Multifield and Multiscale Coupling of Rocks in Deep Energy Exploitation

Overview & Synopsis

During deep energy exploitation, the stability of rock is a key factor for its success. Rocks are composed of different internal structures at different scales. Both microstructures (such as minerals, porosity, and fractures,) and the geological environment (including features such as geostress and being underground) lead to an explosive complex coupling system. Multi-field and multi-scale coupling modeling provides a very powerful framework to understand the behavior of rocks in natural and engineered states, incorporating theoretical, numerical, and experimental analysis. The past few years have witnessed advances in the applications of multifield and multiscale coupling in rock mechanics and rock engineering. Multi-field addresses the interaction of different physical behaviors, such as in pores, fractures, and fluids. Multi-scale refers to the scale of rock mechanics and engineering and may range from the nano-scale to the meter scale for material characterization purposes and to hundreds of kilometers for geological applications. This has Special Issue provided a platform for publishing original articles and reviews on recent numerical and experimental advances and applications on multi-scale and multi-physics couplings in rock mechanics and engineering.