International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Multi-point pressure transmission testing and transparent inversion of hydro-chemical coupling parameters on anisotropic shale","authors":"Yi Qiu ,&nbsp;Tianshou Ma ,&nbsp;Kai Liang ,&nbsp;Jiuxin Li ,&nbsp;Yang Liu ,&nbsp;P.G. Ranjith","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To predict the long-term evolution of pore pressure and wellbore stability in shale formations, it is essential to understand the hydro-chemical coupling in anisotropic and chemically active shales. However, characterizing these processes in anisotropic shales remains a significant challenge. Traditional pressure transmission testing (PTT) is primarily designed for isotropic materials and relies solely on downstream pressure data, which provides an incomplete characterization and fails to capture the internal spatiotemporal evolution of pore pressure in anisotropic media. Moreover, the parameter inversion process in traditional methods is often regarded as a \"black-box\" process, providing limited transparency and interpretability. Therefore, this study developed an integrated experimental PTT system and numerical inversion framework. Firstly, a novel multi-point PTT system equipped with three axially distributed pressure sensors was developed to directly monitor the internal pore pressure evolution. The hydraulic/chemical loading procedure was designed to measure the pressure transmission behavior of anisotropic Longmaxi shale. Next, an anisotropic hydraulic-chemical coupling model was developed based on extended chemo-poroelastic theory, and a grid search-based inversion framework was further implemented to estimate the hydro-chemical coupling parameters of anisotropic shale. Then, the multi-point pressure response was examined for anisotropic Longmaxi shale, and the anisotropic permeability, solute diffusion, and reflection coefficients were inverted. Finally, the merits of multi-point PTT compared to single-point PTT were thoroughly examined. Furthermore, the conventional PTT results of the Pierre II and Ghom shales were benchmarked, and the implications for wellbore stability were thoroughly discussed. The results indicated that the Longmaxi shale exhibited significant anisotropy, with anisotropic ratios of 6.12, 8.33, and 1.38 for the permeability, diffusion, and reflection coefficients, respectively. The maximum and average relative errors of the inversion results based on the multi-point PTT results are 12.1 % and 2.56 %, respectively, which are 5.1 % and 0.71 % lower than those of traditional single-point PTT method. The grid search-based inversion framework was further validated by published datasets of both the Pierre II and the Ghom shales. This work demonstrated the efficacy of multi-point PTT system and transparent inversion framework for characterizing hydro-chemical coupling behavior of anisotropic shale and offering valuable implications for shale wellbore stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"197 ","pages":"Article 106351"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145567447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Influence of stress heterogeneity on shear behavior of rock discontinuities in laboratory experiments: New insights from numerical simulations","authors":"Shupeng Chai ,&nbsp;Yuan Zou ,&nbsp;Huanyu Wu ,&nbsp;Mohammadreza Akbariforouz ,&nbsp;Boyang Su ,&nbsp;Giovanni Grasselli ,&nbsp;Derek Elsworth ,&nbsp;Yossef H. Hatzor ,&nbsp;Qi Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106358","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106358","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Laboratory shear tests are widely used to investigate the evolution of first and second-order frictional behavior and rupture nucleation on rock discontinuities. Average stress across the sample, instead of spatial stress distributions, is typically assumed in analysis. We provide a thorough numerical investigation of eight common laboratory shear test configurations, considering a linear velocity-weakening friction law on a planar sliding surface, to quantify the temporal and spatial nonuniformity of stress both before shear and during stick-slip cycles. Our results indicate that non-uniform stress distribution resulting from the test configuration exists in all laboratory shear tests, with stress concentration occurring at the edges of the shear plane, while the stress in the central portion of laboratory faults remains almost uniform. Stress heterogeneity is more pronounced in direct shear than in inclined and rotary shear configurations. During stick-slip cycles, the local shear stress significantly dropped as the rupture front propagated through, resulting in a more uniform stress distribution in the slip phase than in the stick phase. Stress concentration near the sample edge governs the rupture process and the resulting localization of damage. These findings highlight the importance of considering stress heterogeneity in laboratory investigations of damage evaluation on rock discontinuities. We suggest that test configuration-related stress heterogeneity should be distinguished from surface roughness-induced stress heterogeneity, and