Detecting radionuclide gas seepage from clandestine underground nuclear tests is central to nonproliferation explosion monitoring research. Yet, early-time (<6 day) gas transport driven by the explosive pressure wave remains poorly constrained due to scarcity of field data. We simulate multi-phase gas transport in the vadose zone using pre-shot data from a recent chemical explosion in P-Tunnel at the Nevada National Security Site, USA. Despite using a simplified 2D-radial model, predictions of tracer arrival matched observations within one order-of-magnitude. Our results show how transient blast forcing rapidly mobilizes gases from the cavity into surrounding rock - critical for optimizing sensor placement and test planning. This unique integration of field data and modeling represents a significant improvement in our ability to predict gas migration from underground explosions. More broadly, it offers insights into the coupled dynamics of pressure waves and contaminant transport in the vadose zone, with implications for monitoring and hazard assessment.

A Unified Cohesive Zone Model (UCZM), which inherits most of the advantages while overcoming the shortcomings of existing Cohesive Zone Models (CZMs), is proposed. Similar to the traditional extrinsic CZM approach, UCZM dynamically inserts the cohesive elements into the system based on local material states (e.g., stress, strain). However, the transition from continua to discontinua is smoothly achieved, thereby eliminating the “time-discontinuous” issue seen in the extrinsic CZM. Moreover, within the novel UCZM framework, the point of transition from continua to discontinua is controllable through the introduction of crack initialization criteria. As a result, the UCZM allows any material models (e.g., elastic, plastic, damage models) for continuum solids and for discrete fracture behavior to work together. In essence, both an enhanced extrinsic cohesive zone model and an intrinsic cohesive zone model can be represented by the proposed unified model. The proposed UCZM has been verified through different numerical examples. The work demonstrates that the UCZM is a highly effective approach for modeling fracture and fragmentation processes in solids.

In recent decades a whole new research discipline dealing with physics of discontinua has emerged. Unlike continuum, discontinuum builds a picture of the world where a large number of independent agents interact with each other in order to produce virtual emergent phenomena that closely match real world emergent phenomena. The discontinuum assumption complements the continuum assumption and both assumptions often work together in what is termed hybrid continuum-discontinuum formulations. In this chapter some key simulation tools of Computational Physics of Discontinua are introduced, while hybrid continuum-discontinuum simulation approaches and the combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) are described in some detail. In this context, the concept of virtual experimentation and its extensions towards AI (artificial intelligence) based scientific discovery, together with accompanying custom-made hardware architectures, are introduced and explained.

Modeling fracture and damage processes is a challenging, yet critical capability for promoting safe and sustainable design in geotechnical, energy, and hydrological applications. Numerical methods capable of modeling fracture processes are rarely asked to make blind predictions against experimental observations. Here, we report results from a numerical study of blind fracture prediction in an additively manufactured, three-point bend specimen. We record a number of physical mechanisms associated with the fracture of the specimen and make a blind prediction against experimental results that were unknown when the numerical study was performed. We then compare results from our model to the blind data set. We find that the combined finite discrete element method performs exceptionally well in the simulation and prediction of fracture processes.

ABSTRACT: Simulating the structural response of concrete and reinforced concrete structures to blast loading conditions is a challenging task, as it requires modeling the fracture and fragmentation processes in this composite material with reasonable computational efficiency for large scale simulations. To address this problem, novel shell formulations have been incorporated within Los Alamos National Laboratory's implementation of the combined finite-discrete element method, called HOSS (Hybrid Optimization Software Suite). In this numerical study, these new finite element formulations are utilized for modeling thin concrete and metal linings for applications in building construction. Both unreinforced and reinforced concrete can be modeled with this method which opens the door for addressing many practical applications. 1. INTRODUCTION Since its inception, the combined finite discrete element method (FDEM) has become a tool of choice to address a variety of problems involving fracture and fragmentation processes in solids. FDEM combines the strengths of the finite element method (FEM) and the discrete element method (DEM). The key advantage of FDEM is the utilization of finite strain-based deformability combined with suitable constitutive material laws which are then merged with discrete element based transient dynamics, contact detection, contact interaction solutions, and objective discrete crack initiation and crack propagation solutions (Munjiza, 2004). The comparison of DEM and FEM with a schematic visualization of FDEM is shown in Fig. 1. In FDEM, the solid bodies are modeled as a collection of deformable particles that are bonded with each other (Rougier et al., 2014), Fig. 1. These solid bodies (called discrete elements) are discretized into finite elements where their finite displacements and rotations are assumed a priori (Munjiza, 2004; Munjiza et al., 2011, 2015). The bonding is numerically represented with cohesion points along the boundaries of the deformable particles (Rougier et al., 2014). The cohesion of these bonds is a combination of normal cohesion and tangential cohesion. When an FDEM model experiences fracture, failure, or fragmentation and the material is exposed to high enough levels of stress, these bonds become increasingly strained until they reach their ultimate strengths and eventually break resulting in the adjacent finite elements to also become unbonded (Rougier et al., 2014). The single discrete element domains are transformed into interacting domains upon which discretized contact solutions can be used for both contact detection and contact interaction (Knight et al., 2020).

