On models of double porosity poroelastic media

Abstract

This paper focuses on the modelling of fluid-filled poroelastic double porosity media under quasi-static and dynamic regimes. The double porosity model is derived from a two-scale homogenization procedure, by considering a medium locally characterized by blocks of poroelastic Biot microporous matrix and a surrounding system of fluid-filled macropores or fractures. The derived double porosity description is a two-pressure field poroelastic model with memory and viscoelastic effects. These effects result from the ‘time-dependent’ interaction between the pressure fields in the two pore networks. It is shown that this homogenized double porosity behaviour arises when the characteristic time of consolidation in the microporous domain is of the same order of magnitude as the macroscopic characteristic time of transient regime. Conversely, single porosity behaviours occur when both timescales are clearly distinct. Moreover, it is established that the phenomenological approaches that postulate the coexistence of two pressure fields in ‘instantaneous’ interaction only describe media with two pore networks separated by an interface flow barrier. Hence, they fail at predicting and reproducing the behaviour of usual double porosity media. Finally, the results are illustrated for the case of stratified media.