NSF Award
9909110
9909110<br/>Koplik<br/><br/>This three-year award for U.S.-France collaboration involves Joel Koplik and a graduate student of the City College, City University of New York and Jean-Pierre Hulin of the University Marie and Pierre Curie in Paris, France. The investigators propose to study several interrelated problems involving transport phenomena in geological fracture systems. They will emphasize the consequences of pore space geometry associated with fractured rock surfaces and networks of fractions on fluid flow and on the motion of suspended particles. The key geometrical feature of this work is the self-affine nature of fracture surfaces and the resulting correlations in the velocity field when fluid flows through such a fracture. The U.S. investigator brings to this collaboration theoretical and numerical expertise. This will be complemented by the experimental studies on reconstructed fractures conducted by the French group. The project will advance understanding of the motions of fluids and particles in geological formations, with application to water supply, hydrocarbon production, and waste disposal. The work is motivated by environmental concerns about groundwater contamination and safe disposal of nuclear waste in fractured rocks. <br/><br/>This award represents the U.S. side of a joint proposal to the NSF and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses for the U.S. investigator and graduate student. The CNRS will support the visits of the French researchers to the United States.
