Pub Date : 2026-02-03DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106426
Mengmeng Nie, Xuhai Tang, Fei Gao, Quansheng Liu, Jiangmei Qiao
{"title":"Constructing large-scale high-fidelity fracture networks based on generative AI","authors":"Mengmeng Nie, Xuhai Tang, Fei Gao, Quansheng Liu, Jiangmei Qiao","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106426","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106426","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110174","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":"Identification of fluid-entry clusters and diagnosis of downhole events based on high-frequency water hammer pressure","authors":"Shuangshuang Sun, Yongming He, Lijun Liu, Yanchao Li, Longqing Zou, Liang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106437","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110177","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}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106441
Taiwen Li, Lankai Liu, Rong Wang, Juhui Zhu, Zidong Fan, Xiaofang Nie, Li Ren, Qin Zhou
{"title":"An experimental insight into water-driven fracture of granite under coupled stress–temperature conditions","authors":"Taiwen Li, Lankai Liu, Rong Wang, Juhui Zhu, Zidong Fan, Xiaofang Nie, Li Ren, Qin Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106441","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106441","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146110179","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-31DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106433
Jia-Qi Lu, Zheng-Wei Li, Xia-Ting Feng, Cheng-Dan He, Yong-Jun Wang, Yang Zuo, Jin Wang
{"title":"Microwave melting of lunar regolith simulant in an unchambered environment: Insights from physical model experiments","authors":"Jia-Qi Lu, Zheng-Wei Li, Xia-Ting Feng, Cheng-Dan He, Yong-Jun Wang, Yang Zuo, Jin Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106433","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106433","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"218 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146095828","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-31DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106431
Tomasz Szawełło , Jeffrey D. Hyman , Peter K. Kang , Piotr Szymczak
Dissolution in porous media and fractured rocks alters both the chemical composition of the fluid and the physical properties of the solid. Depending on system conditions, reactive flow may enlarge pores uniformly, widen pre-existing channels, or trigger instabilities that form wormholes. The resulting pattern reflects feedbacks among advection, diffusion, surface reaction, and the initial heterogeneity of the medium. Porous and fractured media can exhibit distinct characteristics — for example, the presence of large fractures can significantly alter the network topology and overall connectivity of the system. We quantify these differences with three network models — a regular pore network, a disordered pore network, and a discrete fracture network — evaluated with a unified metric: the flow focusing profile. This metric effectively captures evolution of flow paths across all systems: it reveals a focusing front that propagates from the inlet in the wormholing regime, a system-wide decrease in focusing during uniform dissolution, and the progressive enlargement of pre-existing flow paths in the channeling regime. The metric shows that uniform dissolution cannot eliminate heterogeneity resulting from the network topology. This structural heterogeneity — rather than just pore-diameter or fracture-aperture variance — sets a fundamental limit on flow homogenization and must be accounted for when upscaling dissolution kinetics from pore or fracture scale to the reservoir level.
{"title":"Structural barriers to complete homogenization and wormholing in dissolving porous and fractured rocks","authors":"Tomasz Szawełło , Jeffrey D. Hyman , Peter K. Kang , Piotr Szymczak","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106431","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106431","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dissolution in porous media and fractured rocks alters both the chemical composition of the fluid and the physical properties of the solid. Depending on system conditions, reactive flow may enlarge pores uniformly, widen pre-existing channels, or trigger instabilities that form wormholes. The resulting pattern reflects feedbacks among advection, diffusion, surface reaction, and the initial heterogeneity of the medium. Porous and fractured media can exhibit distinct characteristics — for example, the presence of large fractures can significantly alter the network topology and overall connectivity of the system. We quantify these differences with three network models — a regular pore network, a disordered pore network, and a discrete fracture network — evaluated with a unified metric: the flow focusing profile. This metric effectively captures evolution of flow paths across all systems: it reveals a focusing front that propagates from the inlet in the wormholing regime, a system-wide decrease in focusing during uniform dissolution, and the progressive enlargement of pre-existing flow paths in the channeling regime. The metric shows that uniform dissolution cannot eliminate heterogeneity resulting from the network topology. This structural heterogeneity — rather than just pore-diameter or fracture-aperture variance — sets a fundamental limit on flow homogenization and must be accounted for when upscaling dissolution kinetics from pore or fracture scale to the reservoir level.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"200 ","pages":"Article 106431"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146081848","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-29DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106434
Jingkai Qu , Yiguo Xue , Fanmeng Kong , Cuiying Zhou , Jianbing Peng , Su Yan , Zhen Liu , Zhuang Ruan , Mingdong Zang , Kang Fu , Bo Wang , Minghao Jia , Ze Shi , Ziming Qu , Huaibing Wang , Xinyu Liu
