Discrete Element Simulation of Hydraulic Fracturing and Induced Seismicity in Engineered Geothermal Systems

Abstract

In this paper the Discrete Element Model (DEM) ‘ESyS_Particle’, previously used to model fracture of brittle rocks and earthquake processes, is further developed to be able to be applied to the hydraulic fracturing process in Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS). The advantage of DEM is that large deformations and dynamic process can be modelled easily. ESyS_Particle has been used to successfully model fracture of brittle rocks and earthquake processes in the past 15 years. Currently it incorporates thermal-hydro-mechanical coupling based on Darcy’s Law and Biot theory. A simple simulation of a hydraulic fracture is provided, which reproduces the most basic features of hydraulic fracture. I hope to model induced seismicity in the future.