utilizing average stress may lead to misinterpretation of the rupture dynamics and damage patterns. Our results provide a guide on quantitative analysis of the shear behavior of rock discontinuities, considering stress heterogeneity in laboratory experiments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"197 ","pages":"Article 106358"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145614045","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characteristics of fault slip, energy budget, and precursory stress drop revealed by fluid-induced fault instability experiments with varied injection rates","authors":"Lishan Zhang ,&nbsp;Chongyuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Yifan Wu ,&nbsp;Manchao He ,&nbsp;Mohua Bu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106344","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106344","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the mechanisms underlying fluid-induced fault instability is essential for mitigating the risk of triggered seismicity. This study integrates laboratory experiments on granite samples containing a pre-cut fault zone and field data from the Gonghe Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) to examine how injection rate and confining pressure govern fault slip modes, energy partitioning, and precursor signals. Experimental results demonstrate that injection rate critically modulates slip behavior: low injection rates promote cascades of small, low-energy slip events, whereas high rates induce a three-stage evolution (initiation-creep-instability) that culminates in larger seismic energy release. For stably slipping faults, total hydraulic energy shows a linear correlation with shear displacement. An interesting finding is the identification of a precursory stress drop, marked by a nonlinear transition in the pore pressure growth curve. A precursory time window exists between macro-slip initiation and catastrophic stick-slip. This precursor window shortens with increasing injection rate, underscoring that injection rate control is a primary strategy for seismic hazard management. Field observations from the Gonghe EGS confirm that higher injection rates are associated with reduced hydraulic diffusivity and increased seismic energy release, consistent with the mechanism identified in the laboratory.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"197 ","pages":"Article 106344"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145593046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dynamic response of sandstone under hydro-mechanical coupling: macroscopic behavior and microscopic mechanism","authors":"Ju Wang ,&nbsp;Feng Dai ,&nbsp;Zelin Yan ,&nbsp;Yuanyang Pang ,&nbsp;Mingdong Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106342","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106342","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Deep engineering rock masses are typically subjected to coupled in-situ stress, pore water pressure, and construction-induced dynamic disturbances, making it essential to understand the corresponding mechanical behavior and response mechanisms for effective dynamic disaster prevention and control in complex geological environments. In this study, a modified hydro-mechanical coupled split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system was developed, and the reliability was experimentally validated. The dynamic mechanical response and energy dissipation characteristics of sandstone under hydro-mechanical coupling were investigated utilizing the testing system, and the micromechanical mechanisms were revealed. The results show that the dynamic strength and elastic modulus positively correlate with confining pressure but negatively with pore water pressure. The rate dependency of strength diminishes with increasing confining pressure, yet remains independent of pore water pressure. The peak strain increases nonlinearly with strain rate and pore water pressure. With increasing strain rate and pore water pressure, the reflected energy proportion increases, while transmitted energy and energy utilization rate decrease. The dissipated energy density increases linearly with the logarithm of incident energy and shows a rate dependency. A pore-emanated crack model considering the coupling of pore water pressure and triaxial dynamic compression was established. The model indicates that confining pressure reduces the stress intensity factor (SIF) at crack tips, causing the critical stress for microcrack propagation to follow a power-law increase. The pore water pressure increases the SIF, resulting in a linear decrease in the critical stress. As pore radius and strain rate increase, the initiation time of microcracks advances. Finally, the competitive relationship between the water wedge effect and Stefan effect under different coupling conditions is revealed. The research conclusions can provide scientific reference for rock engineering construction and stability evaluation under the coupled environment of dynamic stress and pore water pressure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"197 ","pages":"Article 106342"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145560019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of