Parameter Sensitivity Study Research Articles

Study and multi-objective optimization of integrating an energetic solar thermal application, a supercritical process, and a high-temperature electrolyser

Supercritical processes using carbon dioxide reached suitable sustainability in previous research. Hence, the current paper proposes and examines a recompression supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle integrated with a solar power tower. To improve the stability of the solar subsystem for continuous daily operation, two energy storage stages are employed innovatively. In addition, the whole scheme embraces a solid oxide electrolyzer. Therefore, a novel combined electricity and hydrogen cogeneration model based on solar energy is evaluated here. To this end, the energy-, exergy-, sustainability-, and economic-based parametric sensitivity study is implemented comprehensively. Net present value is another performance metric investigated in this paper. Besides, a novel multi-objective approach utilizing an artificial neural network combined with a multi-objective grey wolf optimization is performed. Considering four different decision parameters, optimum objectives include exergy efficiency, hydrogen production rate, and products’ unit cost. From the parametric sensitivity study, it is inferred that the outlet pressure of the low-pressure turbine significantly affects performance metrics. Also, from the optimization, the optimum values of mentioned objectives equal 2587 kg/day, 20.89%, and 17.25 $/GJ, respectively. Moreover, the net present value indicates that the payback period can be reduced up to 8.1 years corresponding to optimum operational conditions.

Design and Test of an Active Pneumatic Soft Wrist for Soft Grippers

An active wrist can deliver both bending and twisting motions that are essential for soft grippers to perform dexterous manipulations capable of producing a wide range movements. Currently, the versions of gripper wrists are relatively heavy due to the bending and twisting motions performed by the motors. Pneumatic soft actuators can generate multiple motions with lightweight drives. This research evaluates a pneumatic soft wrist based on four parallel soft helical actuators. The kinematics models for predicting bending and twisting motions of this soft wrist are developed. Finite element method simulations are conducted to verify the functions of bending and twisting of this wrist. In addition, the active motions of the soft pneumatic wrist are experimentally demonstrated. Based on sensitivity studies of geometric parameters, a set of parameter values are identified for obtaining maximum bending and twisting angles for a bionic human wrist. Through simulation and experimental tests of the soft wrist for a soft gripper, the desired bending and twisting motions as those of a real human hand wrist are established.

Modified cost analysis integrated with dual parametric sensitivity study for realistic cost assessment of a novel modified geothermal-based multi-generation energy system

In this investigation, an innovative modification process has been employed to enhance the capability of a novel multi-generation energy system (MGS) utilizing a dual-flash binary geothermal cycle incorporated with two main subsystems. These subsystems include a novel cooling, heat, and power (CCHP) unit by an ejector-based cooling cycle (ERC) joint to an organic Rankine power cycle (ORC) and a hydrogen generation setup via a low-temperature electrolyzer. In addition, a binary mixture consisting of Pentane and R142b has been utilized for the CCHP subsystem as a working fluid. Nonetheless, to assess the actual operating cost of investigated system, the exergetic and energy level-based exergoeconomic (modified exergoeconomic) analysis has been implemented instead of using conventional exergoeconomic analysis; afterward, due to the conflicting trend between design and performance parameters, dual parametric sensitivity study and double-objective optimization using NSGA-II approach have been carried out. According to the outcomes of dual parametric study, the results are further sensitive to the simultaneous variation in second flash tank inlet pressure and vapor generator temperature. Optimization results indicate that the net electricity production has increased from 33.04 kW to 40.59 kW, which improves the exergetic efficiency of the system by 4.39 %. Also, in this case, the total unit product cost has ameliorated by 3.4% and 2.62% in terms of modified and conventional cost approaches. The best representative optimal solution has the optimal energetic efficiency, exergetic efficiency, and unit product cost of 38.35%, 43.50%, and 52.52 $/GJ, respectively.

