------------------------------------------ Fluid flow ------------------------------------------
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Assessment and prediction of hydraulic properties (permeability) of fractures and porous media at pore-scale. Controlling and characterizing permeability of subsurface present a grand challenge, especially considering dynamic perturbations imposed by chemical and mechanical processes
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Capillary number, bond number, and viscosity ratio determined by the relevant dominance of viscous force, capillary force, and gravity overall control multiphase flow process. Unravel this complexity however necessitates the prio-knowledge of chemical and physical properties of water-mineral interactions.
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-------------------------------------------- Transport --------------------------------------------
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Non-Fickian transport through porous media and fractures is "ubiquitously" present. This is mainly caused by a fact that the local mixing is incomplete, or when a transport process fails to reaching time and length scales that satisfy widely-applied Fickian dispersion theory. Non-Fickian transport presents a great challenge to the removal of contaminants in hydrological environment.
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Matrix-fracture interaction presents a incomplete mixing case that solute/particles are more likely to migrate through fractures. |
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Feedback between flow and transport processes accounting for solid-water interactions. The role of fluid (groundwater) and how it mediates transport process (self-healing or self-enhancement) within a variety of geological and engineered environments continues to be challeging. |
----------------------------------------- Geomechanics ----------------------------------------
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The presence of fluid modifies the mechanical response of geological formations, whilst mechanical deformation changes the flow field in terms of altering permeability of porous and fractured media. This intrinsic hydromechanical coupling is poorly understood for fractures albeit critical to many geophysical problems.
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