Coupled Hydro-Mechanical Cracking of Concrete using XFEM in 3D

Abstract

Abstract. This paper presents a computational method for simulation of 3D hydrofracturation using a segregated and a coupled algorithm hydraulic model. The crack propagation is modeled using a combination of continuous damage and XFEM. The poroelastic problem in the first stage of cracking is modeled using a poro-damage model, where the permeability is linked to the damage coefficient. Once the crack is modeled using XFEM, a hydraulic mesh is automatically generated on the fracture surface with the possibility of including features such as drains. The pressure is computed on the hydraulic mesh taking into account the crack opening computed with the structural model and the different types of flow in a crack: laminar or turbulent, parallel or non-parallel. The pressure computed with the hydraulic mesh is transferred to the structural mesh to recompute the structural response. This procedure, iterated until convergence, can predict hydraulic fracturing taking into account complex flows. A validation example on a wedge-splitting specimen is presented.