Rock mechanics

The rock units I study are very heterogenous and I use rock mechanics experiments to characterise the variability in their mechanical properties. Most rock mechanics experiments are done in a lab with precisely prepared samples. To fully characterise heterogenous rock units this way requires a very large number of samples and tests. Sampling and preparation processes also risk introducing biases as the strongest rocks cannot easily be recovered from the outcrop and the weakest rocks do not survive sampling and preparation. The processes of sampling and preparation also introduce damage which cannot be accounted for. As such, my research includes in-situ measurements from systematically distributed sites and statistical analysis — calibrated with lab-based experiments — to overcome these challenges.

Selected Figures