Bonding strength effects in hydro-mechanical coupling transport in granular porous media by pore-scale modeling

The hydro-mechanical coupling transport process of sand production is numerically investigated with special attention paid to the bonding effect between sand grains. By coupling the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) and the discrete element method (DEM), we are able to capture particles movements and fluid flows simultaneously. In order to account for the bonding effects on sand production, a contact bond model is introduced into the LBM-DEM framework. Our simulations first examine the experimental observation of "initial sand production is evoked by localized failure" and then show that the bonding or cement plays an important role in sand production. Lower bonding strength will lead to more sand production than higher bonding strength. It is also found that the influence of flow rate on sand production depends on the bonding strength in cemented granular media, and for low bonding strength sample, the higher the flow rate is, the more severe the erosion found in localized failure zone becomes.