About
65
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Introduction
Wencheng Jin is an assistant professor in the Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University. His research interests span novel rock breakage and fracture for subsurface resource recovery, data-driven and physics-based multiphysics modeling in porous media, and granular material flow characterization and modeling.
Skills and Expertise
Current institution
Education
August 2014 - August 2018
September 2007 - June 2014
Publications
Publications (65)
In this paper, a numerical method is proposed to simulate multi-scale fracture propagation driven by fluid injection in transversely isotropic porous media. Intrinsic anisotropy is accounted for at the continuum scale, by using a damage model in which two equivalent strains are defined to distinguish mechanical behavior in the direction parallel an...
The discrete damage model presented in this paper accounts for 42 non-interacting crack microplanes directions. At the scale of the representative volume element, the free enthalpy is the sum of the elastic energy stored in the non-damaged bulk material and in the displacement jumps at crack faces. Closed cracks propagate in the pure mode II, where...
The Discrete Equivalent Wing Crack Damage (DEWCD) model formulated in this paper couples micro-mechanics and Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) principles. At the scale of the Representative Elementary Volume (REV), damage is obtained by integrating crack densities over the unit sphere, which represents all possible crack plane orientations. The unit...
We propose a numerical method that couples a cohesive zone model (CZM) and a finite element-based continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model. The CZM represents a mode II macro-fracture, and CDM finite elements (FE) represent the damage zone of the CZM. The coupled CZM/CDM model can capture the flow of energy that takes place between the bulk material...
The promise of biomass-derived biofuels is often overshadowed by intricate material handling challenges such as hopper clogging and screw feeder jamming. These handling issues stem from the knowledge gap among particle-scale material properties (e.g., particle size), bulk-scale material attributes (e.g., relative density), macro-scale equipment des...
This study investigates using reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) to reduce the significant energy use and minimize water consumption for data center cooling. Techno-economic analysis was performed for a representative 70 MW hyperscale data center and a 30 MW crypto-mining data center at two representative locations. The investigation shows tha...
The Utah FORGE (Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy) project is a leading initiative to advance Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology by using hydraulic fracturing. The project conducted a 10-stage stimulation, employing variable cluster spacing and diverse stimulation techniques. In a 30-day circulation test performed in...
Hydraulic fracturing is a widely used reservoir stimulation technique for improving fluid circulation in rock formations with extremely low permeability, particularly in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). To better understand the complex processes involved and improve hydraulic stimulation performance, we have developed ELK (ELectrical fracKing), a...
Current hydraulic fracturing methods often fail for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) due to extreme pressure and temperature. We are developing a novel electromagnetic stimulation technology to maximize recovery from EGS and save billions of liters of water cf. traditional methods. The first question is: what is the minimal physical requirement th...
Current hydraulic fracturing techniques, which had tremendous success in the oil & gas industry, have been mostly unsuccessful in stimulating geothermal reservoirs due to the extreme pressure and temperature conditions downhole. We are developing a novel electro-magnetic reservoir-stimulation technology to access a larger reservoir volume to maximi...
Current hydraulic fracturing techniques, which had tremendous success in the oil & gas industry, have been mostly unsuccessful in stimulating geothermal reservoirs due to the extreme pressure and temperature conditions downhole. We are developing a novel electromagnetic reservoir-stimulation technology to access a larger reservoir volume to maximiz...
Fluid flow in fractured rocks is ubiquitous in natural and human-induced subsurface processes. Subsurface technologies, such as in-situ mining, CO2 storage and geothermal exploitations, require large contact areas between the flowing fluid and the rock to facilitate efficient heat and mass transport and, therefore, ensure the effectiveness of these...
Numerical modeling of granular biomass material flow in handling operations is indispensable to decipher flow upsets, commonly manifested as clogging and jamming in hoppers and augers. With a computational tool developed based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), we simulated the hopper flow and auger feeding of six granular biomass materials....
Thermal energy storage at large scale has significant potential for large scale clean energy deployment. However, it is necessary to understand and address the challenges (Dobson et al., 2023) associated with high temperature reservoir thermal energy storage (HT-RTES). Lessons learned from the previous demonstrations identify insufficient site char...
Failure of many brittle materials and structures can be modeled using interface‐oriented finite elements combined with intrinsic cohesive zone models. The discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element method provides an innovative framework for modeling brittle crack propagation with zero‐thickness interface elements, which can accommodate extrinsic c...
