Linear porothermoelastic coupling by the finite element method and application to petroleum problems

This article discusses the behavior of a porous rock in the domain of linear elastic strain, under the effect of mechanical (displacements, stresses), thermal and hydraulic loads (flow of a fluid). Coussy's equations are used to describe this porothermoelastic behavior. The COUPLA software is presented, used to solve these coupled equations by the finite element method. Two problems and their numerical solution using COUPLA are presented. (a) Production of a well at constant flow rate. (b) Thermal stresses in the neighborhood of a well. The solutions obtained are compared with the analytical solutions.