PhD position: Spatiotemporal Evolution of Excavation-Disturbed Zones in Fractured Geological/Rock Media

Nuclear power is low-carbon energy. It plays an important role in the global transition to a low-carbon economy. One major disadvantage of nuclear power is that its generation process produces radioactive waste, which can remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. Over the past more than 60 years of utilisation of nuclear power in the UK and worldwide, many radioactive wastes have accumulated. Most of the waste are stored temporarily in storage near nuclear power plants. It is important to deal with the waste in a manner that protects both human health and the environment. One solution is to permanently isolate the waste that is incompatible with surface disposal in suitable underground rock formations by developing a geological disposal facility (GDF).

The development of GDF involves a series of underground excavations of tunnels and drifts in host geological media, which will lead to Excavation-Disturbed Zones (EDZ) where in-situ stress is redistributed, with the formation of fractures at different scales. EDZ introduces pathways for groundwater, gas, and radionuclides, which modulates the safety barrier function of host geological media (e.g., crystalline, clay, and salt). Constraining the long-term spatial evolution of EDZ under complex coupled subsurface conditions will inform the operational and closure stages of GDF, which is critically important for the sustainable geological disposal of radioactive waste.

This PhD project aims to develop a 3D coupled numerical model to examine the spatiotemporal evolution of EDZ in fractured geological media. This PhD research is closely related to our recent EPSRC-funded INFORM project (Influence of fracture heterogeneity on rock deformation and failure: a mechanics-based multi-scale framework for radioactive waste disposal). The successful candidate will join the INFORM project team and will have opportunities to engage with our excellent academic and industry partners.

Candidates should hold a first-class or a strong upper second class degree in rock mechanics, geosciences, geotechnics, or a related discipline, ideally with experience in Discrete Element Method (e.g., PFC), coupled numerical modelling, and coding. Excellent English communication and team-working skills are a must.

The scholarship covers tuition fees at the UK home rate and a tax-free stipend (£16,125 pa for 2023/24) for 3.5 years. The successful candidate is expected to start in October 2023. Due to the nature of funding, the position is only open to UK home students. We also welcome inquiries from international students for this project, but please mention your funding sources when emailing us.

For informal inquiries, please email Dr Junlong Shang (junlong.shang@glasgow.ac.uk)