THMC Modeling Frameworks in Porous Media: Fundamentals, Applications, and Development of the Displacement Discontinuity Method in Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Environments

Abdollahipour, Abolfazl; Kargar, Alireza

doi:10.22034/IRSRM.2026.587795.1084

THMC Modeling Frameworks in Porous Media: Fundamentals, Applications, and Development of the Displacement Discontinuity Method in Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Environments

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Abolfazl Abdollahipour

Alireza Kargar

School of Mining Engineering, College Of Engineering, University Of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/IRSRM.2026.587795.1084

Abstract

Modeling thermo–hydro–mechanical–chemical (THMC) processes in porous and fractured media is one of the major challenges in many subsurface engineering problems, including geological CO₂ storage, nuclear waste disposal, geothermal systems, unconventional reservoirs, and gas hydrate exploitation. In this paper, the theoretical foundations of THMC coupling, the governing equations, commonly used numerical methods, and various coupling strategies are reviewed and evaluated. The advantages and limitations of domain-discretization approaches and boundary-based methods for analyzing multiphysics problems are also discussed. Subsequently, a thermo–hydro–mechanical framework based on the Displacement Discontinuity Method (DDM) is introduced for fractured porous media. Within this framework, in addition to mechanical discontinuities, the effects of fluid flow and heat transfer are incorporated through a coupled formulation, and the stress, pore pressure, and temperature fields are computed using Green’s functions and integral equations. Validation results using field data, analytical solutions, and benchmark problems indicate that the model can accurately reproduce the time-dependent behavior of poroelastic media, the evolution of pore pressure, and thermoelastic responses. The results demonstrate the strong capability of the DDM approach for efficient THM modeling in fractured media and its applicability to complex geomechanical problems.

Keywords

THMC coupling

multiphysics modeling

governing equations

Displacement Discontinuity Method

fractured porous media

Subjects