GPU-accelerated simulation of steady-state flow and particle transport in discrete fracture networks

Abstract

Fracture networks in the subsurface can serve as the primary pathway for fluid flow, allowing for solute transport. This process is critical to various real-world applications, including resource extraction and contaminant migration in fractured rocks. We develop an open-source code called cuDFNsys to simulate flow and transport in discrete fracture networks (DFNs). Our code uses the mixed hybrid finite element method to solve the hydraulic head and velocity fields in DFNs, and the particle tracking method to simulate the movement of solute plumes. The GPU parallelization accelerates the generation of DFNs, identification of intersections between fractures, determination of elementary matrices, and motion of particles. We use several benchmarks to verify the accuracy of flow and transport simulation in cuDFNsys. Dispersion in a DFN is used to demonstrate examples of particle tracking. Performance analyses demonstrate that our code is well-suited for Monte Carlo iterations of DFN simulations, enabling physicists and geoscientists to study critical phenomena and phase transitions in fracture networks using percolation theory.