A scalable collocated finite volume scheme for simulation of induced fault slip

Abstract

We present a scalable collocated Finite Volume Method (FVM) to simulate induced seismicity as a result of pore pressure changes. A discrete system is obtained based on a fully-implicit fully-coupled description of flow, elastic deformation, and contact mechanics at fault surfaces on a flexible unstructured mesh. The cell-centered collocated scheme leads to a convenient integration of the different physical equations, as the unknowns share the same discrete locations on the mesh. Additionally, a generic multi-point flux approximation is formulated to treat heterogeneity, anisotropy, and cross-derivative terms for both flow and mechanics equations. The resulting system, though flexible and accurate, can lead to excessive computational costs for field-relevant applications. To resolve this limitation, a scalable processing algorithm is developed and presented. Several proof-of-concept numerical tests, including benchmark studies with analytical solutions, are investigated. It is found that the presented method is indeed accurate and efficient; and provides a promising framework for accurate and efficient simulation of induced seismicity in various geoscientific applications.