Mechanical properties and fluid transport in rocks are intimately linked as deformation of a solid rock matrix immediately affects the pore space and permeability. Part I of this topical volume covers mainly the nucleation and evolution of crack damage in rocks, new or modified techniques to measure rock fracture toughness and a discussion of upscaling techniques relating mechanical and fluid transport behaviour in rocks at different spatial scales.
Mechanical properties and fluid transport in rocks are intimately linked as deformation of a solid rock matrix immediately affects the pore space and permeability. Part I of this topical volume covers mainly the nucleation and evolution of crack damage in rocks, new or modified techniques to measure rock fracture toughness and a discussion of upscaling techniques relating mechanical and fluid transport behaviour in rocks at different spatial scales.
The petroleum geologist and engineer must have a working knowledge of petrophysics in order to find oil reservoirs, devise the best plan for getting it out of the ground, then start drilling. This book offers the engineer and geologist a manual to accomplish these goals, providing much-needed calculations and formulas on fluid flow, rock properties, and many other topics that are encountered every day. New updated material covers topics that have emerged in the petrochemical industry since 1997. - Contains information and calculations that the engineer or geologist must use in daily activities to find oil and devise a plan to get it out of the ground - Filled with problems and solutions, perfect for use in undergraduate, graduate, or professional courses - Covers real-life problems and cases for the practicing engineer
This single-volume thoroughly summarizes advances in the past several decades and emerging challenges in fundamental research in geotechnical engineering. These fundamental research frontiers are critically reviewed and described in details in lights of four grand challenges our society faces: climate adaptation, urban sustainability, energy and material resources, and global water resources. The specific areas critically reviewed, carefully examined, and envisioned are: sensing and measurement, soil properties and their physics roots, multiscale and multiphysics processes in soil, geochemical processes for resilient and sustainable geosystems, biological processes in geotechnics, unsaturated soil mechanics, coupled flow processes in soil, thermal processes in geotechnical engineering, and rock mechanics in the 21st century.
This book include research studies which deal with the attempts to address new solutions for challenges in geotechnical engineering such as characterization of new materials, application of glass fibre, geotextile fabric and permeable concrete, new numerical methods for traditional problems and some other geotechnical issues that are becoming quite relevant in today's world. The book adds to the geotechnical engineering field which still bears lots of big challenges. It contributes to make the civil infrastructures more sustainable using new technologies and materials that have been proposed and applied in various fields. Papers were selected from the 5th GeoChina International Conference 2018 – Civil Infrastructures Confronting Severe Weathers and Climate Changes: From Failure to Sustainability, held on July 23 to 25, 2018 in HangZhou, China.
The study of rock dynamics is important because many rock mechanics and rock engineering problems involve dynamic loading ranging from earthquakes to vibrations and explosions. The subject deals with the distribution and propagation of loads, dynamic responses, and processes of rocks and rate-dependent properties, coupled with the physical environm
Fractured rock is the host or foundation for innumerable engineered structures related to energy, water, waste, and transportation. Characterizing, modeling, and monitoring fractured rock sites is critical to the functioning of those infrastructure, as well as to optimizing resource recovery and contaminant management. Characterization, Modeling, Monitoring, and Remediation of Fractured Rock examines the state of practice and state of art in the characterization of fractured rock and the chemical and biological processes related to subsurface contaminant fate and transport. This report examines new developments, knowledge, and approaches to engineering at fractured rock sites since the publication of the 1996 National Research Council report Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Fluid Flow. Fundamental understanding of the physical nature of fractured rock has changed little since 1996, but many new characterization tools have been developed, and there is now greater appreciation for the importance of chemical and biological processes that can occur in the fractured rock environment. The findings of Characterization, Modeling, Monitoring, and Remediation of Fractured Rock can be applied to all types of engineered infrastructure, but especially to engineered repositories for buried or stored waste and to fractured rock sites that have been contaminated as a result of past disposal or other practices. The recommendations of this report are intended to help the practitioner, researcher, and decision maker take a more interdisciplinary approach to engineering in the fractured rock environment. This report describes how existing tools-some only recently developed-can be used to increase the accuracy and reliability of engineering design and management given the interacting forces of nature. With an interdisciplinary approach, it is possible to conceptualize and model the fractured rock environment with acceptable levels of uncertainty and reliability, and to design systems that maximize remediation and long-term performance. Better scientific understanding could inform regulations, policies, and implementation guidelines related to infrastructure development and operations. The recommendations for research and applications to enhance practice of this book make it a valuable resource for students and practitioners in this field.
Rock fractures control many of Earth's dynamic processes, including plate-boundary development, tectonic earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and fluid transport in the crust. An understanding of rock fractures is also essential for effective exploitation of natural resources such as ground water, geothermal water, and petroleum. This book combines results from fracture mechanics, materials science, rock mechanics, structural geology, hydrogeology, and fluid mechanics to explore and explain fracture processes and fluid transport in the crust. Basic concepts are developed from first principles and illustrated with worked examples linking models of geological processes to real field observations and measurements. Many additional examples and exercises are provided online, allowing readers to practise formulating and quantitative testing of models. Rock Fractures in Geological Processes is designed for courses at the advanced undergraduate and graduate level but also forms a vital resource for researchers and industry professionals concerned with fractures and fluid transport in the Earth's crust.