mineralogical features on the mechanical behaviors of granite: A study using physically informed 3D microstructural model","authors":"Changdi He ,&nbsp;Brijes Mishra ,&nbsp;David Oskar Potyondy","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106355","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106355","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mineralogical features, including mineral spatial distribution, shape, and orientation, are important in determining the mechanical behaviors of granite. This effect was investigated by using the X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scan on granite specimens (10 mm diameter and 15 mm height) before and after uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) testing. The X-ray micro-CT scan generated thousands of CT images, which were processed using advanced digital image processing (DIP) techniques. Specifically, the Residual Network–Visual Geometry Group16–UNet (Res–VGG16–UNet) model and the circular threshold segmentation technique were applied to identify and map minerals within the CT images. The coordinate information extracted from these mapped minerals was then used to create 3D Subspring Network Breakable Voronoi (SNBV) microstructural models that incorporate the mineral characteristics of tested granite specimens. The models consist of a mesh (3D Voronoi tessellation) of rigid, breakable, Voronoi blocks. The extracted coordinate information, forming a large dataset, was managed by the <span><math><mi>k</mi></math></span>-Dimensional Tree (KD-Tree) algorithm to facilitate mineral type assignment in SNBV models. The models were calibrated by comparing their results with the experimental data obtained from UCS tests. This study further explored the variations in biotite grain spatial distribution, shape, and orientation within a calibrated SNBV model, and examined their impact on the UCS and fracture behaviors of granite, based on a set of simplified microproperties. The results illustrate that as the SNBV model resolution (defined by the number of rigid blocks contained in models with identical physical dimensions) increases, mechanical properties, including UCS and crack initiation and damage strains and stresses, reach constant values. Additionally, the spatial distribution, shape, and orientation of biotite grain affect the UCS of granite, while their effect on the failure strain is minimal. The aspect ratio of biotite grains affects UCS, with <span><math><mi>z</mi></math></span>-axis elongation (aligned with compression) yielding higher UCS than <span><math><mi>x</mi></math></span>-axis elongation (perpendicular to compression).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"197 ","pages":"Article 106355"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145598600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physical modelling of ore flow in ore passes for haulage decarbonisation in deep mining","authors":"Javiera Brevis ,&nbsp;Fernanda Vera ,&nbsp;René Gómez ,&nbsp;Ebrahim F. Salmi","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106302","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106302","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The continuous decline in ore grades has driven the mining industry to adopt innovative strategies to sustain and potentially increase production, particularly in response to the rising demand for strategic and critical minerals such as copper, which is essential for the energy transition. In underground mining, such as sublevel caving operations, ore passes are commonly used to transport ore between levels. Expanding and optimising the use of ore passes can improve operational efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and lower carbon emissions associated with hauling.</div><div>However, significant challenges arise in maintaining reliable gravitational flow within ore passes due to substantial vertical distances and increasing mining depths. To address these challenges, this study utilises a scaled physical model to investigate the flow behaviour of various particle types within an ore pass. The analysis considers multiple variables, including filling levels, particle size distributions, and particle properties. A total of 4160 flow experiments were conducted across 52 combinations of particle shapes and sizes to quantify the influence of these variables on material flow.