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RMAG: Luncheon
October 4, 2023 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
JOIN US FOR A HYBRID LUNCH IN OCTOBER. SIGN UP FOR IN-PERSON OR ONLINE OPTIONS ABOVE.
Talk Title: Effects of variation in mechanical rock properties on fracture type and gradient
Speaker: Elizabeth S Petrie, Western Colorado University
Fluid cycling and fracture permeability in the brittle crust is important to groundwater flow, waste storage, dissemination of minerals and the migration and accumulation of hydrocarbons. Subsurface injection of large-volume, high-pressure fluids is integral to development of unconventional resources, fluid disposal and enhanced geothermal production. As injection technologies improve and are deployed at a large scale, societal impacts and safety considerations require site-specific risk assessments.
Mechanical failure in rocks is a function of cohesive, tensile, and frictional strengths and the current and historic in situ stress. In this talk, results from laboratory testing of analog clastic rocks are used to determine modified Coulomb-Griffith failure envelopes. Laboratory results show the maximum pressures each intact rock type can withstand and how these types of analyses can be used in risk assessments to better constrain the conditions under which mechanical failure can occur. These results illustrate how lateral and vertical anisotropy including lithological changes, the presence of fractures, or structural diagenesis associated with faults will result in variations in failure envelopes and fracture gradients.
Bio:
Elizabeth S. Petrie is the Moncrief Chair in Petroleum Geology and Professor of Geology at Western Colorado University. She has B.S. degrees in geology and biology from the University of New Mexico, an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. in geology from Utah State University and worked as a petroleum geologist for 7 years. Since 2014, she has been a professor at Western Colorado University where she actively involves undergraduate students in research projects that focus on structural geology, rock mechanics, and fracture development.
Dr. Petrie studies deformation of the Earth’s crust and how this deformation influences and is influenced by the movement of fluids in the subsurface. Her research combines quantitative observation from outcrop, laboratory experiments and subsurface data sets to understand the formation and distribution of fractures and fault zones and the role variations in rock mechanical properties have on failure across many scales of observation. Her research is applicable to a variety of topics including: understanding earthquake processes, the distribution of energy and mineral resources, and the subsurface storage of carbon dioxide or other waste materials.
Hybrid luncheon schedule:
- 11:15am: In-person check-in opens
- 11:30: Lunch service begins
- 12:00pm: Online event opens
- 12:15pm: Talk begins
- 1:00pm: Talk/Q&A session ends; Online event closes
Hybrid Luncheon costs:
- Member Lunch: $35
- Non-Member Lunch: $40
- Walk-in without Lunch: $15
- Member Online: $10
- Non-member Online: $20
- Student online: Free
Refund policy:
If you need to cancel an in-person lunch registration for any reason, you must do so by 4:00pm on the Thursday before the Wednesday luncheon. Refunds will not be available after 4:00pm on the Thursday before the luncheon. If you are unable to attend, your luncheon registration is transferable to another RMAG member, or if you are a non-member your registration is transferable to whomever you wish. Refunds will not be issued for online talk registrations.
Sponsorship Opportunities:
Interested in supporting RMAG through the Luncheons? Sponsor the lunch, the cash bar, or run a specific advertisement during the slide show.