Postgraduate Student

Education & Biography

2019-Present: PhD Student – GeoEnergy, Lyell Centre, Heriot-Watt University, UK
2016-2018: MSc Geosciences (focus: Geophysics) – Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
2013-2016: BSc Geosciences – Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany

Research Interests

– Maintenance and improvement of Enhanced Geothermal Systems
– Fluid-rock interaction under geothermal conditions
– Flow-through experiments on bulk and fractured rocks
– Rock friction and its relation to microstructure of fractures
– Microphysical modelling

PhD Project

To maintain an efficient long-term operation of enhanced geothermal systems and to minimize the risks of negative effects like induced seismicity it is crucial to improve the steering potential of the hydraulic and mechanical properties of faults through understanding the acting processes. Therefore, investigations of the feedback between fluid flow and transport properties as for example by alteration of fault materials are central to reliably predict the evolution of a system during production. The project aims to analyze the feedback between fluid flow, transport properties and frictional properties of faults through an approach that combines experimental work with microstructural investigations and microphysical modelling.

Objectives:

1. Generation of experimental data that show the effect of flow-through of undersaturated geothermal fluids under varying conditions on composition and permeability of fault rocks
2. Investigation of the microstructural evolution of the fault surfaces in sequential breaks of the flow-through experiments and how the different conditions affect the frictional properties of the fault
3. Creation of a microphysical model capable of reconstructing the measured trends leading to model predictions on the effect of flow-through on geothermal systems

📧 Email: nh57@hw.ac.uk