Elisenda Bakker

ERE Energy, Resources and the Environment

The 2014 Outstanding Student Poster (OSP) Award is awarded to Elisenda Bakker for the poster/PICO entitled:

How does the composition affect the mechanical behaviour of simulated clay-rich fault gouges? (Bakker, E.; Spiers, C. J.; Hangx, S. J. T.)

I’m a PhD student at the High Pressure and Temperature Laboratory (HPT-Lab), Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, under supervision of Prof. Dr. Chris Spiers, Dr. Suzanne Hangx and Dr. Andre Niemeijer. My PhD-research falls within the framework of the European FP7 ULTimateCO2 Program, focusing on getting a better understanding of the long-term processes involved in the geological storage of CO2, in order to increase confidence in the long-term efficiency and safety of CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage). Within this context, I investigate the coupled chemical and poro-mechanical effect of long-term CO2-exposure on both reservoir rock and clay-rich caprock. In particular, I focus on pre-existing gouge-filled faults, potentially present in such formations, to see how CO2-exposure will affect the slip behaviour of these material after CO2-fluid-rock interaction. During the EGU 2014 poster session of ERE 2.2, I presented the latest work on friction behaviour and flow properties of gouge-filled faults in clay-rich caprocks. The results indicate that the frictional behaviour will be slightly reduced due to CO2-alteration, i.e. it will be easier to move the fault, and but that fluid flow along the fault to the surface will become more difficult once the fault has moved a (small) distance, i.e. it will be more difficult for stored CO2 to leak out of the system.