Simulation of coupled flow and geomechanics is of rising importance as unconventional subsurface exploration pushes the operational envelope of geological media. Coupling schemes are commonly assigned to three categories: decoupled, iteratively coupled, and fully coupled. This paper focuses on iterative coupling and presents a new coupling scheme: full pressure coupling (FPC). Here, the geomechanics is solved fully coupled to a single-phase-flow problem using global pressure, and the resulting deformation is iteratively coupled to a multiphase multicomponent flow solver.
Introduction
Geomechanical response to fluid flow is important for several subsurface applications. Historically, geological subsidence has been seen as a response to petroleum production and a result of groundwater production.
