Coupled processes in environmental geomechanics: theoretical, computational and experimental modelling

环境地质力学是解决力学、物理和化学相互作用复杂的地质环境问题的关键学科，它深刻地影响着岩土材料行为的模拟。探索基金的基本主题与材料中的热-水-机械-化学(THMC)耦合有关，并侧重于以下方面：(I)化学界面及其对用于废物遏制的土工合成屏障的力学和完整性的影响；(Iii)易受化学破坏的岩土材料中的THMC过程及其在地质储存二氧化碳方面的应用；以及(Iii)多孔岩石中的THMC耦合过程，特别是流体传输过程中的热致水力滞后。这些专题对地质环境工作至关重要，因为地质环境工作对人类健康和环境有影响，特别是因为它们涉及到遏制来自尾矿和垃圾填埋场的有毒废物、从地质上封存含盐含水层和酸性矿山废水中的二氧化碳，以及对高排放热量的核燃料废物进行深层地质储存。这项研究涉及模型开发、实验室实验和计算建模，可视为全面实地调查的必要前奏。计算模型的开发及其依靠实验的验证是建立在科学方法基础上的，是至关重要的，特别是当替代方案涉及昂贵的现场规模试验时，这些试验缺乏对模型开发的充分定义。鉴于与许多遏制战略有关的时间尺度，计算方法是必要的：例如，对核废物隔离感兴趣的时间尺度大约是10000年，而废物中渗滤液和有毒物质的储存和遏制以及二氧化碳的地质封存必须被视为永久性的。Discovery Grant将培训环境地质机械师，使他们对实验研究和复杂模型的重要性(和局限性)有一个平衡的看法，并为加拿大和国际的科学、工程和监管机构提供资产。

Environmental geomechanics is the key discipline for solving geoenvironmental problems that have complex interactions between mechanics, physics and chemistry, which profoundly influences the modelling of geomaterial behaviour. The underlying theme of the Discovery Grant relates to Thermo- Hydro- Mechanical- Chemical(THMC) coupling in materials and focuses on the following:(i) Chemical interfaces and their influence on the mechanics and integrity of geosynthetic barriers used in waste containment, (iii) THMC processes in geomaterials susceptible to chemical damage with applications to geologic storage of CO2, and (iii) Coupled THM processes in porous rocks with special reference to heat-induced hydraulic hysteresis in the fluid transport processes. These topics are critically important to geoenvironmental endeavours, which has an impact on human health and the environment, particularly as they relate to containment of toxic wastes derived from mine tailings and landfill, geologic sequestration of CO2 in saline aquifers and acid mine drainage and the deep geologic storage of high-level heat-emitting nuclear fuel wastes. The research involves model development, laboratory experimentation and computational modelling and can be viewed as a necessary prelude to full-scale field investigations. Computational model development and their validation by recourse to experiments is well founded in the scientific method and is vital, particularly when the alternative involves costly field scale tests that lack sufficient definition for model development. Computational approaches are necessary in view of time scales relevant to many containment strategies: e.g. the time scales of interest to nuclear waste isolation are of the order of 10,000 years, while storage and containment of leachate and toxic materials from wastes and geologic sequestration of CO2 have to be regarded as permanent. The Discovery Grant will train environmental geomechanicists with a balanced outlook on the importance (and limitations) of experimental research and sophisticated modelling, and an asset to scientific, engineering and regulatory communities in Canada and internationally.