Paul Selvadurai, ETH

In triaxial tests on crystalline rock, the deformation and failure behavior can be complex and highly localized. Brittle failure in rock typically involves the formation and propagation of cracks or fractures, which can occur at various scales depending on the rock properties and loading conditions. In some cases, the deformation and failure behavior may be highly localized, with cracks or fractures forming in specific regions of the rock sample. This can be due to heterogeneities in the rock properties, stress concentrations, or the presence of pre-existing fractures that act as preferred pathways for crack propagation. To better understand the complex deformation researchers may use various experimental techniques, such as acoustic emission monitoring, digital image correlation, and computed tomography. These techniques can provide insights into the evolution of cracks and fractures within the rock sample, as well as the distribution of stress and strain. At ETH Zurich, in the Rock Physics and Mechanics laboratory, we have deployed distributed strain sensing (DSS) techniques with fiber optic technologies to continue to unravel the complex strain field – a rarely measured and difficult metric to constrain in triaxial rock deformation tests. This technique is of particular interest when studying the accumulation of damage and generation of shear fractures during failure tests. We pair this novel technology with the study of acoustic emissions (AE). The latter allows us to study failure processes by measuring local microcracking and fast deformation that can be interpreted by the seismic signatures using traditional seismological tools. We show a rich spatio-temporal understanding of deformation and illustrate how damage accumulates as microcracks in the sample grow and coalesce into an eventual macrofracture that leads to catastrophic brittle failure. Understanding the interplay between slow and fast deformation and how damage localizes in geomaterial can improve our fundamental understanding of subsurface processes and provide quantitative means to improve numerical techniques.

Short Biography
Paul is a senior researcher and lecturer at ETH Zurich and leader of the Laboratory Seismology group within the Rock Physics and Mechanics Laboratory. His interests include understanding frictional dynamics in complex systems, thermo-hydro-mechanical modeling, contact mechanics, rock physics, assessing critical point behavior among other topics. He believes that various attributes of these research topics can help bridge gaps that exist between the geophysical and geomechanical communities. He also leads the Laboratory Working group in the FEAR ERC project, where novel development at small scales can be immediately tested in large experiments at the Bedretto Underground Research Laboratory for Geosciences located in Switzerland. Prior to his current appointment, he completed his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley and obtained his M.Eng and B.Sc from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.