Simulation of THMC processes in fractured porous media

Fractures in porous media provide channels or barriers to flow and planes of weakness in the mechanical structure of the material. From a mathematical perspective, fractures can be conceptualized as discontinuities in the material parameters or as breaks along which the material on either side of the fracture can undergo sliding motion. As the fractures typically are thin compared to the size of the domain of interest, models for processes in fractured porous media are based on mixed-dimensional models, where fractures are represented as surfaces in a three-dimensional porous medium domain. In this talk, we explore models for (subsets of) coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes in fractured porous media. Emphasis will be given to models incorporating fracture deformation, which is characterized using contact mechanics principles.