Thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling of impermeable discontinuity in saturated porous media with X-FEM technique

In this paper, the extended finite element method is presented for thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) modeling of impermeable discontinuities in saturated porous media. The X-FEM technique is applied to the THM governing equations for the spatial discretization, followed by a generalized Newmark scheme for the time domain discretization. The displacement field is enriched by the Heaviside and crack tip asymptotic functions, and the pressure and temperature fields are enriched by the Heaviside and appropriate asymptotic functions. The process is accomplished by partitioning the domain with triangular sub-elements. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the capability of proposed technique in saturated porous soils.

► The THM model of impermeable discontinuities is presented in saturated porous media. ► The X-FEM method is applied to the thermo-hydro-mechanical governing equations. ► The displacement, pressure and temperature fields are used by strong discontinuities. ► The displacement is enriched by the Heaviside and crack tip asymptotic functions. ► The pressure and temperature are enriched by the appropriate asymptotic functions.