Planning I/UCRC California Institute of Technology: Center for Geomechanics and Mitigation of Geohazards

California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Geomechanics and Mitigation of Geohazards at Caltech will lead and coordinate industry relevant, pre-competitive, fundamental research on pressing societal needs such as the efficient extraction of oil/gas and geothermal resources and the mitigation of natural and man-made hazards like earthquakes triggered by energy harvesting activities. Twenty Caltech faculty whose expertise spans the fields of geophysics, geology, mechanical and civil engineering, and information sciences will work through this Center to push the envelope of fundamental understandings of geomaterials and geomechanics by leveraging cutting-edge modeling, computing, monitoring, and remote sensing. The planning phase of the Center that this grant makes possible includes the organization of a one and a half-day planning workshop, where representatives of industry and the public sector meet with Center faculty to present and agree on an initial research agenda, center policies, and establish the Industrial Advisory Board. At the planning meeting, the Center will build on existing strong partnerships and target new members in the public sector including the City of Los Angeles; regional utilities; engineering consulting, design, and construction firms; insurance companies; and the energy sector. The models, methodologies, and tools developed for these constituents, with support from the Center, will become part of the public domain through research publications and presentations that benefit a wide range of hazard-mitigating activities, companies beyond Center membership, and society as a whole. Participation of graduate and undergraduate students in the research pursued by the Center will educate a new generation of academic and industrial leaders in science and engineering. Caltech faculty will incorporate Center-supported research into their lectures, projects, and open-ended assignments, educating a broad swath of students in science and engineering about the industrially and societally relevant problems and their solutions. The Center for Geomaterials and Geomechanics builds on Caltech's successful tradition of creating robust solutions to address industrial and societal needs rooted in fundamental science and the understanding of underlying phenomena. The Center will target applications that require the interconnected areas of (1) predictive modeling of geomaterials deformation and failure rooted in laboratory studies and field observations; (2) detailed innovative imaging of the subsurface and ground deformation/shaking; and (3) the development of hazard-mitigating tools and technologies. Successful developments in the fields of geomaterial modeling and geohazard mitigation are tightly connected and require a combination of multi-scale, multi-physics models; imaging methodologies; data analytics and inverse problem algorithms; and cutting edge computational, monitoring, and laboratory testing facilities. The twenty Caltech faculty involved in the start up of this Center are at the forefront of these activities. Projects to be carried out under the auspices of the Center for Geomaterials and Geomechanics will advance fundamental understanding of geomaterials and their failure including hydraulic fracturing, the effects of fluid injection, earthquake sources, soil liquefaction, landslides, and debris flows. Additional activities will include the development of innovative imaging techniques, including space-based technologies and dense ground monitoring networks; and create hazard-mitigating tools, including advanced early warning algorithms for earthquakes and loss estimation methodologies as well as distributed infrastructure systems. The Center will bring rigor in the areas of geomechanics, imaging, and geohazards to industry and society by providing highly collaborative solutions that bridge the academic, industrial, and public sector.