Research Agenda

The following is a summary of the funded research topics carried out in the Dr. Gutierrez Geomechanics Group.

Experimental Geomechanics from element to scale-model testing with Seismic and AE monitoring – new insights on old problems

Constitutive Models have been developed for:

•Sands to simulate stress-increment dependent and non-coaxial plastic flow during principal stress rotation

•Sands to simulate static liquefaction under undrained conditions

•Chalk to simulate shear failure and time-dependent pore collapse accounting for chalk-water-oil interaction

•Shales and sandstones to simulate rate-dependent stress-strain, shear failure, and strain softening and anisotropy

Strain Localization in geomaterials from the lab to the field scale predicted as a bifurcation in the constitutive relations

Multi-Scale Modeling from discrete element modeling (DEM) to continuum and finite element/difference modeling (FEM/FDM) used to simulate strain localization and strain softening in granular materials

Multi-Scale Modeling using DEM with advanced particle contact models to simulate the effects of microstructure in the failure and fracturing of rocks.

Coupled HTM (hydro-thermo-mechanical) modeling - Biot’s Poromechanics Theory is extended and applied to deformable porous and fractured geomaterials with multi-phase pore fluids under isothermal or non-isothermal conditions. We first advocated using coupled H-M to analyze the subsidence in the Ekofisk, the largest oil field in the North Sea. Currently, we use coupled HTM simulation for Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and CO2 Geological Sequestration (CO2 GS).

GEOLOGICAL FIELD WORKS – provide data to validate and refine models and motivations for new research

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