Duke's Geomechanics and Geophysics for Energy and the Environment research group bridges the gap between geology and geophysics. It seeks to understand and address issues related to underground engineering, the exploration of oil, gas, methane hydrates, and more—as well as resource use and environmental hazards.
Hazards we address include earthquakes, sinkholes, desiccation soil cracking, material degradation, geostructure degradation, landslides and mudslides. We use geomechanics principles to assess wellbore stability, reservoir properties, nuclear waste geological disposal, landslide stability and hydraulic stimulations, including hydraulic fracking.
Research Areas
- Chemo-mechanical couplings in geomaterials
- Thermo-plasticity of soils and rocks
- Long-term multi-physics aspects of resilience of geo-structures
- Multi-physics of geological nuclear waste isolation
- Evaporation, drying and cracking of geomaterials
- Multi-physics aspects for friction laws
- Stability and bifurcation of multiphysical systems
- Computational geomechanics
- Non-invasive geophysical characterization of earth subsurface for engineering, energy and environmental applications
- Subsurface contamination and related health issues
- Stability of earth subsurface based on percolation theory
- Multiscale analysis of porous materials
- Stochastic modeling of heterogeneous materials
- Uncertainty quantification for complex systems
- Related Study Opportunities
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PhD and Master of Science (MS)
- Offer a study track in Geomechanics and Geophysics for Energy and the Environment study track
Master of Engineering (MEng) in Civil Engineering
- Offers a concentration in Geo-Systems
Undergraduate Research
- Major in Civil Engineering to have an authentic research experience in geomechanics and geophysics