</div><div>The highest number of hang-ups was observed for large triangular prismatic particles, with 125 events, followed by large spherical particles, which exhibited 96 hang-ups. In contrast, no hang-ups occurred for small spherical or octahedral particles. The hang-up frequency index decreased by 98.48 % when sphericity was reduced by 23.47 %, indicating a strong influence of particle shape on flow behaviour. For spherical particles, lower ore pass filling levels reduced the occurrence of hang-ups, whereas this effect was not observed in mixed prismatic particle shapes. This detailed analysis of hang-up events under varying conditions can help to identify critical scenarios affecting particle flow within ore passes. The findings provide essential insights into the parameters governing particle movement, thereby advancing the understanding of complex flow dynamics in ore pass operations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"197 ","pages":"Article 106302"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145521283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strain energy calculation and differential evolution in deep hard rocks under different true triaxial unloading paths with cyclic loading","authors":"Liangjie Gu ,&nbsp;Guo-Qiang Zhu ,&nbsp;Shaojun Li ,&nbsp;Shuo Yu ,&nbsp;Yangyi Zhou ,&nbsp;Yan Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106343","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106343","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During the excavation of deep hard rock engineering, the strain energy of the surrounding rock mass exhibits significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity due to complex true triaxial unloading paths. This poses substantial challenges for predicting dynamic disasters such as rockbursts. Conventional studies are mostly limited to single stress path assumptions, making it difficult to reveal the energy differentiation mechanisms under different true triaxial unloading paths in deep excavation. This study designed cyclic loading tests under five typical true triaxial unloading paths for deep excavation based on a true triaxial testing system. By analyzing the stress-strain hysteresis curves during cyclic loading, a calculation method for rock strain energy under different true triaxial unloading paths with cyclic loading was proposed, and the differential distribution laws of strain energy in hard rock under different true triaxial unloading paths were revealed. The results demonstrate that true triaxial unloading paths with increasing maximum or intermediate principal stress can enhance the total strain energy and elastic energy of rock, while unloading the minimum principal stress induces tensile failure, leading to a surge in dissipative energy. The essence lies in the fact that the three-dimensional stress adjustment dominates the energy accumulation and dissipation process. Additionally, the difference in dissipative energy loss between the intermediate and minimum principal stress directions is positively correlated with the macro-failure angle of the rock, and the greater difference in dissipative energy loss coefficients correspond to more pronounced tensile failure characteristics and larger failure angles. A rockburst tendency index quantifies the regulatory effect of the intermediate principal stress on rockburst, revealing the catastrophe mechanism dominated by elastic energy storage under true triaxial constraints. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the stability evaluation and disaster warning of surrounding rocks in deep engineering.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"197 ","pages":"Article 106343"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145531395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Numerical insights into thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-damage (THMD) fields evolution over hydraulic fracturing in hot dry rock","authors":"Xiaotian Wu ,&nbsp;Yingchun Li ,&nbsp;Tianjiao Li ,&nbsp;Guanglei Cui ,&nbsp;Chun'an Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106323","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106323","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hydraulic fracturing is critical to considerably elevate the permeability of the hot dry rock in an enhanced geothermal system. However, the real-time evolution of multi-physical fields over hydraulic fracturing with varying geomechanical properties and injection strategies remains unclear. Here, we established an integrated numerical model that fully couples thermal, hydraulic and mechanical fields with damage (THMD) to simulate hydraulic fracturing in a heterogeneous geothermal formation. We tracked the fracture initiation and propagation via quantitative rock damage detected by the maximum shear/tensile stress criterion, and examined the evolution of temperature, pore pressure and stress. Our numerical simulations revealed that fluid injection first creates uniform diffusion of cooling and elevates the pore pressure around the borehole with increasing minimum principal stress. Subsequently, fluid migration becomes preferentially channeled through newly formed fractures and thus cooling and high-pressure zones are concentrated along these highly permeable pathways. Higher principal stress difference, formation temperature, and injection rate all promote fracture propagation and decrease initiation pressure. Conversely, a greater rock permeability hinders fracture growth and lowers initiation pressure. The quantified sensitivity analysis shows that the principal stress difference primarily impacts the fracture initiation pressure, and the injection rate predominantly dictates the fracture length. The rock heterogeneity complicates the fracture morphology by introducing additional bifurcations but imposes negligible influence on the fracture length and initiation pressure. These insights deliver practical guidance to optimize