The effect of climate change on the biogeochemistry of estuarine soft soils. The Australian coastline is dotted with soft clays to a significant depth. These soft clay deposits display excessive settlement characteristics, affecting transport infrastructure. Understanding the couplings between the biogeochemical composition of the pore liquid and the mechanical behaviour of soft soils is essential, but current engineering practice is limited. Sea level rise in Australia will potentially place as ....The effect of climate change on the biogeochemistry of estuarine soft soils. The Australian coastline is dotted with soft clays to a significant depth. These soft clay deposits display excessive settlement characteristics, affecting transport infrastructure. Understanding the couplings between the biogeochemical composition of the pore liquid and the mechanical behaviour of soft soils is essential, but current engineering practice is limited. Sea level rise in Australia will potentially place as much as $67 billion in transport infrastructure at risk; consequently, this project aims to examine the impact of climate change on the biogeochemical processes of estuarine sediments in relation to: geotechnical properties; soft soil stability under sea level change; and soil carbon sequestration.Read moreRead less
A new strategy for design flood estimation in a nonstationary climate. Evidence suggests that global warming will result in an increase in the frequency and/or magnitude of heavy rainfall, leading to flooding with potentially devastating consequences. This study provides a renewed focus on design flood estimation that takes into account a changing climate where assumptions of stationarity are no longer tenable.
Physics-informed hydrodynamic model for clay across scales. This project aims to develop a predictive model for the macroscopic behaviour of clay by combining direct observations of microscopic and mesoscopic mechanisms with rigorous physical principles. The project expects to track clay aggregates as they expand or shrink under variable loads and moistures using novel X-ray and optical methods. A key anticipated result is the development of a robust hydrodynamic model for clay that rationalises ....Physics-informed hydrodynamic model for clay across scales. This project aims to develop a predictive model for the macroscopic behaviour of clay by combining direct observations of microscopic and mesoscopic mechanisms with rigorous physical principles. The project expects to track clay aggregates as they expand or shrink under variable loads and moistures using novel X-ray and optical methods. A key anticipated result is the development of a robust hydrodynamic model for clay that rationalises the observed phenomena. Expected outcomes include the accurate predictions of clay dynamics, either fast during landslides or slow under drying and wetting. As much of Australia experiences droughts and floods, this project should benefit the longevity and safety of critical infrastructure situated on clay.Read moreRead less
Assessing reservoir performance for carbon storage in saline aquifers. This project aims to develop a multiscale framework of site characterisation for carbon storage in deep saline aquifers and calculate measures of injectivity, storage capacity and containment. Carbon capture and storage could reduce carbon emissions within two decades. Carbon dioxide emissions are the most important drivers of climate change, with detrimental effects on humans and their environment, including water security, ....Assessing reservoir performance for carbon storage in saline aquifers. This project aims to develop a multiscale framework of site characterisation for carbon storage in deep saline aquifers and calculate measures of injectivity, storage capacity and containment. Carbon capture and storage could reduce carbon emissions within two decades. Carbon dioxide emissions are the most important drivers of climate change, with detrimental effects on humans and their environment, including water security, agriculture, coastal communities, and infrastructure. This project will improve assessment of reservoir performance for carbon storage in saline aquifers, and help reduce carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100577
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,536.00
Summary
Numerical modeling of hydraulic fracturing for unconventional gas recovery. The project seeks to improve our understanding of the mechanics and physics of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional shale/tight gas reservoirs. By determining key aspects of the mechanics and physics of hydraulic fractures in naturally fractured unconventional reservoirs the project aims to build an accurate continuum hydro-mechanical model for hydraulic fracturing stimulation. The new computational approach and softwa ....Numerical modeling of hydraulic fracturing for unconventional gas recovery. The project seeks to improve our understanding of the mechanics and physics of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional shale/tight gas reservoirs. By determining key aspects of the mechanics and physics of hydraulic fractures in naturally fractured unconventional reservoirs the project aims to build an accurate continuum hydro-mechanical model for hydraulic fracturing stimulation. The new computational approach and software is expected to improve our fundamental understanding of the underlying physics of initiation and propagation of hydraulic fractures and their interactions with pre-existing natural faults. This has the potential to benefit the natural gas industry by providing information for better hydraulic fracture treatments and mitigation of the inherent risks of hydraulic fracturing and other processes.Read moreRead less
