La restauration est un outil de géologie structurale qui a prouvé son utilité dans divers domaines, tels que la compréhension des mécanismes de déformation, la prédiction de fractures, la validation de modèles structuraux, etc. En 3D, l'approche géomécanique est particulièrement prometteuse, puisqu'elle permet non seulement de connaître la déformation en tout point du modèle, mais aussi de prendre en compte les contrastes de propriété des matériaux. Cependant, elle nécessite un maillage tétraédrique du modèle dont la génération est à ce jour très difficile dans le cas de modèles à géométrie complexe (réseaux de failles interconnectés ou à faible rejet, discordances ou amincissements de couche). La modélisation implicite consiste à représenter les horizons stratigraphiques par des isovaleurs de propriété, ce qui permet de s'affranchir de la plupart des contraintes de maillage. Dans une première partie, une méthode de restauration géomécanique 3D applicable à des modèles implicites est présentée. La deuxième partie de ce travail s'intéresse à l'application de celle-ci à des cas complexes. Dans ce cadre, de nouvelles lois de comportement géomécaniques et conditions aux limites ont été développées, et des études de sensibilité à ces paramètres ont été menées. Ces travaux sont illustrés sur un bassin pétrolier complexe situé dans le delta du Niger où la restauration permet de définir une chronologie de déformation. Enfin, la troisième partie présente l'intégration d'une méthode de décompaction isostatique en volume au sein du processus de restauration 3D. Appliquée au synclinal des grès d'Annot (SE de la France), cette méthode permet de caractériser l'histoire de déformation et d'enfouissement du bassin / Restoration is a structural geology tool which usefulness has been shown in various fields, such as the understanding of deformation mechanisms, fracture forecasting, or structural models validation. In 3D, the geomechanical approach is particularly promising as it allows the deformation at any point in the model to be infered, but also to account for material property contrasts. However, it requires to generate a tetrahedral mesh, a step that may be, so far, extremely difficult, particularly when the geometry of the model is complex (interconnected faults, faults with small throws, unconformities or layer pinch-out).Implicit modeling consists in representing stratigraphic horizons by property isovalues, allowing most meshing issues to be overcame. In a first part, a geomechanical restoration method suitable for implicit models is presented. The second part of this work focuses on the application of this method to complex cases. New behavioral laws and boundary conditions have been developed, and sensitivity studies to these parameters have been performed. This work is applied to a petroleum basin located in the Niger delta toe where the restoration allows the structural evolution of the system to be constrained. The last part presents the integration of a 3D isostatic decompaction method into the 3D restoration process. Applied to the Annot Sandstones syncline (SE France), this method allows to characterize the deformation and burial history of the basin

Avec l'augmentation de la demande énergétique et la raréfaction des réserves prouvées de pétrole, l'exploration pétrolière se tourne vers des sites de plus en plus difficiles, notamment les bassins géologiquement complexes. Pour évaluer les paramètres clés de l'exploration-production, des logiciels de simulation sont utilisés pour reconstituer l'historique du bassin. La modélisation physique et la formulation numérique sur lesquelles ils s'appuient doivent alors être enrichies pour mieux appréhender (voire prédire) le développement des surpressions. Cette thèse comporte deux volets: l'amélioration de la modélisation du géomatériau grâce à la micromécanique et le développement d'un outil de simulation gérant les spécificités de notre problème. Une nouvelle modélisation micromécanique du géomatériau est proposée pour tenir compte du mécanisme de pression-dissolution (compaction chimique). L'intérêt de la micromécanique est d'obtenir une loi macroscopique calibrée avec des données microscopiques mesurables en laboratoire. Depuis les travaux d'Athy (1930), modéliser l'évolution de la porosité aux grandes échelles de temps reste une problématique majeure. Aujourd'hui elle est estimée à l'aide de courbes empiriques de porosité-profondeur, qui hélas présentent une grande variabilité. Notre approche consiste à calculer la porosité au cours de l'enfouissement à l'aide de la déformation du squelette et de la pression de pore, ces deux variables couplées étant issues de la résolution d'équations mécaniques fondamentales. Une formulation originale a été conçue selon cette approche pour traiter la sédimentation et le déséquilibre de compaction, tensoriellement, en grandes déformations, suivant