Post doctoral position in geomechanics at CSIRO Petroleum, Melbourne, Australia

https://recruitment.csiro.au/asp/job_details.asp?RefNo=2007%2F1216

The post doctoral fellow will be engaged in research on the mechanics of hydraulic fracturing of rock. The primary aim of this project is to investigate, using a novel approach for experimentation spanning laboratory and field scales, the effect of fracture size on the energy required for fracture extension in rock.

This fundamental issue of the size effect in rock fracturing has significant consequences for optimizing industrial hydraulic fractures for stimulation of petroleum production, preconditioning ore bodies for block cave mining, and modelling the growth of magmatic intrusions which potentially comprise some of the best available data relevant to hydraulic fracture growth.

Because the experiments require careful monitoring of hydraulic fractures in field-scale experiments, the project will focus firstly on development and field deployment of a novel borehole-based method for monitoring hydraulic fracture geometry. Through this development, the individual will gain exposure to the use of hydraulic fracturing for ore body preconditioning. The individual will also design and perform hydraulic fracturing experiments at both the laboratory and field scales. Finally, the individual will couple the experimental data with physical and mathematical analysis to provide a rigorous and experimentally verified approach to the size effect in rock fracturing. 

See https://recruitment.csiro.au/asp/job_details.asp?RefNo=2007%2F1216 for more details.