Chemo-mechanical phase-field modeling of dissolution-assisted fracture

The development of fractures in materials is controlled by stress, as well as chemical environment to which materials might be exposed. Chemical dissolution reactions have proven to affect the integrity of various materials, including porous rocks. The goal for this study is to develop a novel phase-field formulation to deal with fracture propagation in a chemically reactive environment. We formulated a numerical model for coupling chemical damage and mechanical damage defined based on the diffusive phase-field fracture method. Furthermore, the chemical damage is linked to the change in porosity due to dissolution. The developed theoretical framework was numerically implemented and applied to subsurface undergoing calcite dissolution due to exposure to CO2, as a real-world example where understanding chemo-mechanical damage is crucial. The chemical damage assists mechanical damage obtained from phase-field in degradation of the material. This application of the phase-field method to subsurface rocks demonstrates its ability to predict chemo-mechanical coupling, and to quantify the impact of chemical alteration on fracture behavior. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.