Red beds exhibit pronounced hydro-sensitivity and softening characteristics, which commonly trigger significant tunnel deformation and instability hazards. Based on the Fengtun Tunnel deformation in China, this study employs an integrated methodology to reveal the deterioration characteristics of red beds lithological interfaces under water-rock interaction and their control on tunnel deformation. The results indicate that deformation is intense during the initial excavation stage, with maximum rates reaching 20 mm/d. More than 75 % of the cumulative deformation occurs prior to initial support of invert. Notably, the deformation exhibits extreme sensitivity at the mudstone-sandstone interface, characterized by drastic fluctuations in deformation rates. The fundamental cause of this behavior lies in the distinct deterioration modes of the two rock types under water-rock interaction. Following saturation, the mudstone uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus decrease by 37 % and 55 %, respectively, due to cement dissolution and mineral loss. Conversely, the sandstone exhibits only a minor strength reduction of 3 % and 15 %, respectively, though its porosity increases significantly. This differential degradation drives an evolution in the deformation mechanism, shifting from “stress driven” mode in the mudstone section to “hydro-mechanically driven” mode in the sandstone section. This transition generates a displacement differential of up to 30.0 mm between spandrel and arch waist on the same side. The consequent concentration of asymmetric shear stress on the support structure is identified as the root cause of localized shear failure. This research provides a scientific basis for disaster prevention and the design of resilient support systems in red beds tunnels.
{"title":"Deterioration characteristics of red beds lithological interface under water-rock interaction and its influence on tunnel deformation","authors":"Jingkai Qu , Yiguo Xue , Fanmeng Kong , Cuiying Zhou , Jianbing Peng , Su Yan , Zhen Liu , Zhuang Ruan , Mingdong Zang , Kang Fu , Bo Wang , Minghao Jia , Ze Shi , Ziming Qu , Huaibing Wang , Xinyu Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106434","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106434","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Red beds exhibit pronounced hydro-sensitivity and softening characteristics, which commonly trigger significant tunnel deformation and instability hazards. Based on the Fengtun Tunnel deformation in China, this study employs an integrated methodology to reveal the deterioration characteristics of red beds lithological interfaces under water-rock interaction and their control on tunnel deformation. The results indicate that deformation is intense during the initial excavation stage, with maximum rates reaching 20 mm/d. More than 75 % of the cumulative deformation occurs prior to initial support of invert. Notably, the deformation exhibits extreme sensitivity at the mudstone-sandstone interface, characterized by drastic fluctuations in deformation rates. The fundamental cause of this behavior lies in the distinct deterioration modes of the two rock types under water-rock interaction. Following saturation, the mudstone uniaxial compressive strength and elastic modulus decrease by 37 % and 55 %, respectively, due to cement dissolution and mineral loss. Conversely, the sandstone exhibits only a minor strength reduction of 3 % and 15 %, respectively, though its porosity increases significantly. This differential degradation drives an evolution in the deformation mechanism, shifting from “stress driven” mode in the mudstone section to “hydro-mechanically driven” mode in the sandstone section. This transition generates a displacement differential of up to 30.0 mm between spandrel and arch waist on the same side. The consequent concentration of asymmetric shear stress on the support structure is identified as the root cause of localized shear failure. This research provides a scientific basis for disaster prevention and the design of resilient support systems in red beds tunnels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"199 ","pages":"Article 106434"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072441","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-28DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106427
Wenkun Yang , Zuyu Chen , Haitao Zhao , Jianchun Li , Shuo Chen , Chong Shi , Dong Chen , Jing Li
Accurate prediction of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) performance is critical for optimizing operational parameters and enhancing excavation efficiency. Existing intelligent methods for real-time performance assessment primarily treat this task as either a time-series forecasting or a multi-factor regression problem, failing to explain the evolutionary patterns of attention weights across temporal and feature dimensions. To address this gap, this study proposes a Time-Feature Fused Transformer (TFFT) model, which utilizes parallel-connected time-attention and feature-attention layers, followed by a regression layer. This architecture extracts multi-head self-attention weights from both dimensions, enabling analysis of attention evolution mechanisms during rock mass quality improvement or deterioration. Then, field-monitored data from the Songhua River water conveyance tunnel (YS), which is 19.77 km long, is used for model training, hyperparameter optimization, and testing. The TFFT demonstrates superior performance over five designed attention structures and state-of-the-art machine learning benchmarks through its ability to fuse temporal and feature representations effectively. Besides, attention weights analysis indicates temporal attention shifts toward earlier time steps during rock quality deterioration but concentrates on larger time steps during improvement, while feature attention remains invariant across the changed rock mass classes. Engineering applications on the new 8.6-km-long Chaoer to Xiliao tunnel (YC) confirm the model's robustness in providing real-time thrust predictions for operational guidance and exhibit a similar attention evolution mechanism to the YS tunnel. This work advances the fusion of temporal and feature learning in TBM performance prediction, offering more insights into spatio-temporal feature fusion and attention evolution patterns, as well as significant implications for safety and efficiency in tunnelling projects.
