Case Study: Colorado School of Mines achieves underground fluid tracking with COMSOL Multiphysics

Multiphysics Simulations Help Track Underground Fluid Movements

Colorado School of Mines sought a way to track underground fluid movements—such as fracking fluids—and better characterize subsurface formations because conventional acoustic methods cannot directly identify pore water. To develop a complementary seismoelectric approach, the research team used Comsol, specifically Comsol Multiphysics with LiveLink for MATLAB, to build multiphysics models that couple hydromechanical, acoustic and electromagnetic behavior and to explore how electrical signals from moving pore fluids might be detected.

Using Comsol Multiphysics and MATLAB coupling, the team ran forward and inverse simulations to produce synthetic seismograms and electrograms, then validated the models in laboratory hydraulic-fracture tests on an instrumented cement block. Comsol-enabled inversions reliably located fluid leaks—electric signal responses on the order of milliamperes per square meter and millivolts were detected—and the inverted source locations matched well with the known well positions and acoustic emissions, demonstrating a practical method for monitoring fluid flow and informing planned field trials.

Colorado School of Mines

Marios Karaoulis

Research Associate