Taking fluid-rock interactions

Since water is everywhere in the crust, fluid-rock-interaction is traditionally one of the main research themes in Earth Sciences. However, in the past decades the vast majority of experimental rock mechanics studies used chemically simple solutions, which neglects the effect of realistic pore fluid constituents. We need a true understanding of the role of fluid chemistry on the mechanical and transport properties of rocks, since the use of the subsurface (hydrocarbon production, geothermal heat extraction, CO2 or wastewater injection) affects the pore fluid chemistry. I will perform rock deformation experiments with systematically varied pore fluid chemistry whilst measuring changes in the flow properties, followed by 3D analysis of the fracture network. I will use limestone, since the first Dutch deep geothermal targets lie in limestone, and it is relatively reactive at room temperature conditions.