U.S.-France Cooperative Research: Fluid and Particle Transport in Self-Affine Fractures

这项为期三年的美法合作奖的参与者包括Joel Koplik和纽约城市大学城市学院的一名研究生，以及法国巴黎玛丽和皮埃尔居里大学的让-皮埃尔·胡林。研究人员建议研究地质断裂系统中有关输运现象的几个相互关联的问题。他们将强调与破裂岩石表面和分数网络相关的孔隙空间几何形状对流体流动和悬浮颗粒运动的影响。这项工作的关键几何特征是裂缝表面的自仿射性质以及流体流过此类裂缝时速度场的相关性。美国研究者为这次合作带来了理论和数值方面的专业知识。这将由法国小组进行的重建骨折的实验研究来补充。该项目将促进对地质构造中流体和颗粒运动的理解，并将其应用于供水、碳氢化合物生产和废物处理。这项工作的动机是对地下水污染和在裂隙岩石中安全处理核废料的环境问题的关注。该奖项代表了美国方面向美国国家科学基金会和法国国家科学研究中心（CNRS）提交的联合提案。美国国家科学基金会将支付美国研究人员和研究生的旅费和生活费。CNRS将支持法国研究人员访问美国。

9909110KoplikThis three-year award for U.S.-France collaboration involves Joel Koplik and a graduate student of the City College, City University of New York and Jean-Pierre Hulin of the University Marie and Pierre Curie in Paris, France. The investigators propose to study several interrelated problems involving transport phenomena in geological fracture systems. They will emphasize the consequences of pore space geometry associated with fractured rock surfaces and networks of fractions on fluid flow and on the motion of suspended particles. The key geometrical feature of this work is the self-affine nature of fracture surfaces and the resulting correlations in the velocity field when fluid flows through such a fracture. The U.S. investigator brings to this collaboration theoretical and numerical expertise. This will be complemented by the experimental studies on reconstructed fractures conducted by the French group. The project will advance understanding of the motions of fluids and particles in geological formations, with application to water supply, hydrocarbon production, and waste disposal. The work is motivated by environmental concerns about groundwater contamination and safe disposal of nuclear waste in fractured rocks. This award represents the U.S. side of a joint proposal to the NSF and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses for the U.S. investigator and graduate student. The CNRS will support the visits of the French researchers to the United States.