Tailoring the Fracture Network Evolution and Response of Civil, Energy, and Environmental Geosystems

Abstract:

The analysis and optimum design of important civil, energy, and environmental geo-systems, such as unconventional geothermal and fossil energy reservoirs, energy and waste (H2 and CO2) geo-storage facilities, natural and man-made slopes, and tunnels often require understanding geomaterials' multi-scale behavior under coupled hydraulic, thermal, chemical, and mechanical excitations. I am interested in understanding the coupled physical processes responsible for the overall response of geosystems. Specifically, I investigate the role of micro-and-mesoscale characteristics of the solid skeleton, such as the natural fracture patterns in the rock mass, and their evolution when interacting with the boundary conditions and imposed excitations. In this talk, I will present a series of laboratory experimental studies designed to understand the behavior of hydraulic fractures in a rock mass and their interactions with the rock's pre-existing natural fractures using state-of-the-art imaging techniques. I will also present a series of hybrid numerical simulations to examine the coupled hydro-seismo-mechanical response of naturally fractured rocks subject to high-pressure fluid injection with respect to the rock matrix permeability and physical characteristics of the natural fractures. I use this versatile simulation technique to also study the whole spectrum of a jointed rock slope from pre-failure deformations leading to progressive failure mechanism and final collapse state.

Bio:

Dr. Shahrzad Roshankhah is an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering since August 2021. Her research involves lab and numerical simulations to model the coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical behavior of geomaterials using high-resolution, multi-scale, and multi-phase process monitoring techniques. Before joining the U, Shahrzad was a research scientist at Caltech, where she studied the behavior of hydraulic fractures in naturally fractured rocks through laboratory experiments and numerical simulations, as well as the elastoplastic behavior of particle impacts in particle impacts. She also taught civil and geotechnical engineering courses as a lecturer at California State University, Long Beach, for two years. Shahrzad received her Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and her M.Sc. from the Amirkabir University of Technology, both in geotechnical engineering. Shahrzad has over six years of industry experience in civil and geotechnical engineering and is a holder of a Professional Engineering License from the State of Utah.