{"title":"Time-Feature Fused Transformer model: A study on TBM performance prediction and attention evolution patterns","authors":"Wenkun Yang , Zuyu Chen , Haitao Zhao , Jianchun Li , Shuo Chen , Chong Shi , Dong Chen , Jing Li","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106427","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106427","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate prediction of Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) performance is critical for optimizing operational parameters and enhancing excavation efficiency. Existing intelligent methods for real-time performance assessment primarily treat this task as either a time-series forecasting or a multi-factor regression problem, failing to explain the evolutionary patterns of attention weights across temporal and feature dimensions. To address this gap, this study proposes a Time-Feature Fused Transformer (TFFT) model, which utilizes parallel-connected time-attention and feature-attention layers, followed by a regression layer. This architecture extracts multi-head self-attention weights from both dimensions, enabling analysis of attention evolution mechanisms during rock mass quality improvement or deterioration. Then, field-monitored data from the Songhua River water conveyance tunnel (YS), which is 19.77 km long, is used for model training, hyperparameter optimization, and testing. The TFFT demonstrates superior performance over five designed attention structures and state-of-the-art machine learning benchmarks through its ability to fuse temporal and feature representations effectively. Besides, attention weights analysis indicates temporal attention shifts toward earlier time steps during rock quality deterioration but concentrates on larger time steps during improvement, while feature attention remains invariant across the changed rock mass classes. Engineering applications on the new 8.6-km-long Chaoer to Xiliao tunnel (YC) confirm the model's robustness in providing real-time thrust predictions for operational guidance and exhibit a similar attention evolution mechanism to the YS tunnel. This work advances the fusion of temporal and feature learning in TBM performance prediction, offering more insights into spatio-temporal feature fusion and attention evolution patterns, as well as significant implications for safety and efficiency in tunnelling projects.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"199 ","pages":"Article 106427"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072446","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}
The influence of CO2-water-rock interactions on the fracture mechanical performance of transversely isotropic shale is a critical factor affecting the long-term safety of CO2 sequestration in depleted shale reservoirs. In this study, a series of CO2-water-rock reaction experiments combined with semi-circular bend (SCB) tests were conducted to investigate the macro- and microscopic mechanisms underlying the impact of CO2-water-rock interactions on shale fracture performance. Shale specimens were exposed to CO2 and water at a constant temperature of 50 °C prior to fracture toughness testing, with exposure times of 0, 10, 20, and 30 d and pressures of 6, 11, and 16 MPa. Control groups subjected to water-bath treatment and pure CO2 treatment were also established. The experimental results indicate that reaction pressure is the primary factor governing the onset of fracture toughness degradation induced by CO2-water-rock interactions: higher pressures lead to a more pronounced weakening effect. The phase transition of CO2 under different reaction pressures markedly alters the evolution pathway of shale fracture toughness and the influence exerted by CO2-water-rock interactions on fracture toughness. The presence of water significantly enhances both the reactivity and pressure sensitivity of CO2-rock reactions. As exposure time increases, the effect of CO2-water-rock interactions on shale fracture toughness transitions from a strengthening to a weakening effect. In the short-term reaction, extensive contact between shale, CO2, and water induces the formation of widely dispersed physical dissolution micropores, enhancing the fracture resistance of shale. In contrast, long-term reaction promotes sustained chemical dissolution of locally reactive minerals, producing enlarged dissolved pores and a pronounced deterioration in both material strength and fracture toughness. The evolution of clay mineral content plays a decisive role in the time-dependent behavior of shale fracture toughness. These findings enhance the understanding of the macro- and microscopic mechanisms governing CO2-water-rock interactions in the context of CO2 geological sequestration in depleted shale reservoirs, and provide essential theoretical support for evaluating storage potential and ensuring long-term reservoir integrity.