Thermomechanical design rules for photovoltaic modules

AbstractWe present a set of thermomechanical design rules to support and accelerate future (PV) module developments. The design rules are derived from a comprehensive parameter sensitivity study of different PV module layers and material properties by finite element method simulations. We develop a three dimensional finite element method (FEM) model, which models the PV module geometry in detail from busbar and ribbons up to the frame including the adhesive. The FEM simulation covers soldering, lamination, and mechanical load at various temperatures. The FEM model is validated by mechanical load tests on three 60‐cell PV modules. Here, for the first time, stress within a solar cell is measured directly using stress sensors integrated in solar cells (SenSoCells®). The results show good accordance with the simulations. The parameter sensitivity study reveals that there are two critical interactions within a PV module: (1) between ribbon and solar cell and (2) between front/back cover and interconnected solar cells. Here, the encapsulant plays a crucial role in how the single layers interact with each other. Therefore, its mechanical properties are essential, and four design rules are derived regarding the encapsulant. Also four design rules concern front and back sides, and three address the solar cells. Finally, two design rules each deal with module size and frame, respectively. Altogether we derive a set of 15 thermomechanical design rules. As a rule of thumb of how well a bill of material will work from a thermomechanical point of view, we introduce the concept of specific thermal expansion stiffness as the product of Young's modulus , coefficient of thermal expansion , joint area , and materials height . The difference between two materials is a measure of how much thermal strain one material can induce in another. A strong difference means that the material with the larger value will induce thermal strain in the other.

Sensitivity study of numerical and geometrical parameters for structural mechanical analyses in the automatic design process of hydraulic machines

In the present paper a sensitivity study of numerical and geometrical parameters related to structural mechanical analyses of a hydraulic machine is presented. The sensitivity study is carried out for the blades of two different hydraulic machines, a propeller blade of a submersible vehicle and a runner blade of a kinetic river turbine. The focus of this work is on static structural mechanical analyses, which are performed with the open source finite element program CalculiX. Parameters for the sensitivity study are numerical parameters like the global mesh size as well as the local mesh refinement at certain locations of the blade. Furthermore, the sensitivity of geometrical parameters such as the blade thickness at different locations or the shape of the fillet is investigated. The results of the sensitivity study show that the numerical parameters have a small influence compared to the geometrical parameters. The most dominant geometrical parameter is the blade thickness at the hub. In case of a high load due to the centrifugal force, the influence of the blade thickness at the tip of the blade increases.

Geothermal deep closed-loop heat exchangers: A novel technical potential evaluation to answer the power and heat demands

This paper investigates and optimises the thermal performance of deep closed-loop heat exchanger (DCHE) systems by applying a computational numerical approach. The investigated DCHE configuration accounts for two deep vertical boreholes, an injection and a production well, connected by a horizontal borehole at depth and an insulated pipeline at the surface, establishing an effective closed-loop system. First, a parametric sensitivity study explores the effects of the environmental, design and operating variables on the production temperature. The simulation uses realistic geological and geothermal conditions, depths, circulation rates and injection temperatures. Two complex numerical models are then solved for site-specific DCHEs in different geological scenarios: a foreland basin and a convergent margin hosting low-to-intermediate and high-temperature geothermal resources, respectively. Production temperatures beyond 40–60 °C and 100 °C, sustainable for both heat and electric power generation, are obtained, depending on the geothermal conditions and closed-loop dimensions. Furthermore, circulation rates of 0.02–0.04 m3 s−1 are cost-effective, and the system's efficiency and sustainability increase when a fluctuating and periodic heat extraction strategy is employed. When efficiently operated, DCHEs are a viable solution for renewable energy production and should be integrated into the local heat market and distribution network infrastructure. Field of researchEarth and Planetary Sciences; Energy; Environmental Sciences

Estimation and prediction of shallow ground source heat resources subjected to complex soil and atmospheric boundary conditions

5th generation district heating and cooling networks operating at near ground temperature offer a low-cost, zero-carbon energy solution. Detailed understanding and accurate estimation of ground behaviour for its heat storage and recharge potential are of paramount importance for the success of such networks. In this paper, an advanced modelling tool, based on a coupled Thermal-Hydraulic (TH) modelling framework, is presented to calculate and predict temperature and soil-moisture behaviour of a shallow ground under complex atmospheric, temperature and hydraulic boundary conditions. Atmospheric data e.g., solar radiation, rainfall, humidity, air temperature, wind velocity is considered together with subsurface soil data to investigate thermal and hydraulic responses of the ground, and its individual soil layers. Furthermore, a transient method for estimating shallow ground source heat (SGSH) resources is proposed based on the simulated temperature and saturation distributions of the ground. The model is applied to predict the long-term ground temperature and saturation level of a test site located in Warwickshire County, UK. The total heat content per unit area and the annual/seasonal/monthly net heat content per unit area of the site are predicted for a five-year period. The total heat content of the sandy clay layer varied between 2.32 and 11.6 MJ/m2, silty clay from 34.0 to 50.5 MJ/m2, and mudstone from 50.7 to 55.0 MJ/m2. A parametric sensitivity study is also conducted to investigate the effects of soil types and hydraulic drainage conditions on the ground heat supply potential, and it revealed that the spatial and temporal distributions of ground heat is significantly affected by the underlying soils. This study highlights the influences of atmospheric conditions and coupled ground processes, and the parameters that should be considered for designing a 5th generation low-temperature heat network.

