Development of rock fracturing model considering mineral composition and distribution and its application to coupled Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) simulator

Abstract

A numerical simulation model, considering the distribution of minerals in intact rock, was proposed to predict the tensile strength as well as the processes for generating and propagating a fracture in radial compression tests. The objective rock sample was modeled by considering the mineral distribution obtained through an image analysis. The proposed model accurately estimated the tensile strength and the tensile stress-vertical strain relation. In addition, using the damage variable, the generation and propagation of the fracture were also estimated by the proposed model.