CAREER: Hydraulic Fractures at Shallow Depths

9876124 Murdoch水力压裂提供了一个机会，以减少补救细粒沉积物的巨大费用。 本建议的目的是利用水文系统的诱导断裂的力学和影响作为水文地质学教学和研究的基础。 该计划将包括一系列课程和水力压裂应用的研究工作。 一个重要的主题将是提高学生的基本数学技能和能力，利用这些技能来解决有关力学和水文地质问题。 课程顺序将开始介绍的数学方法分析地质过程的方法，旨在激励学生学习数学方法，作为一种手段，以提高他们对地质学的理解。 第二门课程将涵盖断裂力学和沉积物或岩石中自然和人工裂缝的水文学，基于以下概述的研究结果和相关材料。一个是理解控制水力压裂形式的过程，另一个是理解在低渗透性材料中产生填砂水力裂缝如何影响流体的流动。 这两个问题都将通过控制现场实验和使用理论模型进行研究。 测量浅层土壤中应力状态和断裂韧性（理解断裂传播的关键参数）的方法有限，因此本研究的早期阶段将确定并在必要时开发现场表征方法。 现场观察将通过调整水力裂缝生长的3-D模拟器（HYFRANC-3D）进行分析。 最终目标是发展根据现场条件预测裂缝形式的能力。 将通过将预测结果与先前调查期间产生水力压裂的十几个地点的观测结果进行比较，对从详细的现场和建模研究中得出的结论进行测试。该计划将提高我们对诱导裂缝的形成和地下效应的理解，同时训练学生将联合收割机实地调查与数学分析相结合，以调查断裂的水文系统。

9876124MurdochHydraulic fractures provide an opportunity to reduce the great expense of remediating fine-grained deposits. The purpose of this proposal is to use the mechanics and effects of induced fractures on hydrological systems as a basis for teaching and research in hydrogeology. The program will consist of a series of courses and a research effort into the application of hydraulic fractures. An important theme will be to improve the basic math skills and the ability of students to use those skills to solve problems related to mechanics and hydrogeology. The course sequence will begin with an introduction to the mathematical methods for analyzing geological processes in an approach intended to motivate students to learn mathematical methods as a means to improve their understanding of geology. A second course will cover the mechanics of fracturing and the hydrology of natural and induced fractures in sediment or rock based on finding from the research outlined below, and related material.The research will have two primary goals; one is to understand processes that control the form of a hydraulic fracture, the other is to understand how the flow of fluid is affected by creating sand-filled hydraulic fractures in low permeability materials. Both issues will be investigated by controlled field experiments and using theoretical models. Methods for measuring state-of-stress and fracture toughness (parameters critical to understanding fracture propagation) in shallow soils are limited, so the early stages of this research will identify and, if necessary, develop field methods for site characterization. Field observations will be analyzed by adapting a 3-D simulator of hydraulic fracture growth (HYFRANC-3D). The ultimate objective is to develop the capability to predict fracture form based on in-situ conditions. Conclusions derived from the detailed field and modeling studies will be tested by comparing predictions to observations from more than a dozen sites where hydraulic fractures were created during previous investigations. The program will advance our understanding of the formation and subsurface effects of induced fractures while training students to combine field investigations with mathematical analysis to investigate fractured hydrological systems.