Earthquakes Response Analysis of CO ₂ Storage Site Using Hydraulic-Mechanical Coupled Analysis by NMM

Abstract

We perform a hydraulic-mechanical coupling analysis using the Numeric Manifold Method (NMM) to study the seismic response of fluid saturated layers at depth. Effect of strong seismic wave on stability of a CO₂ storage site is one of the most important natural phenomena in a seismic active region like Japan. The safety factor response was evaluated using the effective stress determined by hydraulic-mechanical coupling analysis by the NMM. In this paper, we explain the fundamental formulation of the hydraulic-mechanical coupling analysis and examine a simple three-layer model with 4Hz sinusoidal seismic acceleration (maximum 200gal). The safety factor response obtained by effective stress decreases that by total stress. The results are reasonable and the analysis obtained can be very effectively applied.

Keywords: Hydraulic-Mechanical Coupling, NMM, Discontinuous planes, Earthquakes response analysis

JEL Classification: C53