un mécanisme de compaction mécanique, avec un comportement évoluant dans le temps. L'implémentation numérique est quasiment aboutie et a déjà été validée partiellement avec des résultats analytiques. Une fois finalisé, cet outil de simulation devrait permettre de traiter des situations non oedométriques (contrairement aux simulateurs actuels) et permettre l'étude des bassins à histoire tectonique complexe / With the rise of energetic demand and the growing scarcity of proved reserves of oil, the oil industry explores areas of extreme conditions and geologically complex basins. To estimate the key parameters for exploration-production, simulation softwares are used to reconstitute the history of the basin. The physical modelling and the numerical formulation on which they lean must be enriched to understand (even predict) overpressures. This thesis work contains two items: the improvement of the modelling of geomaterials using micromechanics and the development of a hydromechanical simulation tool handling the specificities of our problem. A new micromechanical modelling of geomaterials is designed to take into account the mechanism of pressure-dissolution (chemical compaction). The asset of micromechanics is to produce a macroscopic law calibrated with microscopic data which can be measured in laboratory. Since the work of Athy (1930), modelling the evolution of porosity over geological time-scale remains a major challenge. Today it is estimated by means of empirical curves of porosity-depth, which regrettably present a big variability. Our approach consists in evaluating the porosity during burial relatively to the strain of the skeleton and the pore pressure - these two coupled variables resulting from fundamental mechanical equations. An original formulation is designed according to this approach to treat the sedimentation and the desequilibrium compaction, tensorially, in large strains, following a mechanism of mechanical compaction, with a time-dependent behavior. Its numerical encoding is almost finished and has already been partially validated with analytical solution. Once finished, this simulation tool should allow to treat not only oedometrical situations but more general situations (contrary to current simulators) and study basins with complex tectonic history

Différentes applications de l'élasticité linéaire en géologie structurale sont présentées dans cette thèse à travers le développement de trois types de codes numériques. Le premier utilise la modélisation directe pour étudier les déplacements et champs de contraintes autour de zones faillées complexes. On montre que l'ajout de contraintes inégalitaires, telles que la friction de Coulomb, permet d'expliquer l'angle d'initiation des dominos dans les relais extensifs. L'ajout de matériaux hétérogènes et d'optimisations, telles la parallélisation sur processeurs multi-coeurs ainsi que la réduction de complexité des modèles, permettent l'étude de modèles beaucoup plus complexes. Le second type de code numérique utilise la modélisation inverse, aussi appelée estimation de paramètres. L'inversion linéaire de déplacements sur les failles ainsi que la détermination de paléo-contraintes utilisant une approche géomécanique sont développées. Le dernier type de code numérique concerne la restoration de structures complexes plissées et faillées. Il est notamment montré qu'une telle méthode permet de vérifier l'équilibre de coupes géologiques, ainsi que de retrouver la chronologie des failles. Finalement, nous montrons que ce même code permet de lisser des horizons 3D faillés, plissés et bruités en utilisant la géomécanique. / Different applications of linear elasticity in structural geology are presented in this thesis through the development of three types of numerical computer codes. The first one uses forward modeling to study displacement and perturbed stress fields around complexly faulted regions. We show that incorporating inequality constraints, such as static Coulomb friction, enables one to explain the angle of initiation of jogs in extensional relays. Adding heterogeneous material properties and optimizations, such as parallelization on multicore architectures and complexity reduction, admits more complex models. The second type deals with inverse modeling, also called parameter estimation. Linear slip inversion on faults with complex geometry, as well as paleo-stress inversion using a geomechanical approach, are developed. The last type of numerical computer code is dedicated to restoration of complexly folded and faulted structures. It is shown that this technique enables one to check balanced cross-sections, and also to retrieve fault chronology. Finally, we show that this code allows one to smooth noisy 3D interpreted faulted and folded horizons using geomechanics.