Shear Displacement (shear + displacement)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Study on effects of damping in laminated rubber bearings on seismic responses for a , scale isolated test structure

EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 10 2002
Bong Yoo
Abstract The effects of damping in various laminated rubber bearings (LRB) on the seismic response of a ,-scale isolated test structure are investigated by shaking table tests and seismic response analyses. A series of shaking table tests of the structure were performed for a fixed base design and for a base isolation design. Two different types of LRB were used: natural rubber bearings (NRB) and lead rubber bearings (LLRB). Three different designs for the LLRB were tested; each design had a different diameter of lead plug, and thus, different damping values. Artificial time histories of peak ground acceleration 0.4g were used in both the tests and the analyses. In both shaking table tests and analyses, as expected, the acceleration responses of the seismically isolated test structure were considerably reduced. However, the shear displacement at the isolators was increased. To reduce the shear displacement in the isolators, the diameter of the lead plug in the LLRB had to be enlarged to increase isolator damping by more than 24%. This caused the isolator stiffness to increase, and resulted in amplifying the floor acceleration response spectra of the isolated test structure in the higher frequency ranges with a monotonic reduction of isolator shear displacement. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Mechanics of land subsidence due to groundwater pumping

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 14 2010
Muniram Budhu
Abstract This paper presents the formulation of the basic mechanics governing the changes in stress states from groundwater pumping and comparisons among predicted land subsidence from this mechanics with existing analyses and field data. Land subsidence is a growing, global problem caused by petroleum and groundwater withdrawal, mining operations, natural settlement, hydro-compaction, settlement of collapsible soils, settlement of organic soils and sinkholes. This paper is concerned with the land subsidence due to groundwater level decline by groundwater pumping. It is shown that the stress state consists of asymmetric stresses that are best simulated by a Cosserat rather than a Cauchy continuum. Land subsidence from groundwater level decline consists of vertical compression (consolidation), shear displacement and macro-rotation. The latter occurs when conditions are favorable (e.g. at a vertical interface) for the micro-rotation imposed by asymmetric stresses to become macro-rotation. When the length of the cone of depression is beyond ,2 times the thickness of the aquifer, simple shear on vertical planes with rotation is the predominant deformation mode. Otherwise, simple shear on horizontal planes is present. The predicted subsidence using the mechanics developed in this paper compares well with data from satellite-borne interferometric synthetic aperture radar. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The role of friction and secondary flaws on deflection and re-initiation of hydraulic fractures at orthogonal pre-existing fractures

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2006
Xi Zhang
SUMMARY In this study, we explore the nature of plane-strain hydraulic fracture growth in the presence of pre-existing fractures such as joints without or with secondary flaws. The 2-D plane-strain fracture studied can be taken as a cross-section through the short dimensions of an elongated 3-D fracture or as an approximate representation of the leading edge of a 3-D fracture where the edge curvature is negligible. The fluid-driven fracture intersects a pre-existing fracture to which it is initially perpendicular and is assumed not to immediately cross, but is rather deflected into the pre-existing fracture. The intersection results in branching of the fracture and associated fluid flow into the pre-existing fracture. Further growth results in opening and frictional sliding along the pre-existing fracture. Fracture propagation in an impermeable homogeneous elastic medium and fluid invasion into a pre-existing fracture are both driven by an incompressible, Newtonian fluid injected at a constant rate. The frictional stress on the surfaces of pre-existing fractures is assumed to obey the Coulomb law. The governing equations for quasi-static fluid-driven fracture growth are given and a scaling is introduced to help identify important parameters. The displacement discontinuity method and the finite difference method are employed to deal with this coupling mechanism of rock fracture and fluid flow. In order to account for fluid lag, a method for separately tracking the crack tip and the fluid front is included in the numerical model. Numerical results are obtained for internal pressure, frictional contact stresses, opening and shear displacements, and fluid lag size, as well as for fracture re-initiation from secondary flaws. After fracture intersection, the hydraulic fracture growth mode changes from tensile to shearing. This contributes to increased injection pressure and to a reduction in fracture width. In the presence of pre-existing fractures, the fluid-driven cracks can be arrested or retarded in growth rate as a result of diversion of fluid flow into and frictional sliding along the pre-existing fractures. Frictional behaviour significantly affects the ability of the fluid to enter or penetrate the pre-existing fracture only for those situations where the fluid front is within a certain distance from the intersecting point. Importantly, fluid penetration requires higher injection pressure for frictionally weak pre-existing fractures. Fracture re-initiation from secondary flaws can reduce the injection pressure, but re-initiation is suppressed by large sliding on pre-existing fractures that are frictionally weak. [source]


A shear-dilation-based model for evaluation of hydraulically stimulated naturally fractured reservoirs

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 5 2002
M. K. Rahman
Abstract The role of shear dilation as a mechanism of enhancing fluid flow permeability in naturally fractured reservoirs was mainly recognized in the context of hot dry rock (HDR) geothermal reservoir stimulation. Simplified models based on shear slippage only were developed and their applications to evaluate HDR geothermal reservoir stimulation were reported. Research attention is recently focused to adjust this stimulation mechanism for naturally fractured oil and gas reservoirs which reserve vast resources worldwide. This paper develops the overall framework and basic formulations of this stimulation model for oil and gas reservoirs. Major computational modules include: natural fracture simulation, response analysis of stimulated fractures, average permeability estimation for the stimulated reservoir and prediction of an average flow direction. Natural fractures are simulated stochastically by implementing ,fractal dimension' concept. Natural fracture propagation and shear displacements are formulated by following computationally efficient approximate approaches interrelating in situ stresses, natural fracture parameters and stimulation pressure developed by fluid injection inside fractures. The average permeability of the stimulated reservoir is formulated as a function of discretized gridblock permeabilities by applying cubic law of fluid flow. The average reservoir elongation, or the flow direction, is expressed as a function of reservoir aspect ratio induced by directional permeability contributions. The natural fracture simulation module is verified by comparing its results with observed microseismic clouds in actual naturally fractured reservoirs. Permeability enhancement and reservoir growth are characterized with respect to stimulation pressure, in situ stresses and natural fracture density applying the model to two example reservoirs. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]