Course content

The course consists of two parts, one flow part (50%) and one rock mechanics part (50%). The flow part deals with porous media characteristics and transport in porous media: Porosity, permeability, flow equations for single- and multi-phase flow, capillary pressure, and relative permeability. The flow part also deals with applications in earth sciences, such as seepage through the subsurface, CO2 sequestration, and the production of georesources such as water and hydrocarbons. The rock mechanic part deals with tensions and pore pressure in the earth's crusts, tectonic tensions, normal and abnormal pore pressures, tension determination, rock mechanic field and laboratory experiments, mechanical properties of rocks, tensions close to wells, and subsurface holes. Other topics are: Stability of wells during drilling, sand/particle production, hydraulic fracturing, reservoir compaction and surface setting, the significance of rock mechanics in reservoir control, and the use of rock mechanics in relation to rock installations.

Learning outcome

Ingress: The subject should give basic knowledge about flow in porous media related to reservoir engineering and hydrogeological applications, and basic understanding of geomechanics and its importance in mining operations, tunnel constructions and exploitation of georesources.

Knowledge:

From the part of the course presenting flow in porous media the students should understand all important rock and fluid parameters in a reservoir and their significance for the fluid distribution and fluid flow in porous media.

From the land-based geomechanics part of the course, the students should understand the stability of tunnels, underground caverns, and land slopes. From the reservoir geomechanics part of the course, the students should obtain an understanding of tension and pore pressure in the earth's crust, a basic understanding of poro elasticity theory, the principle of effective tension, and fracturing mechanisms in rocks, and knowledge of the most important geomechanical parameters and how these can be determined from measurements in the laboratory and in the field.

Skills: From the flow in porous media part of the course the students should be capable of performing simple calculations of fluid distribution and fluid transport in porous media. From the geomechanics part of the course the students should be able to apply geomechanics to perform simple calculations related to installations in rocks and to resource exploitation.

Learning methods and activities

Lectures and compulsory exercises. The course will be evaluated by the students via a reference group.

Compulsory assignments

• Exercises

Course materials

Distributed lecture notes.