Course content

This course consists of rock mechanics (35%), reservoir geomechanics (35%), and soil mechanics (30% for engineering geology students) or flow in porous media (30% for petroleum technology students).

Rock mechanics (35%): It includes mechanical the Mohr circle method, mechanical properties and failure criteria (Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown) of rock and rock mass, failure criteria of rock joint, laboratory tests to determine the mechanical properties of rock, in situ stresses in the Earth's crust, in situ stress measurement methods, stress distribution around tunnels and caverns, forms of rock failure in underground and basics in rock slope stability analysis.

Reservoir geomechanics (35%): It focuses on pore pressure in the Earth's crust, tectonic stresses, normal and abnormal pore pressures, in situ stress determination methods, stresses near boreholes. Other topics are stability of boreholes during drilling, hydraulic fracturing, reservoir compaction and ground subsidence and the importance of rock mechanics in reservoir management.

Soil mechanics (30%): This part introduces basic engineering understanding of soil as a building material. The topics include classification and identification of soil types, water in soil, phase relations, soil compacting, total and effective stresses in soil, hydrostatic and artesian pressure, modulus concept, stiffness of soil, oedometer test, deformation and time development of settlements in soil. Experimental methods include laboratory exercises to determine mechanical properties of soils. Practical examples of geotechnical problems.

Or

Flow in porous media (30%): This part introduces properties of porous media and transport through porous media: Porosity, pore-scale and continuum-scale flow, permeability, flow equations for linear and radial flow, and well testing. The part on flow in porous media contains examples from geosciences, including water seepage in the subsurface, CO2 sequestration, and production of resources such as water from aquifers and hydrocarbon production.

Students in the specialization Petroleum and Reservoir Engineering i the study programme Goeresources and Geotechnology are to have the part Flow in porous media, all other students will have Soil mechanics unless otherwise individually approved by the department administration.

Learning outcome

Competence

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• Measure the Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and uniaxial compressive strength of rock materials
• Use Mohr-Coulomb and Hoek-Brown criteria in stability analyses
• Assess the in situ stress state in rock mass
• Carry out simple calculations and stability analyses related to foundation and underground excavations, rock slopes and geo-resource extractions

Students who take soil mechanics should be able to:

• Identify and classify soil types
• Assess stress conditions in soil
• Carry out calculations of settlements in soil

Students who take the flow part should be able to:

• Distinguish different types of porosity
• Describe fluid flow in simple pore geometries
• Use Darcy’s law to calculate fluid flow
• Perform analyses of well tests

Knowledge and skills

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• Understand mechanical properties and strengths of rocks and rock masses
• Understand the principles of the in situ stress determination methods
• Understand how stress conditions change as a result of excavation in rock and soil, and how such changes affect soil settlements and structure stability
• Understand the basic parts of poroelasticity theory
• Understand the effective stress principle
• Understand how the most important mechanical properties of rock and soil are determined in the laboratory
• Understand the stress state and pore pressure in soil and rock mass
• Perform stress analysis using the Mohr circle method

Students who take soil mechanics should be able to:

• Understand composition of soil and it’s effects on mechanical properties of soil
• Understand stress conditions in soil
• Understand the difference between total stresses, pore pressure, and effective stresses
• Understand consolidation of soil
• Understand soil stiffness and calculations of settlements

Students taking the flow section should be able to:

• Understand how different types of porosity affect transport
• Understand how permeability depends on porosity and pore structure
• Derive the diffusion equation for flow in porous media
• Differences between transient and steady flow, and how this leads to different types of well test analyses.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures, mandatory laboratory tests, mandatory exercises

Compulsory assignments

• Exercises
• Laboratory tests

Required previous knowledge

TKT4126 Mechanics or other relevant courses in mechanics

Course materials

Lecture folders in PDF-format and presentation slides.

Credit reductions