Continuum mechanics has been one of the major branches of physics where theoretical developments such as theory of elasticity, theory of plasticity, fluid mechanics, and solid mechanics are mostly based on differential equations; these were developed during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. In the second half of the twentieth century computational physics and computational mechanics of continuum were developed to such an extent that now modern science, engineering and technology cannot be imagined without computer simulations. In recent decades, a complementary approach based on discontinuum has been employed and the fields of computational physics of discontinua and computational mechanics of discontinua are mainstream analysis approaches. In this article the state-of-the-art of this modern simulation technology is summarized along with the key computational methods, i.e., molecular dynamics, discrete elements, and the combined finite-discrete element methods.

ABSTRACT The complex coupling interaction phenomena among rock mechanics, fluid flow, heat transfer and geochemical reactions has become a critical topic in complex subsurface systems including the production of unconventional oil and gas. In this paper, we introduce a fully coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) framework that is being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The framework integrates four LANL-developed codes: HOSS, Amanzi, dfnWorks and InyanCC. HOSS simulates deformation of the rock matrix as well as the opening, closing and shear sliding in the discrete fractures (mechanics), while Amanzi solves subsurface multiphase flow and reactive transport, dfnWorks generates meshes with complex discrete fracture networks, and InyanCC links the mechanics and flow solvers while controlling the whole simulation processes. The advantages of this coupling framework are: 1) it is based on hybrid continuum-discontinuum approaches which overcomes the limitations seen with pure continuum assumptions; 2) both mechanics and subsurface flow solvers are fully parallelized for distributed memory systems which allows the users to simulate large scale problems on HPC clusters. Different selected benchmarking problems are simulated using this THMC framework. The results show good agreement with the analytical solutions, which verifies the accuracy of the framework. INTRODUCTION Current applications of geotechnical engineering and geo-energy in the subsurface rely significantly on complex coupling process among rock mechanics, fluid flow, heat transfer and geochemical reactions, including geothermal production, unconventional oil and gas production and underground nuclear explosions. Hence, Modeling Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) processes is essential in understanding the coupled processes in subsurface geological media. Fully addressing the computational challenge of coupled THMC process simulation has been exacerbated by the inability to simulate coupled processes in both the rock matrix and discrete fractures. However, modern subsurface simulators taking advantage of the high-performance computation have been proposed to overcome these challenging problems. Cheng, 2016; Rutqvist et al., 2001; and Wang, 2000 proposed different approaches for modeling the evolution of pressure, stress, and temperature fields in porous media, including equations for pressure diffusion, mechanical equilibrium, and energy transport. Rutqvist and Stephansson (2003) introduced a coupled THM model based on sub-grid scale fracture networks. Min and Jing (2003) reported numerical simulations of hydro-mechanical coupling in fracture networks. These models capture the contribution of discrete fracture deformation to permeability anisotropy through the effective properties such as permeability and porosity. However, these methods have limitation in modeling time-evolving large scale THM system when the characteristic length of network structures is much larger than the grid block scale.

