Structural Geology And Geomechanics

Geomechanics investigates the origin, magnitude and deformational consequences of stresses in the crust. In recent years awareness of geomechanical processes has been heightened by societal debates on fracking, human-induced seismicity, natural geohazards and safety issues with respect to petroleum exploration drilling, carbon sequestration and radioactive waste disposal. This volume explores the common ground linking geomechanics with inter alia economic and petroleum geology, structural geology, petrophysics, seismology, geotechnics, reservoir engineering and production technology. Geomechanics is a rapidly developing field that brings together a broad range of subsurface professionals seeking to use their expertise to solve current challenges in applied and fundamental geoscience. A rich diversity of case studies herein showcase applications of geomechanics to hydrocarbon exploration and field development, natural and artificial geohazards, reservoir stimulation, contemporary tectonics and subsurface fluid flow. These papers provide a representative snapshot of the exciting state of geomechanics and establish it firmly as a flourishing subdiscipline of geology that merits broadest exposure across the academic and corporate geosciences.

The 30th International Geological Congress was held in Beijing, China in August 1997. Leading scientists convened to present their findings and views to the international geological research community. Volume 14 of 26 focuses on structural geology and geomechanics. All articles in the proceedings have been refereed and keynote papers have been included in Volume 1. These proceedings aim to present a view of contemporary geology and should be of interest to researchers in the geological sciences.

From the reviews: "...one of the charms of this book is that it is different from both structural geology text books and mechanics texts. Bayly has brought these two fields together admirably, with great intelligence, imagination and originality. For this reason alone, I think all active structural geologists, whether in research or teaching, and particularly those concerned with theory, should read this book." (Journal of Structural Geology)

The 30th International Geological Congress was held in Beijing, China in August 1997. Leading scientists convened to present their findings and views to the international geological research community. Volume 14 of 26 focuses on structural geology and geomechanics. All articles in the proceedings have been refereed and keynote papers have been included in Volume 1. These proceedings aim to present a view of contemporary geology and should be of interest to researchers in the geological sciences.

Different applications of linear elasticity in structural geology are presented in this thesis through the development of three types of numerical computer codes. The first one uses forward modeling to study displacement and perturbed stress fields around complexly faulted regions. We show that incorporating inequality constraints, such as static Coulomb friction, enables one to explain the angle of initiation of jogs in extensional relays. Adding heterogeneous material properties and optimizations, such as parallelization on multicore architectures and complexity reduction, admits more complex models. The second type deals with inverse modeling, also called parameter estimation. Linear slip inversion on faults with complex geometry, as well as paleo-stress inversion using a geomechanical approach, are developed. The last type of numerical computer code is dedicated to restoration of complexly folded and faulted structures. It is shown that this technique enables one to check balanced cross-sections, and also to retrieve fault chronology. Finally, we show that this code allows one to smooth noisy 3D interpreted faulted and folded horizons using geomechanics.

This series, under the editorship of Professor H.J. Zwart, will deal with all topics within this field, such as: micro structures, large scale tectonics, experimental structural geology, fabrics, rock mechanics, and modelling in structural geology. The aim is to publish advanced level reference books to provide state-of-the-art reviews of these and other aspects of structural geology. This series will be of value to researchers and professionals in structural geology, rock mechanics, petroleum geology and tectonophysics.This first volume in the series deals with the mechanics of tectonic faulting and its central theme is the formation of faults in the tectonic stress field and the interaction between faults and stresses. The author, Dr. G. Mandl, was one of the top research people with Shell International Research. Part I of the book deals with the mechanical genesis of general fault features, such as fault shape and antithetic, precursory and secondary faulting and elaborates on these more general aspects within the context of specific tectono-mechanical models for extensional faulting and thrusting. Besides critical reviews, Part I contains a number of new or hitherto unpublished results, in particular on model experiments and numerical analyses. The central chapter of Part II presents a full introduction into mechanical theory and rock plasticity - the theory most adequate to tectonic faulting and therefore forming the backbone of the book. Besides presentations of basic concepts of stress and strain, special chapters are devoted to poro-elasticity and fluid flow through porous rocks. This branch of geomechanics requires a multidisciplinary approach that combines continuum mechanics, rock mechanics and structural geology, and applies theoretical, numerical and experimental methods, together with the study of field cases. The book has evolved from such multidisciplinary research and is written for structural geologists, petroleum geologists, engineering geologists, rock engineers and geophysicists whose work demands a similar approach. In addition, the book is intended to encourage mechanical engineers and even mathematicians to enter the fascinating and in parts still untilled fields of tectono-mechanical processes in the Earth's crust. The book is richly illustrated by drawings, photographs and reproductions of seismic records.

Geology Applied to Engineering bridges the gap between the two fields through its versatile application of the physical aspects of geology to engineering design and construction. The Second Edition elucidates real-world practices, concerns, and issues for today’s engineering geologists and geotechnical engineers. Both undergraduate and graduate students will benefit from the book’s thorough coverage, as will professionals involved in assessing sites for engineering projects, evaluating construction materials, developing water resources, and conducting tests using industry standards. West and Shakoor offer expanded coverage of important topics such as slope stability and ground subsidence and significant fields in engineering geology, such as highways, dams, tunnels, and rock blasting. In order to allow for the diverse backgrounds of geologists and engineers, material on the properties of minerals, rocks, and soil provides a working knowledge of applied geology as a springboard to more comprehensive subjects in engineering. Example problems throughout the text demonstrate the practical applications of soil mechanics, rock weathering and soils, structural geology, groundwater, and geophysics. Thought-provoking and challenging exercises supplement core concepts such as determining shear strength and failure conditions, calculating the depth needed for borings, reading and analyzing maps, and constructing stratigraphic cross sections.

"This interdisciplinary book encompasses the fields of rock mechanics, structural geology and petroleum engineering to address a wide range of geomechanical problems that arise during the exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs. It considers key practical issues such as prediction of pore pressure, estimation of hydrocarbon column heights and fault seal potential, determination of optimally stable well trajectories, casing set points and mud weights, changes in reservoir performance during depletion, and production-induced faulting and subsidence. The book establishes the basic principles involved before introducing practical measurement and experimental techniques to improve recovery and reduce exploitation costs. It illustrates their successful application through case studies taken from oil and gas fields around the world. This book is a practical reference for geoscientists and engineers in the petroleum and geothermal industries, and for research scientists interested in stress measurements and their application to problems of faulting and fluid flow in the crust."--Back cover.