{"title":"Effects of CO2-water-rock interactions on the fracture performance of transversely isotropic shale: Transition from strengthening to weakening","authors":"Xuefeng Li , Fengshou Zhang , Tiankui Guo , Changtai Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106435","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106435","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The influence of CO<sub>2</sub>-water-rock interactions on the fracture mechanical performance of transversely isotropic shale is a critical factor affecting the long-term safety of CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration in depleted shale reservoirs. In this study, a series of CO<sub>2</sub>-water-rock reaction experiments combined with semi-circular bend (SCB) tests were conducted to investigate the macro- and microscopic mechanisms underlying the impact of CO<sub>2</sub>-water-rock interactions on shale fracture performance. Shale specimens were exposed to CO<sub>2</sub> and water at a constant temperature of 50 °C prior to fracture toughness testing, with exposure times of 0, 10, 20, and 30 d and pressures of 6, 11, and 16 MPa. Control groups subjected to water-bath treatment and pure CO<sub>2</sub> treatment were also established. The experimental results indicate that reaction pressure is the primary factor governing the onset of fracture toughness degradation induced by CO<sub>2</sub>-water-rock interactions: higher pressures lead to a more pronounced weakening effect. The phase transition of CO<sub>2</sub> under different reaction pressures markedly alters the evolution pathway of shale fracture toughness and the influence exerted by CO<sub>2</sub>-water-rock interactions on fracture toughness. The presence of water significantly enhances both the reactivity and pressure sensitivity of CO<sub>2</sub>-rock reactions. As exposure time increases, the effect of CO<sub>2</sub>-water-rock interactions on shale fracture toughness transitions from a strengthening to a weakening effect. In the short-term reaction, extensive contact between shale, CO<sub>2</sub>, and water induces the formation of widely dispersed physical dissolution micropores, enhancing the fracture resistance of shale. In contrast, long-term reaction promotes sustained chemical dissolution of locally reactive minerals, producing enlarged dissolved pores and a pronounced deterioration in both material strength and fracture toughness. The evolution of clay mineral content plays a decisive role in the time-dependent behavior of shale fracture toughness. These findings enhance the understanding of the macro- and microscopic mechanisms governing CO<sub>2</sub>-water-rock interactions in the context of CO<sub>2</sub> geological sequestration in depleted shale reservoirs, and provide essential theoretical support for evaluating storage potential and ensuring long-term reservoir integrity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"199 ","pages":"Article 106435"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146072450","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-26DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106429
Muhammad Azam Khan , Yang Zhao , Mandella Ali M. Fargalla , Wyclif Kiyingi , Chenggang Xian , Chunduan Zhao , Liang Xing
Accurate mapping of minimum horizontal stress (Shmin) is vital for wellbore stability, hydraulic fracturing design and reservoir management in heterogeneous formations. Traditional approaches rely on sparse one-dimensional measurements or on numerical simulations that provide high fidelity but are computationally expensive. We present a physics informed kriging convolutional graph attention network (PIKCN-GAT) that integrates seismic attributes with stress fields obtained from finite element method (FEM) simulations. The framework constructs a k nearest neighbor graph from four post stack seismic attributes (maximum curvature, minimum curvature, root mean square amplitude and variance) and uses multi head graph attention to aggregate information from neighboring nodes. A kriging branch captures local spatial correlation and a physics informed loss term based on Eaton's poroelastic relation enforces geomechanical plausibility. The method is demonstrated on a high-resolution dataset from the Longmaxi Formation in the Daan field, Sichuan Basin, China. We trained PIKCN-GAT on 146,145 grid nodes and evaluated it on an unseen set of 32,805 nodes. On the test set, it achieved R2 of 0.93, RMSE of 0.81 MPa, and MAE of 0.64 MPa, outperforming baseline kriging convolutional networks without attention or physics constraints. Shapley additive explanations indicate that the minimum curvature and variance are the most influential attributes. The resulting two-dimensional stress maps identify zones of elevated stress and potential barriers to fracture propagation, providing valuable input for geomechanical modelling and field development planning.