This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of addressing the cooling needs for information technology (IT) equipment in data centers by using reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) to provide reliable and sustainable low-temperature fluid. This project focuses on the technical viability of operating such a system in Houston, Texas, which is a rep...
One of the critical challenges of the green energy transition is resolving the mismatch between energy generation provided by intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind and the demand for energy. There is a need for large amounts of energy storage over a range of time scales (diurnal to seasonal) to better balance energy supply an...
Reservoir stimulation is akey technology to enabling carbon and renewable resources recovery from the subsurface. The combination of pulse- and fluid-driven fracture propagation has great potential to revolutionize the hydro-fracturing industry. In this study, we present a novel method that extends the existing traction-at-split-node method to allo...
The commercialization of biomass-derived energy is impeded by flowability challenges arising from the feeding and handling of granular biomass materials in full-scale biorefineries. To overcome these obstacles, a robust and accurate model to simulate the flow of granular biomass is indispensable. However, conventional mesh-based numerical codes are...
Storage of energy-related products in the geologic subsurface provides reserve capacity, resilience, and security to the energy supply chain. Sequestration of energy-related products ensures long-term isolation from the environment and, for CO 2 , a reduction in atmospheric emissions. Both porous-rock media and engineered caverns can provide the la...
One dominant challenge facing the development of biorefineries is achieving consistent system throughput with highly variant biomass feedstock quality and handling performance. Current handling unit operations are adapted from other sectors (primarily agriculture), where some simplifying assumptions about granular mechanics and flow performance do...
High-temperature reservoir thermal energy storage (HT-RTES) has the potential to become an indispensable component in achieving the goal of the net-zero carbon economy, given its capability to balance the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation. In this study, a machine-learning-assisted computational framework is presented to identify H...
The upstream of bioenergy industry has suffered from unreliable operations of granular biomass feedstocks in handling equipment. Computational modeling, including continuum-mechanics models and discrete-particle models, offers insightful understandings and predictive capabilities on the flow of milled biomass and can assist equipment design and opt...
Reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) is a promising technology to balance the mismatch between energy supply and demand. In particular, high temperature (HT) RTES can stabilize the grid with increasing penetration of renewable energy generation. This paper presents the investigation of the mechanical deformation and chemical reaction influences...
Reservoir thermal energy storage (RTES) is a promising technology to balance the mismatch between energy supply and demand. In particular, high temperature (HT) RTES can stabilize the grid with increasing penetration of renewable energy generation. This paper presents the investigation of the mechanical deformation and chemical reaction influences...
Interest in biofuels has grown in recent years. Unfortunately, biofuel refineries are unable to operate at full capacity due to handling and feeding issues as the feeding systems for biomass are often poorly designed. To inform more effective and reliable handling and feeding systems, this study presents mechanical (moisture, particle size/distribu...
Poor understanding of the flow behavior of granular biomass material poses great challenges for the bioenergy industry, as the equipment functioning time is significantly reduced by handling issues like screw feeder clogging and hopper arching. In this work, the flow behavior of loblolly pine chips, including the mass flow rate and the critical out...
The commercialization of biomass material as an energy source is significantly challenged by severe material handling issues resulted from a poor understanding of the biomass feedstock flow behavior and outdated equipment design. This work addresses the challenges by developing and applying experiments-informed numerical tools, including advanced g...
High-temperature geothermal battery storage is a concept for stabilizing the grid due to increasing intermittent renewable resources. Questions on the potential site's feasibility and the optimal operation design of the geothermal battery are addressed in this paper by coupling stochastic hydro-thermal simulations and neural network development. A...
The potential for mineral scaling in high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) systems was investigated by geochemical and thermal-hydrological-chemical (reactive transport) simulations. Geochemical modeling was performed with brines from the Green River Basin (Weber Sandstone), the Illinois Basin (St. Peter and Mt. Simon Sandstones...
Poor flowability of compressible biomass particles poses severe handling challenges in all processes of biorefineries, which results in poor energy-yielding in conversion. This paper presents the characterization of the flow behavior of a widely used compressible biomass material (ground loblolly pine) using a combination of physical characterizati...
We present numerical methods to simulate the propagation of discrete fractures embedded in a damaged zone. Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) models are implemented in a Finite Element (FE) analysis code. A damage threshold defines the beginning of micro-crack coalescence, when a discrete cohesive segment opens. First, Cohesive Zone (CZ) elements are...
