US-France Cooperative Research: Fluid and Particulate Transport in Self-affine Fractures

这个为期三年的美法合作奖项由纽约城市大学城市学院的Joel Koplik和法国巴黎玛丽与皮埃尔·居里大学的Jean-Pierre Hlin共同获得。研究人员建议研究几个相互关联的问题，这些问题的中心是粗糙裂缝几何形状的分形特征与其中流体的传输特性之间的关系。这项工作的关键几何特征是裂隙表面的自仿射性质，以及当流体流过这种裂隙时速度场中产生的相关性。这位美国研究人员为这次合作带来了理论和数字方面的专业知识。这将得到法国小组对重建骨折进行的实验研究的补充。联合计划将需要对复制自天然岩石样品的透明粗糙表面进行实验室实验，并对相应的模型进行理论和计算研究。此外，还将与法国地球物理研究所合作，在花岗岩采石场进行实地实验。该项目将促进对地质构造中流体和颗粒运动的了解，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破碎岩石中安全处置核废料的环境担忧。该奖项代表了美国方面向NSF和法国国家科学研究中心(CNRS)提出的联合建议。NSF将支付美国研究员、博士后研究员和/或研究生的旅费和生活费。CNRS将支持法国研究人员访问美国。

0233255KoplikThis three-year award for U.S.-France collaboration involves Joel Koplik of 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 centered on the relationship between the fractal characteristics of the geometry of rough fractures and the transport properties of fluids within them. 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 joint program will entail laboratory experiments on transparent rough surfaces copied from natural rock samples with theoretical and computational studies in corresponding model fractally-rough geometries. In addition, field experiments in a granite quarry will be conducted in collaboration with the French Institute for Physics of the Earth. 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, a postdoctoral researcher and/or graduate student. The CNRS will support the visits of the French researchers to the United States.