Dataset of “Buoyancy effects on mechanical stability during and after large-scale CO2 injection”

Large-scale geological CO2 storage may lead to important buoyancy effects as the CO2 density at the typical storage formations is about half of the resident brine. However, how such buoyancy affects the hydro-mechanical coupling processes and site stability has not been reported yet. Here, we propose a numerical modeling approach to address this issue. We configure a zero-gravity scenario accompanying the regular-gravity scenario for the same model setting, to isolate the buoyancy effects of CO2 from the injection-induced hydro-mechanical coupling response. Apart from the base case study, we also simulate three other cases to understand the impact of the reservoir permeability, porosity, and outer boundary on buoyancy effects. Expected findings may be key to the safe deployment of CO2 storage projects, and the proposed modeling approach is also valid for the subsurface storage of lighter gases, like natural gas and hydrogen.

see details in the readme file