A robust framework for frictional fault contact in geological formations using a stabilized augmented Lagrangian approach

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Frigo, Matteo, Castelletto, Nicola, Cusini, Matteo, Settgast, Randolph R., Tchelepi, Hamdi A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914054308626432
author Frigo, Matteo
Castelletto, Nicola
Cusini, Matteo
Settgast, Randolph R.
Tchelepi, Hamdi A.
author_facet Frigo, Matteo
Castelletto, Nicola
Cusini, Matteo
Settgast, Randolph R.
Tchelepi, Hamdi A.
contents Numerical simulations are essential for evaluating the performance and safety of geological engineered systems such as geologic carbon storage sites, enhanced geothermal fields, and oil and gas reservoirs. A key challenge lies in accurately modeling the frictional contact behavior along fault surfaces. This problem involves inequality constraints that arise from the physics of frictional slip, requiring specialized numerical methods to handle the resulting highly nonlinear and path-dependent behavior. In this work, we address this challenge using an augmented Lagrangian method implemented via the Uzawa algorithm. The formulation employs mixed finite element spaces, combining low-order piecewise linear displacements within the 3D domain cells with piecewise constant tractions defined on the fault surfaces. Furthermore, to ensure stability and satisfy the inf-sup condition, the discrete displacement space is enriched with face bubble functions on both sides of the contact interfaces. This approach offers several advantages over other stabilization techniques that rely on additional terms, as it does not require extra parameters for implementation, and it integrates naturally in the Uzawa framework.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_20528
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A robust framework for frictional fault contact in geological formations using a stabilized augmented Lagrangian approach
Frigo, Matteo
Castelletto, Nicola
Cusini, Matteo
Settgast, Randolph R.
Tchelepi, Hamdi A.
Numerical Analysis
Numerical simulations are essential for evaluating the performance and safety of geological engineered systems such as geologic carbon storage sites, enhanced geothermal fields, and oil and gas reservoirs. A key challenge lies in accurately modeling the frictional contact behavior along fault surfaces. This problem involves inequality constraints that arise from the physics of frictional slip, requiring specialized numerical methods to handle the resulting highly nonlinear and path-dependent behavior. In this work, we address this challenge using an augmented Lagrangian method implemented via the Uzawa algorithm. The formulation employs mixed finite element spaces, combining low-order piecewise linear displacements within the 3D domain cells with piecewise constant tractions defined on the fault surfaces. Furthermore, to ensure stability and satisfy the inf-sup condition, the discrete displacement space is enriched with face bubble functions on both sides of the contact interfaces. This approach offers several advantages over other stabilization techniques that rely on additional terms, as it does not require extra parameters for implementation, and it integrates naturally in the Uzawa framework.
title A robust framework for frictional fault contact in geological formations using a stabilized augmented Lagrangian approach
topic Numerical Analysis
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.20528