Proppant transport in non-Darcy fracture flow for reservoir integrity/yield. Hydro-fracking of a typical gas well in Australia consumes around 3000 tonnes of proppants to keep open the created fractures, costing over $1.5 million. This project investigates proppant transport behaviour in non-Darcy turbulent flow during fracking of underground reservoir rock by combining Hele-Shaw-cell experiments with Particle Image Velocimetry and conceptual/numeric modelling. The generating advanced proppant t ....Proppant transport in non-Darcy fracture flow for reservoir integrity/yield. Hydro-fracking of a typical gas well in Australia consumes around 3000 tonnes of proppants to keep open the created fractures, costing over $1.5 million. This project investigates proppant transport behaviour in non-Darcy turbulent flow during fracking of underground reservoir rock by combining Hele-Shaw-cell experiments with Particle Image Velocimetry and conceptual/numeric modelling. The generating advanced proppant transport knowledge is expected to be more accurate than laminar flow-based theories currently relied on. Expected outcomes include more efficient/safer proppant-assisted fracking strategies to reduce wasteful proppant disposition and inform industry/government management of fracking based on the reservoir geological features.Read moreRead less
A kinematically and micromechanically enriched constitutive modelling framework for failure of geomaterials. Failure at large scale such as slopes, embankments, and underground mining is fatal in terms of human lives and property loss. This project aims to develop a new methodology to connect micro-mechanisms that trigger and govern failure with the behaviour at much larger scales. In particular it will allow building constitutive models directly from micro-scale mechanisms, while possessing the ....A kinematically and micromechanically enriched constitutive modelling framework for failure of geomaterials. Failure at large scale such as slopes, embankments, and underground mining is fatal in terms of human lives and property loss. This project aims to develop a new methodology to connect micro-mechanisms that trigger and govern failure with the behaviour at much larger scales. In particular it will allow building constitutive models directly from micro-scale mechanisms, while possessing the capability to span the spatial scales. It will also transform the understanding of material property scaling into a predictive tool for engineering analysis, helping to obtain more cost effective designs with greater confidence in safety.Read moreRead less
Modelling fluid-solid interaction in micro- and nano-porous media. This project aims to develop a state-of-the-art computational tool for modelling the coupled fluid transport-solid deformation behaviour in micro- and nano-porous media. A significant portion of the world’s water and energy resources are stored in fractured rocks, many of which contain characteristic pores with size ranging from nanometres to micrometres. The pore-scale particle-based modelling method will provide for better unde ....Modelling fluid-solid interaction in micro- and nano-porous media. This project aims to develop a state-of-the-art computational tool for modelling the coupled fluid transport-solid deformation behaviour in micro- and nano-porous media. A significant portion of the world’s water and energy resources are stored in fractured rocks, many of which contain characteristic pores with size ranging from nanometres to micrometres. The pore-scale particle-based modelling method will provide for better understanding and opportunities for manipulating fluid flow through fractured micro- and nano-porous media. Successful application of the model will improve the performance of diverse energy and environmental systems including carbon geo-sequestration, unconventional oil and gas recovery, enhanced geothermal energy generation and groundwater contamination.Read moreRead less
Methodologies for resolving high Rayleigh number transitions in convection and elucidating instabilities in polar vortices. This project will develop new methods for modeling complex rotating convection flows such as polar vortices found in the Antarctic atmosphere. This work has the potential to provide insight into important physical processes impacting Australian and global weather patterns, which is crucial for understanding the evolution of our climate.
Linking microstructural evolutions across the scales of granular failure. This project expects to transform the understanding of granular materials and their behaviour by establishing explicit links between the macroscopic responses of the materials and their evolving microstructural properties. This should lead to revolutionary constitutive models for granular materials that possess true mechanisms of evolving grain-scale structures. The proliferation of these new models should allow developmen ....Linking microstructural evolutions across the scales of granular failure. This project expects to transform the understanding of granular materials and their behaviour by establishing explicit links between the macroscopic responses of the materials and their evolving microstructural properties. This should lead to revolutionary constitutive models for granular materials that possess true mechanisms of evolving grain-scale structures. The proliferation of these new models should allow development of reliable predictive computational tools for the modelling and assessment of field-scale failure involving granular materials, enhancing the capability to assess the integrity and stability of earth structures, and benefitting the Australian economy, environment and public safety.Read moreRead less