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-07-20T12:25:34Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) documento.pdf: 6110083 bytes, checksum: e763b9e4b979081c4ada6fef0eb596a6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-20T12:25:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) documento.pdf: 6110083 bytes, checksum: e763b9e4b979081c4ada6fef0eb596a6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-03 / ANP-PRH26 / Aimportânciadageomecânicaedoestudodeesquemasdeacoplamentoentreageomecânica e fluxo multifásico têm sido cada vez mais importantes e utilizados pela indústria a medida que formações cada vez mais profundas vêem sendo descobertas e exploradas. O entendimento do comportamento do estado de tensão em um reservatório permite produzir um melhor entendimento das implicações geomecânicas que ocorrem durante a fase de explotação, isso porque durante esta fase, as alterações na poro-pressão conduzem perturbações no equilíbrio mecânico afetando o estado de tensão de formações profundas, de maneira a alterar as propriedades da rocha tais como permeabilidade e porosidade. No entanto, a simulação acoplada (hidromecânica) em um grande campo heterogêneo implica na solução de equações de fluxo e mecânica, associadas a um grande número de graus de liberdade que torna esse tipo de abordagem inviável e computacionalmente cara. Neste contexto, um simulador geomecânico-linhas de fluxoé apresentado dentro de um algoritmo sequencial iterativo. Neste trabalho, aplica-se o método de elementos finitos com volume de controle para o subproblema poro-mecânico que fornece um campo de velocidade de Darcy pós-processado e a porosidade como entradas para o subproblema de transporte. Este subproblema é resolvido através do método de decomposição de operador, no qual basea-se em um esquema preditor-corretor com os passos preditor e corretor discretizados pelos esquemas baseados em tempo de vôo e volumes finitos, respectivamente. Simulações numéricas de injeção de água foram comparadas com soluções encontradas na literatura, mostrando bons resultados. Em problemas dominados pela advecção, envolvendo um reservatório naturalmente fraturado, a abordagem implementada foi capaz de predizer a distribuição do campo de saturação ao longo de toda simulação. Além disso, para avaliar a resposta geomecânica, simulações numéricas foram realizadas em um grande sistema de reservatório-rocha capeadora em uma fase de recuperação primária de hidrocarboneto, mostrou que a formulação apresentada provou ser: uma alternativa promissora para simulação hidro-geomecânica tradicional; úteis para o modelo de fluxo de redução de ordem nos casos em que o comportamento geomecânico são mais importantes do que o comportamento de fluxo e de uma ferramenta complementar para simulação geomecânica convencional. / The importance of geomechanics and the study of coupling between geomechanics and multiphase flow have been increasingly recognized and used by the industry as deeper formations are discovered and exploited. The knowledge of the state of stress in a reservoir yields a better understanding of the geomechanical implications during exploitation stage, because during the primary recovery stage, changes in pore pressure leads to perturbations inthemechanicalequilibrium,affectingthestressstateintheformationsinawaythatalters the rock properties such as permeability and porosity. However, the coupled simulation (hydromechanical) in large field heterogeneous models involves stress and flow equations solving, associated with a large number of degrees-of-freedom which becomes infeasible and computationally costly. In this context, a geomechanical-streamline simulator is presented within a iteratively coupled framework algorithm. In the present work, we applied control volume finite element method for the poromechanics subproblem which provides a Darcy velocityfieldthroughapost-processingvelocityprocedureandporosityasinputfieldstothe transportsubproblem.Suchsubproblemissolvedbymeansofanoperatorsplittingmethod, which is based on a predictor-corrector scheme with the predictor and corrector steps discretized by a time-of-flight and a finite volume based schemes, respectively. Numerical simulations of water-flooding are compared to the numerical results available in literature, showing good results. In convection-dominated problems, involving a naturally fractured reservoir, the approach was able to predict the saturation distributions for the whole simulation correctly. Furthermore, to appraisal the geomechanical response, numerical simulation was performed in a large reservoir-caprock system in a primary hydrocarbon recovery stage, showing that the formulation presented proved be: an promising alternative to traditional hydro-geomechanical simulation; useful for flow model order reduction in cases where the geomechanical behavior are more important than the flow behavior and a complementary tool for conventional geomechanical simulations.

