Abstract
The dynamic permeability evolution of a fracture is a key scientific problem for fluid flows in rock masses within engineering systems. Understanding the dynamic permeability evolution and its mechanism is conducive to design and operation engineering. The dynamic permeability evolution of a rough granite fracture was revealed by laboratory experiments and numerical models. The permeability evolution of six fractured samples with rough fractures were monitored under 1.9–20 MPa effective normal stresses. The results show that the shearing process significantly affects the permeability and that the variation trend of the permeability depends on the magnitude of the effective normal stress. Under effective normal stresses of 1.9–5 MPa, the permeability is first significantly enhanced and then decreased by shearing. When effective normal stresses of more than 5 MPa are applied, the permeability only shows a decreasing trend. A high effective normal stress not only limits the dilatancy of a fracture but also enhances the formation of fault gouges. The mechanism of the dynamic permeability evolution was revealed by numerical simulations based on the discrete element method. The shearing mechanism includes the sliding mechanism and shearing mechanism. Under a low normal stress, first, the sliding mechanism is dominant and decreases the contact area, which is conducive to establishing a flow channel and increases the permeability. Then, the shearing mechanism becomes increasingly impactful, causing the contact area to increase and the permeability to decrease. Under a high normal stress, the sliding and shearing mechanisms are always engaged, which generates many wear products and reduces the permeability.
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(modified from Potyondy and Cundall 2004)
(modified from Itasca Consulting Group 2014)
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Abbreviations
- A :
-
Area of contact
- Ar:
-
Relative contact area
- E c :
-
Effective modulus of both the particle and parallel bond
- F :
-
Contact force
- \(F_{\text{s}}^{\mu }\) :
-
Greatest value of the shear force at the SJ contact
- \(F_{\text{s}}^{*}\) :
-
Updated shear force at the SJ contact
- F n :
-
Normal component of the contact force
- F s :
-
Shear component of the contact force
- JRC:
-
Joint roughness coefficient
- P p :
-
Pore pressure
- U :
-
Relative displacement
- U n :
-
Normal component of the relative displacement
- U s :
-
Shear component of the relative displacement
- R :
-
Radius of SJ
- R i :
-
Radius of particle i
- T :
-
Tensile strength
- SJ:
-
Smooth joint
- \(Z_{2}\) :
-
Root mean square of the first derivative of the profile
- k n :
-
SJ normal stiffness
- k s :
-
SJ shear stiffness
- k :
-
Permeability
- k 0 :
-
Initial permeability
- k ave :
-
Average permeability
- kn/ks :
-
Ratio of the normal stiffness to the shear stiffness of both the particle and parallel bond
- μ :
-
SJ coefficient of friction
- ψ :
-
SJ dilation angle
- m :
-
Number of sampling points
- n j :
-
Unit normal vector of the joint
- n c :
-
Unit normal vector of a contact
- r min :
-
Minimum particle radius
- r max :
-
Maximum particle radius
- \(y_{i}\) :
-
Elevation of the sampling point
- ∆:
-
Increment
- λ :
-
Radius multiplier of SJ
- \(\Delta x\) :
-
Sampling interval
- σ n :
-
Normal stress
- σ en :
-
Effective normal stress
- σ b :
-
Tensile strength of the parallel bond
- c b :
-
Cohesion strength of the parallel bond
- ϕ b :
-
Local friction angle of the parallel bond
- ρ :
-
Particle density
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (no. 2016YFB0600805), the Youth Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41702289) and the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (no. Z017008).
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Shen, H., Zhang, Q., Li, Q. et al. Experimental and Numerical Investigations of the Dynamic Permeability Evolution of a Fracture in Granite During Shearing Under Different Normal Stress Conditions. Rock Mech Rock Eng 53, 4429–4447 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-020-02074-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-020-02074-7