Parameter Sensitivity Study on Inflow Distortion of Boundary Layer Ingested Turbofans

The inflow distortion to the fan introduced by the ingestion of the fuselage boundary layer is the most critical challenge in realizing the benefits of boundary later ingesting (BLI) concepts. Minimizing the level of distortion while maintaining the desired amount of ingested boundary layer and free stream flow is crucial in minimizing the penalties to fan efficiency and noise emissions. In this paper, a parametric sensitivity study is performed to examine the integration of two semi-buried BLI turbofans at the rear end of a typical tube-and-wing body (TWB) fuselage. The key parameters influencing BLI, such as the nacelle installation positions, wing position, fuselage length, rear fuselage shape, intake shape and operating conditions were evaluated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Among the investigated parameters, increasing the nacelle spanwise installation spacing improved inflow distortion by reducing the diffusion separation, but this needs to be offset against the added weight and nacelle drag. A high wing position variant showed strong interference between the wing and the nacelle, which must be avoided as this significantly increases the complexity of the inflow distortion. A moderate angle of attack (AOA) variation did not affect the fan inflow distortion but there was a tendency for interference from the wing to increase when the AOA was increased. The general conclusions from this study will be useful in the conceptual design of a similar type of BLI configuration, as well as a more comprehensive optimization of this type of aircraft–engine integration.

The numerical simulation of standard concrete tests and steel reinforcement using force flux peridynamics

AbstractPeridynamics is a numerical particle‐based solid mechanics method that enables the simulation of brittle and quasi‐brittle materials, as well as ductile materials. It allows cracking to appear spontaneously in the arms joining the particles and can therefore be used to simulate progressive fracture. In this article, we apply our version of peridynamics, which we call force flux peridynamics, to the simulation of concrete where the appearance of cracks plays an important role in the global mechanical properties. It is not difficult to modify the material parameters in peridynamics to achieve a given tensile strength or a given compressive strength. However, it is much more difficult to choose parameters which will model all the strength parameters of a material within the same model. When concrete fails in compression it may split or spall showing a complex relationship between compressive and tensile failure. We therefore set ourselves the simple task of producing a single peridynamics model which can predict the stiffness and strength behavior of concrete in standard compression and tension tests for which we chose the American Society for Testing and Materials standards for the cylinder compression test, the split cylinder test, and the modulus of rupture test. A parameter sensitivity study was performed based on the cylinder compression test to tune the key peridynamics parameters that determine the global material behavior. The compressive and tensile strengths were then determined from the combined simulation data. While the fracture modes, crack branching pattern and also the stress–strain curve show promising results, the maximum tensile strength was found to be significantly larger than physical experiments suggest. This is probably due to imperfections within real concrete at the interface between aggregate particles and cement paste and it shows that the detailed numerical modeling of the failure of concrete is highly complex with a large number of unknown material parameters.

A meshless solution of the compressible viscous flow in axisymmetric tubes with varying cross-sections

The meshless Diffuse Approximate Method (DAM) is for the first time formulated and applied to simulate the compressible Newtonian flow of an ideal gas in an axisymmetric tube with varying cross-sections. The problem is structured by coupled partial differential equations for conservation of mass, momentum and energy, and the equation of state closure. These equations are solved in primitive variables and strong form. DAM is formulated on irregular node arrangement by using the second and third-order polynomial shape functions and Gaussian weights, leading to weighted least squares approximation on overlapping local subdomains. Pressure-velocity coupling is performed by the Pressure Implicit with Splitting of Operators (PISO) scheme. The solution of the represented novel application of DAM is verified by matching the meshless results with the fine-mesh finite-volume method results. The characteristics of meshless DAM for this kind of problem are systematically assessed by a detailed investigation of the varying node density, shape function order, Gaussian weight's shape, and the number of nodes in a local subdomain. The sensitivity study of DAM parameters shows that for the tested problems, the most suitable values of the Gaussian weight function and the number of nodes in a local subdomain are 5.0 and 13, respectively. Third-order convergence rate with better results is observed while using third-order polynomial shape functions.

