Status of the TOUGH-FLAC simulator and recent applications related to coupled fluid flow and crustal deformations

This paper presents recent advancement in and applications of TOUGH-FLAC, a simulator for multiphase fluid flow and geomechanics. The TOUGH-FLAC simulator links the TOUGH family multiphase fluid and heat transport codes with the commercial FLAC(3D) geomechanical simulator. The most significant new TOUGH-FLAC development in the past few years is a revised architecture, enabling a more rigorous and tight coupling procedure with improved computational efficiency. The applications presented in this paper are related to modeling of crustal deformations caused by deep underground fluid movements and pressure changes as a result of both industrial activities (the In Salah CO2 Storage Project and the Geysers Geothermal Field) and natural events (the 1960s Matsushiro Earthquake Swarm). Finally, the paper provides some perspectives on the future of TOUGH-FLAC in light of its applicability to practical problems and the need for high-performance computing capabilities for field-scale problems, such as industrial-scale CO2 storage and enhanced geothermal systems. It is concluded that despite some limitations to fully adapting a commercial code such as FLAC3D for some specialized research and computational needs, TOUGH-FLAC is likely to remain a pragmatic simulation approach, with an increasing number of users in both academia and industry. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.