A Discontinuous Cellular Automaton Method for Modeling Rock Fracture Propagation and Coalescence Under Fluid Pressurization Without Remeshing

We present a formulation of a discontinuous cellular automaton method for modeling of rock fluid pressure induced fracture propagation and coalescence without the need for remeshing. Using this method, modelers discretize a discontinuous rock-mass domain into a system composed of cell elements in which the numerical grid and crack geometry are independent of each other. The level set method, which defines the relationship between cracks and the...