Simulating Landfast Ice in Lake Superior

Landfast ice plays an important role in the nearshore hydrodynamics of large lakes, such as the dampening of surface waves and currents. In this study, previously developed landfast ice basal stress parameterizations were added to an unstructured grid hydrodynamic ice model to represent the effects of grounded ice keels and tensile strength of ice cover. Numerical experiments using this model were conducted to evaluate the development of coastal landfast ice in Lake Superior. A sensitivity study of the free parameters was conducted from December 2018 to May 2021 to cover both high and low ice cover winters in Lake Superior and was compared against observations from the United States National Ice Center. The model reproduces the annual variation in coastal landfast ice in Lake Superior, particularly in shallow nearshore areas and the semi-enclosed bays in the northern regions of the lake. Experiments also show that the growth of landfast ice is mainly controlled by the free parameter that controls the critical ice thickness for the activation of basal stress. Overall, the model tends to underestimate the extent of coastal landfast against observations.

Abstract 2732: A mathematical model for optimization of combination therapy involving targeted radionuclide and CAR-T cell therapy

Abstract Background: Immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor - T (CAR-T) cells and targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) are two highly promising therapies in cancer treatment. Often, these therapies show limited efficacy in complete eradication of cancer cells making the combination of these two therapies an attractive cancer treatment option. The complications involved in dosing and scheduling of these therapies make mathematical modeling an appropriate method for analyzing and predicting disease response to these therapies. Here we propose a mathematical model evaluating disease response to the combination of these two therapies and explore the optimization of their dosing and scheduling. Methods: An ordinary differential equation-based formalism is proposed for simulation of tumor response to CAR-T cell therapy as well as TRT. CAR-T cell dose and injected radioactivity was input to the model. Among others, key model parameters included tumor proliferation rate, tumor cell and CAR-T cell radiosensitivity, CAR-T cell killing rate, CAR-T cell decay rate indicating persistence. Preclinical experiments involving CS1- CAR-T cell therapy and 225Ac-DOTA-Daratumumab TRT in a multiple myeloma mice model were used to parameterize the model. Sensitivity study of the model parameters using overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as evaluation metrics, was performed to elucidate the parameters with highest impact. Results: OS and PFS were 97 and 55 days when CAR-T cell therapy was given prior to TRT as compared to OS of 43 days for untreated control mice. Sensitivity study of model parameters showed that tumor proliferation has the highest impact on survival metrics. For a ±50% change in tumor proliferation rate, OS changed by -41%/+111% and PFS changed by -62%/+147%. Similar changes in TRT injected activity and CAR-T cell dose changed OS by ± 15% and ±21% respectively. Accordingly, PFS changed by roughly ±32% and ±45% respectively. A variation of the interval between the therapies showed that faster growing tumors required a shorter interval between the two therapies. The sequence of therapies was also changed and TRT prior to CAR-T cell therapy demonstrated shorter PFS (43 days) due to the adverse effects of radiation on CAR-T cells. Conclusion: For a fixed dose of TRT and CAR-T cells, tumor proliferation rate was found to be the prime factor impacting therapy interval. The presented work shows the key parameters required for planning and optimizing preclinical experiments and clinical trials. Using disease, CAR-T cell and radionuclide-specific parameters as shown in this work as well as incorporating immune stimulating effects of radiation would make it an extremely potent tool for optimizing combination therapies. Citation Format: Vikram Adhikarla, Dennis Awuah, Alexander B. Brummer, Enrico Caserta, Amrita Krishnan, Flavia Pichiorri, Megan M. Minnix, John E. Shively, Jeffrey Y.C. Wong, Xiuli Wang, Russell C. Rockne. A mathematical model for optimization of combination therapy involving targeted radionuclide and CAR-T cell therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 2732.

Characterization of Terrain-Induced Turbulence by Large-Eddy Simulation for Air Safety Considerations in Airport Siting

Topography-induced turbulence poses a potential hazard for aviation safety, in particular during the final approach and landing. In this context, it is essential to assure that the impact of topography-induced turbulence on the flight paths during take-off and landing is minimized already during the design and planning phase. As an example of the siting and planning of a potential new airport in complex terrain, this study investigates the distribution of terrain-induced boundary layer turbulence in the vicinity of the current Lofoten airport at Leknes (LKN). For that purpose, large-eddy simulations (LES) have been performed with the PAralellized Large-eddy Simulation Model (PALM) on a 40×45×4km3 computational domain around LKN. An initial parametric sensitivity study resulted in a grid spacing of 50 m and an overall simulation time of 12 h for our individual model runs. A suite of 32 model simulations for 16 different wind directions and two geostrophic wind speeds of 10 ms−1 and 20 ms−1, was then performed and analysed. A turbulence risk analysis along idealized flight trajectories shows that the high-risk conditions are substantially determined by the wind conditions and their interaction with the topography. With respect to wind speed, the results indicate that for a geostrophic flow below 10 ms−1, the risk of aviation critical, terrain-induced boundary layer turbulence (BLT), is rather low in the vicinity of LKN. At 20 ms−1 the situation has completely changed, as for 14 out of 16 investigated wind directions the 9 m2s−2 aviation critical threshold of turbulent kinetic energy per unit air mass (TKE) is exceeded. In the northwesterly wind scenarios, the largest areas with critical turbulence in the vicinity of LKN are observed.

