ABSTRACT:

The permeability and mechanics of fine-grained sedimentary media (such as shales or mudstones) is a recurrent question in a variety of energy technologies that rely on the subsurface, including carbon capture and storage and radioactive waste storage. Macroscale data on the permeability and mechanics of these materials are summarized and shown to demonstrate a dependence on porosity, mineralogy, and pore fluid chemistry. Important insight into the observed trends are shown to be accessible through meso- and nanoscale simulation approaches including computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

BRIEF ACADEMIC/EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:

Ian Bourg is an Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University. He obtained his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2004 and served as a career-track Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab until 2014 before joining the faculty at Princeton.

MOST RECENT RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Current interests include the properties of water at interfaces, with a particular emphasis on (a) the impact of clay minerals in the geochemistry, hydrology, and mechanics of soils and sedimentary media, (b) the distinct properties of water in thin films and nanopores.