A Meshfree Approach for Simulating Fluid Flow in Fractured Porous Media

Abstract

This paper presents a meshfree approach for simulating fluid flow in fractured porous media using a novel fracture (FM) mapping approach. Fracture mapping is a continuum-based approach which simulates the flow interaction between the porous matrix and existing fractures via a transfer function. The approach simulates fluid flow through both the matrix and the fractures and is well suited to models containing sparsely spaced, unconnected fractures. The presented approach determines the fluid flow using approximating functions constructed employing the radial point interpolation method (RPIM) meshfree formulation which uses radial basis functions (RBFs) augmented with polynomials. As part of this meshfree scheme a nodal integration procedure has been implemented thereby removing the need for background integration cells that are usually required for meshfree schemes that rely on Gaussian integration. Numerical test results illustrate the methods ability to adequately describe the fluid pressure fields within a fractured porous domain