operational parameters in geothermal reservoir stimulation and fracture propagation modulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"196 ","pages":"Article 106323"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145428796","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Migration mechanisms of leaking hydrogen sulfide in inter-stratified coal-petroleum basins and mitigation with alkali injection","authors":"Shun Liang ,&nbsp;Hongye Luo ,&nbsp;Derek Elsworth ,&nbsp;Qiangling Yao ,&nbsp;Xuehai Fu ,&nbsp;Qiang Wang ,&nbsp;Xuehua Li ,&nbsp;Weisheng He ,&nbsp;Zhi Ma ,&nbsp;Guangli Huang ,&nbsp;Furong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In inter-stratified coal-petroleum basins, the integrity of oil/gas wells penetrating coal seams is frequently compromised by longwall coal mining-induced disturbances, promoting leakage of highly toxic hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) gas from below. This released H₂S migrates via mining-induced fractures into underground workings like longwall faces and roadways, posing acute exposure risks for miners. This study investigates H₂S leakage, migration, hazard, and mitigation methods using a case study of the Shuangma coal mine (Ordos Basin western margin, China), where upper coal seams are mined above deep oil reservoirs. We developed a novel coupled mechanical-hydraulic-chemical model simulating H₂S migration and coal seam alkali injection for sulfur immobilization. Field measurements and simulations reveal that: (1) Leaking H₂S primarily adsorbs in coal matrix pores, forming enrichment zones until saturation, then distributes into free and water-soluble states in dynamic equilibrium; (2) H₂S pressure increases exponentially near wellbores, with radii of influence after 30 years measuring 238–536 m for wellbore pressures of 0.32–1.52 MPa; (3) Optimal alkali injection parameters for effective H₂S mitigation are 10 MPa pressure, 10 m borehole spacing, and 30 h grouting duration. These parameters suppressed H₂S concentrations below the safety threshold. The results: (1) elucidate coupled transport-immobilization mechanisms governing H₂S behavior in fractured coal-reservoir systems, and (2) provide a validated engineering protocol for abandoned well remediation in inter-stratified coal-hydrocarbon basins. This work advances fundamental understanding and practical solutions for H₂S risk management in mining overlying oil/gas reservoirs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"196 ","pages":"Article 106325"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145461558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Generating high-fidelity discrete fracture networks from low-dimensional latent spaces using generative adversarial network","authors":"Zheng Teng ,&nbsp;Hui Wu ,&nbsp;Jize Zhang ,&nbsp;Xin Ju ,&nbsp;Shengwen Qi","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106301","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2025.106301","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Characterization of discrete fracture networks (DFNs) in the shallow crust is essential for understanding subsurface flow and transport processes and guiding reservoir exploitation such as water/oil/gas/geothermal/mineral recovery and nuclear waste/CO₂ storage. However, characterizing the geometry of subsurface DFNs is extremely difficult, due to the inherent complexity of DFNs and the generally spatially sparse, low-resolution geological/geophysical data. Traditional DFN parameterization methods may result in a high-dimensional parameter space, making DFN inversion ill-posed and computationally expensive. In this study, we develop a deep learning-based low-dimensional parameterization method to effectively generate complex DFNs from low-dimensional latent spaces, thus significantly alleviating the ill-posedness and computational burden associated with DFN characterization in a data scarce environment. The Wasserstein generative adversarial network with gradient penalty (WGAN-GP) is used to generate random DFNs from latent spaces. Through both qualitative and quantitative comparisons of fracture characteristics between the generated and training DFNs, we demonstrate the extraordinary capability of the method in generating high-fidelity DFNs from extremely low-dimensional latent spaces. The generated DFNs faithfully honor fracture prior knowledge imposed in training samples, including fracture statistics regarding location, length and orientation as well as fracture existence and connectivity identified from geological/hydrogeological surveys. We also demonstrate the ability of the method in generating DFNs that resemble realistic fracture networks mapped from limestone and glacier outcrops. A synthetic DFN characterization case study illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed method in inversion tasks, showing such an effective low-dimensional and conditional parameterization method is particularly useful to facilitate subsurface DFN characterization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"196 ","pages":"Article 106301"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145441365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}