ABSTRACT Three-point bending test is a widely used laboratory test for the estimation of the flexural force-displacement response of the material. It is well known that the results of the three-point bending test are sensitive to the specimen and the loading. In this work, the impact of the boundary effects on a single notch three-point bending test is studied using LANL's combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) based code, the Hybrid Optimization Software Suite (HOSS). To this goal, a series of virtual experiments with different specimens and boundary conditions are conducted. The influence of the notch location, and fixture shape are studied. Results clearly show that these boundary conditions greatly influence on the fracture initiation and propagation behaviors as well as the flexural force-displacement response. INTRODUCTION Three-point bending test is a long-used technique applied mainly in the oil and gas industry to estimate the fracture toughness of rocks in the laboratory. In this test, the vertical tension is applied to the convex side of a sheet or plate specimen placed on two supporting fixtures with a set distance apart. A variety of numerical approached have been proposed to analyze the crack initiation and growth behavior of three-point bending test in the past several decades (Fakhimi, 2005; Kokot, G., Binkowski, 2011; Ramos, 2015; Klasztorny, 2018: Sauvage, 2020). However, the effect of boundary conditions is still lacking consideration in the previous studies. Motivated by the prior works and the knowledge gaps remaining in effect of boundary conditions, a finite-discrete element method (FDEM) model is applied here to interpret three-point bending experiment results in order to characterize dependence of rock fracture behavior on boundary conditions and notch location. The present study therefore aims to capture the crack initiation and propagation behavior for laboratory experiments using material properties and traction-separation law that has been calibrated by comparing the simulation results with lab experiments provided by Jiang et al. (2021) and Jiang et al. (2022), regardless of notch location. This study aims to revisit the effect of boundary conditions on crack initiation and growth behavior under three-point bending test. For this purpose, a 2D plane-strain model is developed using HOSS, a combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) based code. Different boundary conditions and notch locations are considered for lab-scale simulations. Indeed, simulation results indicated that the crack initiation location and crack growth behavior can vary with different boundary conditions and notch locations, which can challenge the general belief that the crack initiation and propagation behavior should not be affected by the boundary conditions greatly.

HOSS (Hybrid Optimization Software Suite) is a fracture mechanics code that properly conserves mass, energy and momentum. HOSS-FSIS was utilized to conduct exploratory calculations (2D plane strain/3D) for the G-tunnel event 2020 where a pseudo NPE 1.1kt HE equivalent source is used. The purpose of this analysis is to determine if the HOSS fluid-solid coupling solver can capture relevant down-tunnel phenomenology.

This article investigates the relationship between stress, damage, crack propagation, and air (gas) permeability evolution in concrete using the Brazilian tension test. This investigation is important for situations where hazardous gases are in contact with concrete as it quantifies the effect that damage of concrete has on gas permeability. Cylindrical concrete disc specimen of diameter 101.6 mm and thickness 50.8 mm were used for this study. Acoustic emission sensors are used to observe damage occurrence and propagation in the concrete, while a digital image correlation set-up is used to precisely measure the crack opening displacement. A vacuum flow system is attached to the rear side of the concrete under loading to measure apparent air permeability through the concrete specimen before and after cracking. The collected data is synchronized and analyzed to correlate damage and crack propagation and air permeability evolution in concrete under tension stresses. It was found that the air (gas) permeability increased by over six orders of magnitude as the concrete cracking occurs and changes in air (gas) permeability directly correlate with changes in concrete damage and fracture.

ABSTRACT: Numerical modeling techniques using the combined finite-discrete element method have been utilized to explore the relationship between stress, damage, and crack propagation in concrete. Obtaining post-peak behavior from the Brazilian tension test is difficult because failure occurs abruptly. An experimental test method is described which enables monitoring of the post-peak cracking behavior in the Brazilian tension test by slowing the crack propagation. Experimental testing with this technique proved its capabilities in slowing crack propagation. The combined finite-discrete element method is used to further examine the stress states during this test and to understand the damage evolution present in this test prior to the peak strength. The method also allows for interpretation into the type of damage present throughout the entire test and the zones in which that damage initiates. A comparison is also performed between the numerical results and experimental observations to determine how well the numerical method captures the experimental results. This work enables a good understanding of how fractures form in the Brazilian tension test as well as a comparison between experimental and numerical technique results. 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Combined Finite Discrete Element Method In an effort to model inelastic behavior and predict the deformation and failure of materials, the combined finite discrete element method has been employed. The finite-discrete element method (FDEM) is an innovative numerical computation method that combines the efficiency of the finite element method (FEM) with the discontinuity framework of the discrete element method (DEM) to create a highly powerful and efficient system (Munjiza et al., 1999; Rougier et al., 2014). The comparison of DEM and FEM with a schematic visualization of FDEM is shown in Fig. 1. At the contact interfaces of the FDEM framework, there is bonding. The bonding is numerically represented with cohesion points along the boundaries of the deformable particles (Rougier, Knight, Lei, et al., 2014). The cohesion of these bonds is a combination of normal cohesion and tangential cohesion. When the material is exposed to significant stress, these bonds become strained and can become unbonded (Rougier, Knight, Lei, et al., 2014).

