Self-Organization Mechanisms within Magma-Driven Dyke and Hydraulic Fracture Swarms

充满流体的裂缝是地球上地壳的一个重要特征，这项拟议的工作解决了当几个充满流体的裂缝在空间和时间上紧密布设时如何相互作用的问题。具体地说，大多数岩浆是在地壳深部和火山之间的裂缝中运输的，因此了解这些天体的力学对于地球和其他行星上的火山过程非常重要。水力压裂给化石燃料行业带来了革命性的变化，也是压力下充满流体的裂缝的又一例证。相互作用的裂纹的力学将通过应用生物学中发展起来的一种新方法：群体理论来检验。首席调查员将使用三种方法来解决这个问题。首先，将建立数学模型。其次，计算模型将检验导致裂隙群发展的参数。第三，将利用人工材料在常温常压下进行模拟实验，模拟地球内部的过程，并验证分析和计算模型。这种方法有可能影响新方法的设计，而新方法将影响油气和地热储层的开发条件。为了阐明导致充液裂缝自组织的机制，提出了一种基于群体理论的新的建模范式。这项拟议的研究旨在阐明充满流体的裂缝中排列、排斥和吸引力的来源，并证明这些力的相互作用如何导致出现长度标尺，从而为侵位的力学条件提供持久和可测量的印记。将开发分析、数值和模拟模型，以检验这样的假设，即支配侵位的力学条件将系统地表达在群的紧急几何形状中，应用结果，以便通过测量自然发生的堤坝群和工业水力裂缝的间距、长度和宽度来推断侵位条件。对自然和人造系统的观察显示出显著的差异：数百个火成岩岩脉成群生长在一起，但水力裂缝往往局限于1到2个优势股。这一悖论提供了一个独特的机会来理解控制注入流体是否会导致流体驱动的裂缝群的物理机制。

Fluid-filled cracks are an important feature of the upper crust of the Earth, and the proposed work addresses how fluid-filled cracks interact with one another when several are emplaced closely in space and time. Specifically, most magmas are transported in cracks between the deep crust and volcanoes, thus an understanding of the mechanics of these bodies is important for volcanic processes on the Earth and other planets. Hydraulic fracturing has revolutionized the fossil fuel industry and is another example of fluid-filled cracks under pressure. The mechanics of interacting cracks will be examined by applying a novel method that has been developed in biology: swarm theory. The principal investigator will use three methods to tackle the problem. First, mathematical models will be developed. Second, computational models will examine the parameters that lead to the development of crack swarms. Third, analogue experiments, which use artificial materials at room temperature and pressure, will be applied to simulate the processes in the earth and verify the analytical and computational models. The method has the potential to influence the design of new methods that will influence the conditions by which hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs are exploited.A new modeling paradigm is proposed that is based on swarm theory in order to clarify the mechanisms that lead to self-organization of fluid-filled cracks. The proposed research aims to clarify the origin of the alignment, repulsion, and attraction forces within fluid-filled cracks and to demonstrate how the interplay of these forces leads to emergent length scales that provide a lasting and measureable imprint of the mechanical conditions governing emplacement. Analytical, numerical, and analogue models will be developed to test the hypothesis that the mechanical conditions governing emplacement will be systematically expressed in the emergent geometry of the swarm, applying the results in order to infer emplacement conditions using measurements of spacing, length, and width for naturally-occurring dyke swarms and industrial hydraulic fractures. Observations of natural and manmade systems reveal substantial differences: hundreds of igneous dikes grow together as swarms, but hydraulic fractures tend to localize to 1 or 2 dominant strands. This paradox presents a unique opportunity to understand the physical mechanisms that govern whether or not injection of fluid will result in a fluid-driven fracture swarm.