[pt] Visando aumentar a produção de hidrocarbonetos, a indústria do petróleo desenvolveu métodos de recuperação cujo objetivo é obter uma maior produção. Assim, diversos problemas podem ser encontrados quando se faz uso destas técnicas, principalmente a convencional, em reservatórios geologicamente complexos. Por outro lado, a consideração de estruturas geológicas na engenharia de reservatórios, como as falhas, tem caráter fundamental para a determinação de respostas realísticas quanto à produção de hidrocarboneto. No caso específico da falha, a sua consideração no modelo apresenta importância significativa no âmbito atual, principalmente no que diz respeito à possibilidade de reativação, relacionada com o surgimento de um caminho preferencial para o hidrocarboneto, implicando, nos casos mais críticos, no escape de fluido e na possível perda da estanqueidade do reservatório. Neste contexto, foram idealizados quatro modelos de reservatório com inclinações de falha e zona de falha de 80 graus e 60 graus. Aliado às simulações hidromecânicas, foram estudadas duas abordagens numéricas para tratar o plano/zona de falha. A primeira metodologia empregada faz uso de interações de contato e a falha foi tratada como um plano. A segunda metodologia considera uma zona de falha cujo comportamento é dado pelo critério de plastificação de Mohr-Coulomb. Pela análise dos resultados foi observado que o emprego de interações de contato requer a utilização de um modelo de atrito que leve em consideração a queda das tensões normais efetivas no critério de ruptura. O modelo de plasticidade apresentou resultados consistentes em relação ao processo de reativação da zona de falha para os modelos construídos. Como conclusão geral do trabalho, afirma-se que a consideração de planos de falha ou zonas de falha em reservatórios devem ser definidas cautelosamente no modelo geomorfológico, uma vez que a modelagem destes tipos de estruturas geológicas requer a utilização de diferentes técnicas numéricas para determinar seu comportamento hidromecânico. / [en] Aiming to increase hydrocarbon production, the oil industry has developed recovery methods whose purpose is to get more production. Thus, several problems may be encountered when making use of these techniques, mainly the conventional, in geologically complex reservoirs. In addition, consideration of geological structures in reservoir engineering, such as faults, has fundamental character for determining realistic response for the production of hydrocarbons. In the specific case of faults, its consideration in the model has significant importance currently, especially with regard to the possibility of reactivation associated with the emergence of a preferential path for the hydrocarbon, implying, in the most critical cases, in the leakage of fluid and possible loss of tightness of the reservoir. In this context, four reservoir models were developed with slope of 80 degrees and 60 degrees for the cases of fault plane and fault zone. Using coupled hydro-mechanical simulations we studied two numerical approaches to treat the plan/fault zone. The first methodology makes use of contact interactions and the fault was treated as a plan. The second methodology considers a fault zone whose behavior is given by the criterion of Mohr-Coulomb yielding. In the analysis of the results was observed that the use of contact interactions requires the use of a friction model that takes into account the drop of the effective normal stress in the failure criterion. The plasticity model showed consistent results in relation to the process of reactivation of the fault zone for the models built. As a general conclusion of the study, it is stated that the consideration of fault planes or fault zones in reservoirs must be carefully defined in the geomorphological model, since the modeling of these types of geological structures requires the use of different numerical techniques to determine their hydromechanical behavior.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第22514号 / 農博第2418号 / 新制||農||1078(附属図書館) / 学位論文||R2||N5294(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科地域環境科学専攻 / (主査)教授 村上 章, 教授 藤原 正幸, 教授 磯 祐介 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