The Brazilian tension test is the most common tension test used for concrete, with the advantage of simple setup. However, cracking in the Brazilian test takes place abruptly, which does not allow monitoring of postpeak behavior and crack propagation. In this paper, a novel experimental testing technique that enables monitoring of postpeak cracking behavior using the Brazilian tension test is described. The technique uses additional spring supports in parallel to the test specimen to offload the test specimen incrementally. When the concrete specimen reaches its peak load, the spring supports will resist approximately 80% of the machine load. As the concrete specimen cracks, its stiffness drops, and the spring system increasingly carries more of the load. The load on the specimen is continuously reduced, which slows crack propagation. Comparison with the standard Brazilian tension test without springs shows that the proposed test does not affect the concrete behavior precracking or postcracking but slows down postpeak crack propagation and thus allows monitoring of postpeak concrete behavior in tension. (C) 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.

A driving technical concern for the automobile industry is their assurance that developed windshield products meet Federal safety standards. Besides conducting innumerable glass breakage experiments, product developers also have the option of utilizing numerical approaches that can provide further insight into glass impact breakage, fracture, and fragmentation. The combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) is one such tool and was used in this study to investigate 3D impact glass fracture processes. To enable this analysis, a generalized traction-separation model, which defines the constitutive relationship between the traction and separation in FDEM cohesive zone models, was introduced. The mechanical responses of a laminated glass and a glass plate under impact were then analyzed. For laminated glass, an impact fracture process was investigated and results were compared against corresponding experiments. Correspondingly, two glass plate impact fracture patterns, i.e., concentric fractures and radial fractures, were simulated. The results show that for both cases, FDEM simulated fracture processes and fracture patterns are in good agreement with the experimental observations. The work demonstrates that FDEM is an effective tool for modeling of fracture and fragmentation in glass.

Permeability measurements were made on sandstone during confined Brazilian strength tests. The test involves 50 mm diameter disk-shaped, jacketed samples that are subjected to confining stresses while they are diametrically loaded. Specially designed end caps allow for concurrent gas flow measurements. The test configuration allows for the samples to be subjected to a range of stresses, with the confining stress as the intermediate principal stress. The majority of the tests measured permeability during loading to failure in the confined extension region. The permeability of the sandstone sample increases significantly well before the peak load is reached due to newly formed microcracks that continue to coalesce and dilate with further loading. Permeability increases are inversely proportional to the intermediate principal stress as increased confining pressures suppress growth, coalescence, and dilation of microcracks. Additional testing includes unloading and reloading cycles prior to failure. With each unloading–reloading cycle, permeability at comparable stresses is increased compared to the previous cycle, consistent with increasing damage in the form of an expanding microcrack network.

Strength of rocks in the confined tension region, where the minimum principal stress is tensile, has only infrequently been measured and is not well understood. Quasi-static confined Brazilian tests under a range of confining stresses (2.76 to 27.58 MPa) where used to determine the strength of sandstone in the confined tension region. The test results indicate that the strength in the confined tension region was a strong function of the intermediate principal stress: increasing the intermediate principal stress significantly increased the strength of the sandstone. The strength data were well fit by the Mogi–Coulomb criterion, which accounts for the intermediate principal stress. Unconfined Brazilian strength data were not well fit to the Mogi–Coulomb criterion derived from the confined Brazilian test data, consistent with a transition from tensile to shear processes dominating failure with increasing confining pressure. Observations of post-failure fracture surfaces reveal more indication of shear processes with increasing confining pressure. Numerical simulations from combined finite-discrete element method are compared to the experimental results and reflect similar conditions for failure compared to the experimental tests in the confined tension region.

This research experimentally studies coupled hydro-mechanical relationships using flattened Brazilian disks under confinement, with concurrent permeability measurements and acoustic emission monitoring. A series of tests are performed on concrete, as representative samples of brittle geo-materials, under a range of confining stresses between 2.76 and 13.79 MPa. Acoustic emission data is used to quantify damage and identify damage thresholds. Damage is then correlated to pre-peak changes in permeability. The advancement of models that couple transport properties to mechanical responses are of interest in the fields of carbon sequestration, hydrofracking, production of geothermal energy, induced seismicity, and underground nuclear waste storage, and these experiments validate a novel experimental approach towards investigating hydro-mechanical relationships.