A mixed hybrid Mortar method for solving flow in discrete fracture networks

We consider flow in discrete fracture networks made of 2D domains in intersection and solved with a mixed hybrid finite element method (MHFEM). The discretization within each fracture is performed in two steps: first, borders and intersections are discretized, second, based on these discretizations, a 2D mesh is built. Independent meshing process within each subdomain is of interest for practical use since it makes it easier to refine the chosen subdomains and to perform parallel computation. This article shows how MHFEM is well adapted for integrating a Mortar method to enforce the continuity of the fluxes and heads at the non-matching grids. Some numerical simulations are given to show the efficiency of the method in the case of a preferential orientation of the fractures where a comparison with the 2D solution is possible.

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