The Gradient Discretisation Method for Two-Phase Discrete Fracture Matrix Models in Deformable Porous Media

We consider a two-phase Darcy flow in a fractured porous medium consisting in a matrix flow coupled with a tangential flow in the fractures, described as a network of planar surfaces. This flow model is also coupled with the mechanical deformation of the matrix assuming that the fractures are open and filled by the fluids, as well as small deformations and a linear elastic constitutive law. The model is discretized using the gradient discretization method (Droniou et al. in Mathematics & applications. Springer, 2018, [1]), which covers a large class of conforming and non conforming discretizations. This framework allows a generic convergence analysis of the coupled model using a combination of discrete functional tools. Here, we describe the model together with its numerical discretisation, and we state the convergence result, whose proof will be detailed in a forthcoming paper. This is, to our knowledge, the first convergence result for this type of models taking into account two-phase flows and the nonlinear poro-mechanical coupling. Previous related works consider a linear approximation obtained for a single phase flow by freezing the fracture conductivity (Girault et al. in Math Models Methods Appl Sci 25:4, 2015, [2]).