The way that fracture networks develop in granular and porous media is a question of importance to a wide range of applications, ranging from natural gas exploration to the failure of modern fuel cells. This award will support fundamental studies of how fluid flow can drive the evolution of fracture networks in granular systems. The inquiry is supported by recent observations indicating that "wettability", a measure of attraction between the fluids and the granular media, may play a vital and previously unexplored role in governing the fracture response. Insights from this study will help scientists and engineers identify the optimal process conditions to either increase or decrease fracture growth, as desired. The development of the new experiments and models will also provide training for new doctoral students from under-represented groups, transferring the requisite skills for them to address technologically important and challenging problems in flow-induced fracture. Finally, outreach activities to under-represented minority students in the STEM area are planned as part of this effort through a novel partnership with NC-SLI. In particular, a joint MIT-Duke workshop on emerging research in civil and environmental engineering will be set up to facilitate students from these groups pursuing summer research opportunities in this area.
This project is focused on the morphodynamics of hydrocapillary fracture in granular and porous media with an emphasis on the role of wettability. In particular, it concerns the response of idealized cells that are densely packed with quasi-porous media and saturated with a viscous defending fluid. Observations indicate a surprisingly strong dependence of fracture morphology on wetting properties, even at high injection rates where viscous forces dominate. The main objectives are to significantly advance the current understanding of hydrocapillary fracture, and to develop model-based simulation capabilities that are useful and predictive in this space. This will be effected through the development of an integrated suite of novel experiments and accompanying computational tools that allow emerging models of these systems to be fully explored. This joint effort will allow several open questions to be examined, such as the conditions that promote stable fracturing. A central question this project seeks to answer concerns the apparent "fracture toughness" of granular media, and how such toughness evolves as the media approaches a more conventional poroelastic solid.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
