (DFN) characterized by power-law distributed fracture lengths. The three networks we consider have the same fracture intensity values but exhibit different percolation densities, geometric properties and topological structures. We considered two different average transport models to predict solute breakthrough, a streamtube model and a Bernoulli CTRW model, both of which provide insights into the flow fields within the networks. The streamtube model provides acceptable predictions at short distances in two of the networks, but fails in all cases to predict breakthrough times at the outlet plane, which indicates that particle motion in such fracture networks cannot be characterized by a constant velocity between the inlet and control plane at which the breakthrough curve is detected. Rather the structure of the network requires that frequent velocity transitions be made as particles move through the system. Despite the relatively broad distribution of fracture radii and relatively small number of independent velocity transitions, the CTRW approach conditioned on the initial velocity distribution provides reasonable predictions for the breakthrough curves at different distances from the inlet. The application of these averaged transport models provides a richer understanding of the link from the fracture network structure to ow and transport properties.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Flow Channeling in Fracture Networks: Characterizing the Effect of Density on Preferential Flow Path Formation

Flow channelization is a commonly observed phenomenon in fractured subsurface media where the flow of fluids is restricted primarily to highly transmissive fracture networks surrounded by a low-permeability rock matrix. The multiscale structural heterogeneity of these networks results in multiscale flow channelization where preferential flow paths form at length scales ranging from the entire system down to the subfracture size. We present an analysis of how one of the largest scales in fractured media, the network density, influences the degree of flow channeling that occurs using an ensemble of semigeneric three-dimensional discrete fracture network (DFN) simulations. We construct 10 DFNs, whose fracture lengths follow a power law distribution, at four densities for a total of 40 networks. We characterize their structure in terms of the network topology and geometry. Eulerian and Lagrangian observations of the steady-state flow fields obtained within the networks are used to quantify the degree of flow channelization at the network scale. We introduce a measure for the importance-ranking/hierarchy of different flow paths in the network using graph-based analysis of Lagrangian transport by which the degree of flow channeling between networks is compared. These flow observations are then linked to the structural properties of the networks. In general, network-scale flow channeling decreases as the network density increases. However, at low densities, there is more uniform flow within the entire connected network than in high-density networks. We also demonstrate how standard transport observables can be used to infer the degree of flow channelization occurring within a fracture network.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Scale–Bridging in Three–Dimensional Fracture Networks: Characterizing the Effects of Variable Fracture Apertures on Network–Scale Flow Channelization

Here, we incorporate observations of real fracture aperture variability observed in laboratory experiments into an ensemble of three-dimensional discrete fracture network (DFN) simulations to characterize how variations of this micro-scale feature can influence flow and transport behavior at the network scale. A shear fracture is created within a Marcellus shale sample, and the fracture aperture is measured using a triaxial direct-shear device coupled with real-time X-ray imaging at in-situ stress conditions. We construct an ensemble of fracture networks based on natural fractures in Marcellus shale and project regions of the experimental aperture field onto each fracture in the networks. Our calculations demonstrate that the degree of flow channelization, a network-scale flow field structure, is dramatically increased by local changes in the aperture field that in turn affects flow and transport properties.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Predictions of first passage times in sparse discrete fracture networks using graph-based reductions

Here, we present a graph-based methodology to reduce the computational cost of obtaining first passage times through sparse fracture networks. We also derive graph representations of generic three-dimensional discrete fracture networks (DFNs) using the DFN topology and flow boundary conditions. Subgraphs corresponding to the union of the k shortest paths between the inflow and outflow boundaries are identified and transport on their equivalent subnetworks is compared to transport through the full network. The number of paths included in the subgraphs is based on the scaling behavior of the number of edges in the graph with the number of shortest paths. First passage times through the subnetworks are in good agreement with those obtained in the full network, both for individual realizations and in distribution. We obtain accurate estimates of first passage times with an order of magnitude reduction of CPU time and mesh size using the proposed method.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

dfnWorks, Version 1.0

DFNWorks is a suite of software for generating and solving flow and transport physics on a Discrete Fracture Network (DFN). The suite is composed of three components: DFNGen: Stochastic fracture generation, mesh generation, model setup; DFNFlow: Flow solution using PFLOTRAN or FEHM control volume formulation solver; DFNTrans: Particle tracking transport; DFNGen Algorithm Description: This is a workflow that uses Mathematica software, Python scripts written by the authors and the LaGriT software to generate; DFNFlow; The solution of flow in porous media is accomplished by coupling DFNGen output with the existing software packages FEHM and PFLOTRAN. The DFNWorks workflow involves modules and scripts that translate DFNGen output to formats compatible with FEHM and PFLOTRAN input. FEHM LA-CC-2012-083 PFLOTRAN LA-CC-09-047 LaGriT LA-CC-07-38 DFNTrans Stand alone particle tracking algorithm that takes FEHM/PFLOTRAN flow solution as output and computes velocity field and advects particles.

Makedonska, Nataliia↗
DOE OSTI2017

dfnWorks, Version 2.0

DFNWorks is a suite of software for generating and solving flow and transport physics on a Discrete Fracture Network (DFN). The suite is composed of three components: DFNGen: Stochastic fracture generation, mesh generation, model setup; DFNFlow: Flow solution using PFLOTRAN or FEHM control volume formulation solver; DFNTrans: Particle tracking transport; DFNGen Algorithm Description: This is a workflow that uses C++ software version for fracture generation, Python scripts written by the authors and the LaGriT software to generate computational mesh. DFNFlow The solution of flow in porous media is accomplished by coupling DFNGen output with the existing software packages FEHM and PFLOTRAN. The DFNWorks workflow involves modules and scripts that translate DFNGen output to formats compatible with FEHM and PFLOTRAN input. FEHM LA-CC-2012-083 PFLOTRAN LA-CC-09-047 LaGriT LA-CC-07-38 DFNTrans Stand-alone particle tracking algorithm that takes FEHM/PFLOTRAN flow solution as output and computes velocity field and advects particles.

Makedonska, Nataliia↗