State-of-the-Art models of Root System Architecture (RSA) do not allow simulating root growth around rigid obstacles. Yet, the presence of obstacles can be highly disruptive to the root system. We grew wheat seedlings in sealed petri dishes without obstacle and in custom 3D-printed rhizoboxes containing obstacles. Time-lapse photography was used to...
This paper presents the numerical investigation of the geological thermal energy storage (GeoTES) by considering well configuration, discrete fracture network (DFN), and mechanical effect. After validated against field experiments, the MOOSE framework was used to simulate the GeoTES with geological properties from the Weber/Tensleep formation. Mono...
Biomass is a renewable and sustainable energy resource. Current design of biomass handling and feeding equipment leverage both experiments and numerical modeling. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art discrete element methods (DEM) for the flow of milled biomass (Part-I), accompanied with a comprehensive review on continuum-based computational mo...
The design of efficient material-handling systems for milled lignocellulosic biomass is challenging due to their complex particle morphologies and frictional interactions. Computational modeling, including the discrete element method (DEM) and continuum-based finite-element/volume methods, may offer scientific insight and pre-dictive capabilities f...
Integrated biorefineries suffer from equipment down-time due to poor understanding of the flowability of biomass-derived feedstock. This work presents the characterization of the mechanical behavior of ground loblolly pine by combining physical experiments and numerical simulations. A modified Drucker-Prager/Cap (MDPC) model enhanced with density d...
A computational tool is developed to simulate the propagation of a discrete fracture within a continuum damage process zone. Microcrack initiation and propagation prior to coalescence are represented by a nonlocal anisotropic Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) model in which the crack density is calculated explicitly. A damage threshold is defined to...
The inhomogeneous, elastic and cohesive nature of biomass poses several feeding and handling challenges during granular flow which create issues when transporting material through biorefinery unit operations (hoppers, silos, screw conveyors, etc.). It is therefore essential to study the mechanical and physical properties of these materials and accu...
This poster exhibits the recent progress in computational and experimental studies of biomass particle flow at Idaho National Laboratory.
This paper presents the theoretical formulation and numerical implementation of an anisotropic damage model for materials with intrinsic transverse isotropy. Crack initiation and propagation are modeled by phenomenological damage evolution laws, controlled by four equivalent strain measures. The latter are constructed so as to distinguish the mecha...
Upon crack propagation, brittle geomaterials such as concrete and rock exhibit a nonlinear stress/strain behavior, damage induced stiffness anisotropy, loading path dependent strain softening and hardening, unilateral effects due to crack closure and a brittle-ductile transition, which depends on the confining pressure. Challenges in theoretical an...
Based on the fractal-percolation properties, the equivalent permeability
analysis of 3-D discrete fracture network models are investigated and
analyzed for the first time. The 3-D fractal dimension was calculated with
the 3-D fracture density, the mean major axis of fracture and the aspect
ratio of major to minor axis. The reconstructed mining-indu...
Roof-coal recovery rate and the performance of gas extraction are essentially controlled by the fractures within coal-rock mass. Thus, it is important to generate the accurate fracture network ahead of mining face. In this study, ten boreholes located differently from the 8212 working face of Tashan Mine in Datong coal mining group, China, were dri...
In situ gas extraction is the main measure adopted by mines to achieve mining safety standards. Coal permeability is significantly influenced by coal shrinkage during gas release. Based on effective stress and additional damage that resulted from gas extraction, a unique model was proposed to describe the spatial and temporal distribution of coal p...
The effect of the borehole pressure on the rock fragmentation of a bit has been studied extensively. However, its basic mechanism remains controversial. In the study a discrete element method is used to study the rock fragmentation process of single, double bit-teeth indentation under different borehole pressures. The results show that the borehole...
Based on the geological conditions of coal mining face No. 15-14120 at No. 8 mine of Pingdingshan coal mining group, the real-time evolution of coal-roof crack network with working face advancing was collected with the help of intrinsically safe borehole video instrument. And according to the geology of this working face, a discrete element model w...
In this study, the issue of multiple collinear cracks in a finite plate is studied, and the overall stress field as well as stress intensity factors (SIFs) near crack tips are determined. Based on Muskelishvili’s results, the problem is formulated using complex functions in terms of unknown coefficients, which are obtained by enforcing the external...
Based on the field conditions of coal mining face No.15-14120 at No.8 Mine of Pingdingshan Coal Mining Groupthe information for real time evolution of coal rock crack network with advancement of working face was collected by using improved intrinsically safe borehole video instrument.Fractal theory and projective arithmetic for the two dimensional...