{"title":"Physics informed kriging convolutional graph attention network for predicting minimum horizontal stress from seismic attributes and finite element simulations","authors":"Muhammad Azam Khan , Yang Zhao , Mandella Ali M. Fargalla , Wyclif Kiyingi , Chenggang Xian , Chunduan Zhao , Liang Xing","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106429","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106429","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate mapping of minimum horizontal stress (Sh<sub>min</sub>) is vital for wellbore stability, hydraulic fracturing design and reservoir management in heterogeneous formations. Traditional approaches rely on sparse one-dimensional measurements or on numerical simulations that provide high fidelity but are computationally expensive. We present a physics informed kriging convolutional graph attention network (PIKCN-GAT) that integrates seismic attributes with stress fields obtained from finite element method (FEM) simulations. The framework constructs a k nearest neighbor graph from four post stack seismic attributes (maximum curvature, minimum curvature, root mean square amplitude and variance) and uses multi head graph attention to aggregate information from neighboring nodes. A kriging branch captures local spatial correlation and a physics informed loss term based on Eaton's poroelastic relation enforces geomechanical plausibility. The method is demonstrated on a high-resolution dataset from the Longmaxi Formation in the Daan field, Sichuan Basin, China. We trained PIKCN-GAT on 146,145 grid nodes and evaluated it on an unseen set of 32,805 nodes. On the test set, it achieved R<sup>2</sup> of 0.93, RMSE of 0.81 MPa, and MAE of 0.64 MPa, outperforming baseline kriging convolutional networks without attention or physics constraints. Shapley additive explanations indicate that the minimum curvature and variance are the most influential attributes. The resulting two-dimensional stress maps identify zones of elevated stress and potential barriers to fracture propagation, providing valuable input for geomechanical modelling and field development planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"199 ","pages":"Article 106429"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146048069","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}
Pub Date : 2026-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106424
Zongze Li , Jinyang Fan , Yanfei Kang , Yang Zou , Marion Fourmeau , Jie Chen , Deyi Jiang , Daniel Nelias
Reconsolidated salt, formed from crushed halite under compaction, is a promising buffer and sealing material for deep geological repositories of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) because of its low permeability and self-healing properties. This study investigated the gas permeability behavior of reconsolidated salt with varying porosities under different confining pressures and inlet gas pressures using nitrogen gas. Based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, the pore structure of reconsolidated salt specimens with different porosities was tested and imaged. The experimental results demonstrate that gas permeability decreases with increasing gas and confining pressures, with gas pressure having a more pronounced effect. The observed permeability‒pressure relationship is attributed primarily to the Klinkenberg effect, with gas slippage along pore walls enhancing the measured permeability under low-pressure conditions. Using the Klinkenberg correction, the absolute permeability values of reconsolidated salt were derived, reaching as low as 10−19 m2 in low-porosity samples. These values are significantly lower than the apparent gas permeability, indicating excellent sealing performance comparable to or superior to that of bentonite. A logarithmic relationship between the absolute permeability and confining pressure was established, providing a quantitative basis for permeability prediction under repository stress conditions. NMR imaging results indicate that with decreasing porosity, the connectivity between pores also gradually diminishes. Additionally, the slip factor was found to increase with increasing confining pressure, underscoring the evolving influence of pore geometry on gas transport mechanisms. Permeability of reconsolidated granular salt decreases with porosity following a power-law relationship, and the healing supports its sealing effectiveness. This study provides essential data and theoretical insights for evaluating the long-term sealing performance of reconsolidated salt in salt-based HLW repositories.
{"title":"Experimental study on the permeability characteristics of reconsolidated salt: Effects of gas and confining pressure","authors":"Zongze Li , Jinyang Fan , Yanfei Kang , Yang Zou , Marion Fourmeau , Jie Chen , Deyi Jiang , Daniel Nelias","doi":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106424","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ijrmms.2026.106424","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reconsolidated salt, formed from crushed halite under compaction, is a promising buffer and sealing material for deep geological repositories of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) because of its low permeability and self-healing properties. This study investigated the gas permeability behavior of reconsolidated salt with varying porosities under different confining pressures and inlet gas pressures using nitrogen gas. Based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, the pore structure of reconsolidated salt specimens with different porosities was tested and imaged. The experimental results demonstrate that gas permeability decreases with increasing gas and confining pressures, with gas pressure having a more pronounced effect. The observed permeability‒pressure relationship is attributed primarily to the Klinkenberg effect, with gas slippage along pore walls enhancing the measured permeability under low-pressure conditions. Using the Klinkenberg correction, the absolute permeability values of reconsolidated salt were derived, reaching as low as 10<sup>−19</sup> m<sup>2</sup> in low-porosity samples. These values are significantly lower than the apparent gas permeability, indicating excellent sealing performance comparable to or superior to that of bentonite. A logarithmic relationship between the absolute permeability and confining pressure was established, providing a quantitative basis for permeability prediction under repository stress conditions. NMR imaging results indicate that with decreasing porosity, the connectivity between pores also gradually diminishes. Additionally, the slip factor was found to increase with increasing confining pressure, underscoring the evolving influence of pore geometry on gas transport mechanisms. Permeability of reconsolidated granular salt decreases with porosity following a power-law relationship, and the healing supports its sealing effectiveness. This study provides essential data and theoretical insights for evaluating the long-term sealing performance of reconsolidated salt in salt-based HLW repositories.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54941,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences","volume":"199 ","pages":"Article 106424"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039328","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}
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