A coupled XFEM-HM method for fracture dynamics and groundwater flow in geological porous media

In the present work, we address the issue of groundwater flow in fractured porous media submitted to local or regional stress-state variations. Due to the increasing pore pressure fluid, the size and aperture distribution of the fractures are modified resulting in the formation of preferential flow channels within the geological formation. The numerical approach proposed in this paper is a fully coupled hydro-mechanical model in saturated conditions involving single-phase flow both in fractures and the porous matrix. The extended finite element method (XFEM) is employed to model fracture dynamic and fluid flow assuming fracture cutting through the elements.