Comparison of Commonly Used Cooling Concepts for Electrical Machines in Automotive Applications

The thermal design of electrical machines has numerous influencing factors. This paper compares different cooling methods, their volume flow rates and other machine parameters with regard to the continuous power of a PMSM. Understanding the characteristics of different heat sinks depending on their operating point is important for an expedient design in order to avoid derating due to overtemperatures. As a design guideline, this contribution shows the influence of stator cooling jackets, rotor shaft cooling and direct end winding cooling for different machine lengths and volume flow rates. Both water and oil are investigated as coolants. With increasing machine dimensions, end winding cooling becomes less effective for heat sources in the center of the machine while the heat transferred in the cooling jacket increases. A sensitivity study of other machine parameters, such as the maximum allowed magnet temperature or the coolant inlet temperature, improves the understanding of the reader as to how the continuous power of a PMSM can be increased when the rotor temperature limits the performance.

A Scalar Poincaré Map for Anti-phase Bursting in Coupled Inhibitory Neurons With Synaptic Depression.

Short-term synaptic plasticity is found in many areas of the central nervous system. In the inhibitory half-center central pattern generators involved in locomotion, synaptic depression is believed to act as a burst termination mechanism, allowing networks to generate anti-phase bursting patterns of varying periods. To better understand burst generation in these central pattern generators, we study a minimal network of two neurons coupled through depressing synapses. Depending on the strength of the synaptic conductance between the two neurons, this network can produce symmetric n : n anti-phase bursts, where neurons fire n spikes in alternation, with the period of such solutions increasing with the strength of the synaptic conductance. Relying on the timescale disparity in the model, we reduce the eight-dimensional network equations to a fully-explicit scalar Poincaré burst map. This map tracks the state of synaptic depression from one burst to the next and captures the complex bursting dynamics of the network. Fixed points of this map are associated with stable burst solutions of the full network model, and are created through fold bifurcations of maps. We derive conditions that predict the bifurcations between n : n and (n + 1) : (n + 1) solutions, producing a full bifurcation diagram of the burst cycle period. Predictions of the Poincaré map fit excellently with numerical simulations of the full network model and allow the study of parameter sensitivity for rhythm generation.

A relatively wide-ranged correlation of saturated flow boiling heat transfer within narrow rectangular channel for water

• Database of boiling heat transfer in narrow rectangular channel over a relatively wide parametric range obtained. • Corresponding transition of two-phase flow regimes with dominant heat transfer mechanisms observed and discussed. • A new, wide-ranged correlation proposed. A campaign of tests is performed for saturated boiling heat transfer characteristics of water in narrow rectangular channel. The test matrix covers a relative wide range of conditional parameters and 3142 test data are acquired, screened and selected for study. Meanwhile, visualization test has been conducted with three typical flow patterns, namely isolated bubbly, confined bubbly and irregular annular flows, being observed and identified, each pattern corresponding to a prevailing or a transitional combined boiling heat transfer mode. Study of the data trend indicates that two boiling heat transfer mechanisms, namely nucleate boiling and forced convective evaporation, are either one dominant or two combined transitional during different phases of saturated flow boiling within the channel. With the basic view obtained from the test campaign, and with related parametric effect and sensitivity study, as well as the existing correlation assessment with the test data, a new correlation for the saturated boiling heat transfer is proposed and regressed, which consists a modification factor composing the two basic boiling mechanisms and the transition function between. A preliminary assessment is performed for its statistical and predictive accuracy, from which a relatively satisfactory agreement is drawn. The new correlation applies to a heat flux range of 100 - 2300 k W / m 2 , a mass flux range of 500 2000 k g / m 2 · s , a system pressure range of 0.2 5.5 M P a and the equilibrium quality range of 0 0.72 . It might be used, in conjunction with the flow pattern and the related heat transfer mechanism, to predict the saturated boiling heat transfer coefficient over a wide range of heat flux, mass flux and pressures with better accuracy than previous correlations.

