Work

GPU-accelerated simulation of steady-state flow and particle transport in discrete fracture networks

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Fracture networks in the subsurface can serve as the primary pathway for fluid flow, allowing for solute transport. This process is critical to various real-world applications, including resource extraction and contaminant migration in fractured rocks. We develop an open-source code called cuDFNsys to simulate flow and transport in discrete fracture networks (DFNs). Our code uses the mixed hybrid finite element method to solve the hydraulic head and velocity fields in DFNs, and the particle tracking method to simulate the movement of solute plumes. The GPU parallelization accelerates the generation of DFNs, identification of intersections between fractures, determination of elementary matrices, and motion of particles. We use several benchmarks to verify the accuracy of flow and transport simulation in cuDFNsys . Dispersion in a DFN is used to demonstrate examples of particle tracking. Performance analyses demonstrate that our code is well-suited for Monte Carlo iterations of DFN simulations, enabling physicists and geoscientists to study critical phenomena and phase transitions in fracture networks using percolation theory.

Source: Applied Computing and Geosciences

DOI: 10.1016/j.acags.2025.100284

Authors: Tingchang Yin, Teng Man, Pei Zhang, Sergio Andres Galindo-Torres

Institutions: Westlake University, Zhejiang University of Technology, Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Groundwater flow and contamination studies

Subfield: Environmental Engineering

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,040

Funder: Westlake University