Experimental setup used to study the fault rheology and fluid transport in rock samples. The sample is placed within a pressure vessel to study its behavior under pressures that mimic real-world conditions.

Project Description

This project is studying the geophysical and mineralogical controls on fracture failure induced either seismically or aseismically, and how this relates to anticipated magnitudes of permeability change and the potential for seal/caprock breaching. The project work provides improved understanding of geomechanical processes and impacts critical to carbon dioxide (CO₂) injection operations.

Project Benefits

This project is focused on examining geophysical and mineralogical controls of caprocks on fault slip, permeability evolution, and the potential for seal breaching. Increased understanding of physical and chemical controls of fracture behavior will provide a fundamental understanding of the key mechanical and mineralogical processes influencing seismic and aseismic reactivation of faults/fractures, healing of faults/fractures, and the evolution of multiphase flow and transport properties. This will contribute to developing simulation tools to reduce the risk and increase certainty associated with long-term CO₂ subsurface storage operations. Specifically, this project will perform testing on rock samples to study faulting and fracturing and use that data to develop models that describe caprock responses to stress as well as provide a caprock screening tool.

Contact Information

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