This thesis contains several distinct studies aimed at better understanding fracturing in compressional fault-cored folds. At outcrops of growth strata in the Oliana anticline in the Spanish Pyrenees, the relationship of two joint sets may reflect changing mechanical properties (i.e. via diagenesis) during the folding process. Using a Schmidt hammer, I assess the rigidity contrast between the individual units and suggest that late-stage, throughgoing joints formed in strata with conditions similar to those of the present day and that early, bed-contained joints formed when the rigidity contrast between beds was significantly greater than the present day contrast. Modeling algorithms that are used for fracture prediction assume plane strain to construct, model and restore fault-cored folds. Using mechanical models that allow heterogeneous transport in three dimensions, I explore the distribution and magnitude of out-of-plane transport in plunging fault-cored anticlines and provide guidelines of where plane strain should and should not be applied. I show that out-of-plane transport is significant in the simplest non-cylindrical folds, and suggest that complex non-cylindrical structures should not be modeled using plane strain. I mapped five bed-orthogonal fracture sets associated with folding and faulting events at Sant Corneli anticline, a non-cylindrical, fault related anticline in the Spanish Pyrenees. Fold axis perpendicular, calcite healed joint sets associated with similarly oriented normal faulting both pre-date, and are cross cut by calcite healed, N-NW striking joints. Later bed strike oblique joint sets are distinguished by the presence of iron oxide mineralization that probably occurred during Paleocene-Oligocene time. This study directly links fold-related fracturing to fold evolution because fracture sets can be dated relative to the structural evolution of the anticline. I use three-dimensional restorations of Sant Corneli anticline in the Spanish Pyrenees to test the fracture prediction capability of a fully three-dimensional finite element geomechanical restoration algorithm. Reconstruction of the three-dimensional architecture of the syn-tectonic strata provides a template for incrementally unfolding the anticline. Strains predicted by the restorations are compared to the fracture sets that formed over the corresponding time intervals, which are consistent with the observed fracture patterns at Sant Corneli anticline.

The present work applies the hybrid Voronoi cell finite element method (VCFEM) within geomechanics. Coupled seepage and deformation analysis using the VCFEM incorporating body forces allows accurate analysis of earth dams. The development of a novel approach for simulating granular material behaviour using the combined finite-discrete element method (VCFEM-DEM) provides new insights into strain localization in granular materials. Chapter 1 provides background including summary literature reviews for all concepts in the title including seepage analysis, micromechanical and continuum mechanics theory, Voronoi diagrams, finite elements (FEM), discrete elements (DEM) and combined FEM-DEM. Chapter 1 concludes by detailing the contributions of the present work. Chapter 2 presents the VCFEM for seepage analysis. The numerical examples include an investigation of mesh sensitivity and a comparison of conforming shape functions. Polygonal elements with more than four nodes show a decrease in mesh sensitivity in free surface problems, compared with four-node quadrilateral elements. The choice of conforming shape function within the VCFEM analysis did not affect the results. Chapter 3 formulates and applies the VCFEM-DEM, showing that strain localization effects in granular materials are important at all scales. The VCFEM-DEM captures shear banding in biaxial compression tests, demonstrating that global shear strains and inhomogeneities in the shear stress field present after consolidation are early precursors to the failure mode. At the field scale, strain localization can lead to significant non-uniformity in subsurface stress distribution owing to self-weight. Chapter 4 presents the coupled VCFEM for seepage and deformation. A practical example of the design of an earth dam demonstrates the application of general body forces within a hybrid formulation, notably lacking in the literature. Chapter 5 concludes by summarizing the key observations of the present work, and providing direction for future research. The Appendix provides additional details related to numerical integration within the VCFEM. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The focus of the present work is the simulation of geomechanical behaviour at multiple scales. This ranges from simulating the interaction of grains of sand in a laboratory compression test to the seepage of water through and deformation of a large dam constructed of granular material. The simulations use a numerical tool called the Voronoi cell finite element method (VCFEM), which the present work extends to allow accurate analysis of the flow of fluid through a porous medium, deformation of a granular material under load and coupled analysis of these phenomena. The development and testing of this numerical tool for use in geomechanical analysis is itself a contribution. The present work also contains new insights into how localized stresses and strains in a granular material that are present well before the peak strength can have an important influence on the mode of failure.

