Strongly coupled XFEM formulation for non-planar three-dimensional simulation of hydraulic fracturing with emphasis on concrete dams

• Published in: Computer methods in applied mechanics and engineering Vol. 363; pp. 1 - 36
• Main Authors: Roth, Simon-Nicolas, Léger, Pierre, Soulaïmani, Azzeddine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-05-2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: 3D crack propagation; Arch dams; Coalescing; Computation; Computer simulation; Concrete dams; Conduction heating; Conductive heat transfer; Continuum damage; Crack propagation; Cracking (fracturing); Cracks; Dam stability; Damage assessment; Dimensional stability; Fields (mathematics); Hydraulic fracturing; Hydro-mechanical coupling; Hydrofracturation; Microcracks; Pressurized water; Structural stability; Three dimensional models; Uplift; XFEM; Hydrofracturation; Continuum damage; 3D crack propagation; XFEM; Hydro-mechanical coupling
• ISSN: 0045-7825; 1879-2138
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cma.2020.112899

This paper presents a novel and robust three-dimensional plain concrete cracking model applicable to the study of structural stability of large structures, such as dams, while considering the presence of pressurized water in propagating cracks. When leaving the elastic range, there is a transition from a continuum approach to a XFEM approach. This mechanical model is coupled with a poro-damage model where the permeability is increased as micro-cracks coalesce into macro-cracks. The crack opening computation during continuum damage is based on a local XFEM formulation without the need for a reference length in a strongly coupled hydro-mechanical formulation to update the uplift pressures. The 3D crack path computation is adapted from an analogy to the heat conduction problem to draw the envelope of the discontinuities’ tangent vector field. Six benchmark problems available from the literature, including a 96m-high arch dam, are considered and indicate the very good performance of the proposed model as well as its applicability to real industrial structures.
•Robust three-dimensional plain concrete XFEM cracking model applicable to the study of structural stability of large structures.•New method to compute crack opening using continuous damage model.•Strongly coupled hydro-mechanical formulation to compute hydofracturation.•CDM to XFEM transition with permeability increase during crack evolution