Principal Investigator Franz-Josef Ulm
Shales are made of highly compacted clay particles of sub-micrometer size, nanometric porosity and different mineral compositions. Understanding the mechanical properties of shale is key to success in many fields of petroleum engineering and geophysics, ranging from seismic exploration to well drilling and production. Adequate knowledge of shale poromechanics is also important for the development of sustainable nuclear waste storage solutions. The challenge lies in how to translate the highly heterogenous nature of shale into new predictive models of its mechanical properties. In this project, the micromechanical modeling of shale is framed within the GeoGenomeTM approach, which is: break down materials to a scale where the mechanical behavior is governed by invariant properties, then upscale this behavior to the macroscale. Using this approach, we have been able to identify the building blocks that delineate the nanoscale behavior of the load-bearing clay phase in shale materials. The microporomechanics model is being validated at multiple-length scales using novel experimental results from nanoindentation, as well as data from conventional macroscopic techniques for elasticity and strength assessments.