Limit analysis is a very powerful tool to find accurate solutions of several geotechnical stability problems. This analysis is based on the theory of the plasticity and it provides two limiting solutions within lower and upper bounds. With the advancement of the finite elements and different robust optimization techniques, the numerical limit analysis approach in association with finite elements is becoming quite popular to assess the stability of various complicated structures. The present thesis deals with the formulations and the implementation of the finite element limit analysis to obtain the solutions of different geotechnical axisymmetric stability problems. The objectives of the present thesis are twofold: (a) developing limit analysis formulations in conjunction with linear and nonlinear optimizations for solving axisymmetric stability problems related with soil and rock mechanics, and then (b) implementing these axisymmetric formulations for solving various important axisymmetric stability problems in geomechanics. Three noded linear triangular elements have been used throughout the thesis. In order to solve the different problems, the associated computer programs have been written in MATLAB. With reference to the first objective of the thesis, the existing finite element lower bound axisymmetric formulation with linear programming has been presented. A new technique has also been proposed for solving an axisymmetric geomechanics stability problem by employing an upper bound limit analysis in combination with finite elements and linear programming. The method is based on the application of the von-Karman hypothesis to fix the constraints associated with the magnitude of the circumferential stress (), and finally the method involves only the nodal velocities as the basic unknown variables. The required computational effort becomes only marginally greater than that needed for an equivalent plane strain problem. The proposed methodology has been found to be computationally quite efficient. A new lower bound axisymmetric limit analysis formulation, by using two dimensional finite elements, the three dimensional Mohr-Coulomb (MC) yield criterion, and nonlinear optimization has also been presented for solving different axisymmetric stability problems in geomechanics. The nonlinear optimization was carried out by employing an interior point method based on the logarithmic barrier function. The yield surface was smoothened (i) by removing the tip singularity at the apex of the pyramid in the meridian plane, and (ii) by eliminating the stress discontinuities at the corners of the yield hexagon in the plane. No inherent assumption concerning with the hoop stress needs to be made in this formulation. The Drucker-Prager (DP) yield criterion was also used for computing the lower bound axisymmetric collapse load. The advantage of using the DP yield criterion is that it does not exhibit any singularity in the plane. A new proposal has also been given to simulate the DP yield cone with the MC hexagonal yield pyramid. The generalized Hoek-Brown (HB) yield criterion has also been used. This criterion has been smoothened both in the meridian and  planes and a new formulation is prescribed for obtaining the lower bound axisymmetric problems in rock media in combination with finite elements and nonlinear optimization. With reference to the second objective, a few important axisymmetric stability problems in soil mechanics associated with footings and excavations have been solved in the present thesis. In all these problems, except that of a flat circular footing lying over either homogeneous soil or rock media, it is assumed that the medium is governed by the MC failure criterion and it follows an associated flow rule. For determining the collapse loads for a circular footing over homogenous soil and rock media, the problem has been solved with the usage of Drucker-Prager, Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown criteria. The bearing capacity of a circular footing lying over fully cohesive strata, with an inclusion of a sand layer is evaluated. The effects of the thickness and internal friction angle of the sand layer () on the bearing capacity have been examined for different combinations of cu/(b) and q; where (i) cu defines the undrained shear strength, (ii)  is the unit weight of sand, (iii) b corresponds to the footing radius, and (iv) q is the surcharge pressure. The results have been presented in the form of a ratio () of the bearing capacities with an insertion of the sand layer to that for a footing lying directly over clayey strata. It is noted that an introduction of a layer of medium dense to dense sand over soft clay improves considerably the bearing capacity of the foundation. The improvement in the bearing capacity increases continuously (i) with decreases in cu/(b), and (ii) increases in  and q/(b). The bearing capacity factors, Nc, Nq and N, for a conical footing are obtained in a bound form for a wide range of the values of cone apex angle () and with  = 0, 0.5 and . The bearing capacity factors for a perfectly rough ( = conical footing generally increase with a decrease in . On contrary for  = 0, the factors Nc and Nq reduce gradually with a decrease in . For  = 0, the factor N for  ≥ 35o becomes minimum for  approximately equal to 90o. For  = 0, the factor N for  ≤ 30o, like in the case of  = , generally reduces with an increase in . It has also been intended to compute the bearing capacity factors Nc, Nq and N, for smooth and rough ring footing for different combinations of ri/ro and ; where ri and ro refer to inner and outer radii of the ring, respectively. It is observed that for a smooth footing, with a given value of ro, the magnitude of the collapse load decreases continuously with an increase in ri. On the other hand, for a rough base, for a given value of ro, hardly any reduction occurs in the magnitude of collapse load up to ri/ro ≈ 0.2, whereas beyond this ri/ro, the magnitude of the collapse load, similar to that of a smooth footing, decreases continuously with an increase in ri/ro. An attempt has also been made to determine the ultimate bearing capacity of a circular footing, placed over a soil mass which is reinforced with horizontal layers of circular reinforcement sheets. For performing the analysis, three different soil media have been separately considered, namely, (i) fully granular, (ii) cohesive frictional, and (iii) fully cohesive with an additional provision to account for an increase of cohesion with depth. The reinforcement sheets are assumed to be structurally strong to resist axial tension but without having any resistance to bending; such an approximation usually holds good for geogrid sheets. The shear failure between the reinforcement sheet and adjoining soil mass has been considered. The increase in the magnitudes of the bearing capacity factors (Nc and N) with an inclusion of the reinforcement has been computed in terms of the efficiency factors c and . The critical positions and corresponding optimum diameter of the reinforcement sheets, for achieving the maximum bearing capacity, have also been established. The increase in the bearing capacity with an employment of the reinforcement increases continuously with an increase in . The improvement in the bearing capacity becomes quite extensive for two layers of the reinforcements as compared to the single layer of the reinforcement. The stability of an unsupported vertical cylindrical excavation has been assessed. For the purpose of design, stability numbers (Sn) have been generated for both (i) cohesive frictional soils, and (ii) pure cohesive soils with an additional provision to account for linearly increasing cohesion with depth by using a non-dimensional factor m. The variation of Sn with H/b has been established for different values of m and ; where H and b refer to height and radius of the cylindrical excavation. A number of useful observations have been drawn about the variation of the stability number and nodal velocity patterns with changes in H/b,  and m. In the last, by using the smoothened generalized HB yield criterion, the ultimate bearing capacity of a circular footing placed over a rock mass is evaluated in a non-dimensional form for different values of GSI, mi, ci/(b) and q/ci. For validating the results, computations were exclusively performed for a strip footing as well. For the various problems selected in the present thesis, the failure and nodal velocity patterns have been examined. The results obtained from the analysis have been thoroughly compared with that reported from literature. It is expected that the various design charts presented here will be useful for the practicing engineers. The formulations given in the thesis can also be further used for solving various axisymmetric stability problems in geomechanics.

Induced seismicity (earthquakes caused by injection or extraction of fluids in Earth's subsurface) is a major, new hazard in the United States, the Netherlands, and other countries, with vast economic consequences if not properly managed. Addressing this problem requires development of predictive simulations of how fluid-saturated solids containing frictional faults respond to fluid injection/extraction. Here we present a numerical method for linear poroelasticity with rate-and-state friction faults. A numerical method for approximating the fully coupled linear poroelastic equations is derived using the summation-by-parts-simultaneous-approximation-term (SBP-SAT) framework. Well-posedness is shown for a set of physical boundary conditions in 1D and in 2D. The SBP-SAT technique is used to discretize the governing equations and show semi-discrete stability and the correctness of the implementation is verified by rigorous convergence tests using the method of manufactured solutions, which shows that the expected convergence rates are obtained for a problem with spatially variable material parameters. Mandel's problem and a line source problem are studied, where simulation results and convergence studies show satisfactory numerical properties. Furthermore, two problem setups involving fault dynamics and slip on faults triggered by fluid injection are studied, where the simulation results show that fluid injection can trigger earthquakes, having implications for induced seismicity. In addition, the results show that the scheme used for solving the fully coupled problem, captures dynamics that would not be seen in an uncoupled model. Future improvements involve imposing Dirichlet boundary conditions using a different technique, extending the scheme to handle curvilinear coordinates and three spatial dimensions, as well as improving the high-performance code and extending the study of the fault dynamics.