Cryosuction‐induced fracturing in multiphase porous materials: Numerical modeling and experimental validation

Abstract

AbstractWhether naturally‐ or artificially‐induced due to human activities, decreasing or increasing the suction in multiphase‐fluid‐saturated porous materials can lead to enormous changes in their thermo‐hydromechanical properties. In this, both the mathematical description and the numerical modeling of the coupled problem present a challenging task. The following contribution considers the instance related to micro‐cryosuction‐induced fractures, which can be observed in saturated and unsaturated porous materials under freezing conditions. This research focuses on continuum porous media mechanics extended by a diffusive phase‐field fracture method. For the cryosuction‐induced fractures in saturated porous media, the water freezing is treated as a phase‐change process. This is modeled using a phase‐field approach, in which the thermal energy derives the phase change and, thus, leads to the occurrence of micro‐cryosuction due to the formation of the ice phase.