Behavior and innovative design model on soil pressure at the top of large-diameter buried steel pipes

Existing design models of soil pressure at the top of buried steel pipes are limited to small-diameter pipes. This study aims to investigate the behavior and design model on the soil pressure for large-diameter pipes considering the pipe diameter, diameter-to-thickness ratio, and cover depth. The distribution and size of soil pressure are obtained from finite element models and compared with traditional design models. Sensitivity studies of soil parameters, trench parameters, and friction coefficients are discussed. Furthermore, an innovative design model of soil pressure for large-diameter pipes is proposed. The results indicate that the basic distribution pattern of soil pressure is the “inverted basin”/parabola for large/small-diameter pipes, respectively. Peak soil pressure typically appears in the pleura of pipes with great flexibility and deep cover depth. The modulus and Poisson's ratio of backfill and soil-soil friction coefficient have an influence range of within 10% for soil pressure, while trench parameters have a more significant influence. Prism load is too large at high cover depth, and Marston load is small at low cover depth. The proposed basin model for soil pressure adopts the form of “straight line + parabola” for distribution and “Marston + pleura” load for size, with high accuracy and strong adaptability.

Investigation of Effects of Electrospinning Parameters on Transcription Quality of Nanofibrous Bifurcated‐Tubular Scaffold

AbstractA parametric sensitivity study to improve the transcription quality of the nanofibrous bifurcated‐tubular scaffold is performed to resolve the limited transcription quality issue in fabricating the scaffold based on hydrogel‐assisted electrospinning (GelES). To characterize the transcription quality of the fabricated 3D nanofibrous bifurcated‐tubular scaffold structure, two different measures of a coverage ratio (CR) and a corner profile fidelity (FC) are evaluated. Results of sensitivity analysis on CR, in which the design of experiments is based on the Taguchi method, revealed that the CR increases with decreasing tip‐to‐collector distance (TCD) and polycaprolactone concentration (CPCL). Moreover, among the processing parameters, namely, TCD, CPCL, and applied voltage (VA), the TCD is found to be the dominantly affecting processing parameter. Parametric study results show that FC increases with the branching angle (θB). By combining the optimal processing condition and a maximum θB of 120°, a leakage‐free 3D nanofibrous bifurcated‐tubular scaffold with a sharp carina is fabricated by the GelES.

A finite element-thin layer element coupling method for near-field wave propagation in fluid-saturated porous media based on u-U dynamic formulation

A finite element-thin layer element coupling method for the near-field wave propagation analysis in the fluid-saturated porous media (FSPM) is developed based on the Biot u-U dynamic formulation. The case of the wave propagation normal to the boundary of calculating domain is investigated. The wave propagation equations are decoupled by the variables-separating method. The finite element method is adopted for the space discretization and numerical analysis of the finite domain, and the thin layer element method is applied to discretize the infinite domain and construct the consistent artificial boundary condition. This method is validated and then applied to the analysis to the near-field wave propagation problem of FSPM. Parametric sensitivity studies are conducted to analyze the effect of the mechanical parameters, including permeability coefficient, porosity, and Young's modulus of solid skeleton, on the dynamic response of FSPM. The study results indicate the effectiveness and efficiency of the developed method to the near-field wave propagation analysis in FSPM.

Parameter Studies on Hydraulic Fracturing in Brittle Rocks Based on a Modified Hydromechanical Coupling Model

In this paper, we present a numerical study of hydraulic fracturing in brittle rock by using particle flow simulation. The emphasis is put on the influence of in situ stress, differential stress, fluid injection rate, fluid viscosity and borehole size on hydraulic fracturing behavior. To this end, an improved hydromechanical coupling model is first introduced to better describe fluid flow and local deformation of particle-based rocks. A series of parameter sensitivity studies are then conducted under the framework of particle flow simulation. Modelling results suggest that the breakdown pressure and time to fracture both linearly increase with confining stress, and hydraulic fracturing patterns present a distinct transition from brittle to ductile. Fluid injection rate and fluid viscosity have similar influences on hydraulic fracturing propagation, their value decrease leads to borehole pressure decrement and time to fracture prolongation. However, the former mainly controls the time to initial cracking, while the latter largely decides the duration of fracturing propagation. As for borehole radius, its increases can directly enhance the fluid diffusion zone, which further intensifies the nonlinear property of borehole pressure, leads to breakdown pressure decrease, prolongs time to fracture and forms more complex hydraulic fractures.