Mathematical Modeling of Subsurface Fluid-Solid Interactions: From Minimal Models to Complex Dynamics
Overview
Fluid-solid interactions in the subsurface can give rise to complex dynamics, from unstable fault slip to intermittent clogging in particle-laden flows. In this talk, I will show how relatively simple mathematical models can be used to isolate the physical mechanisms governing these behaviors. Through examples involving fluid-induced fault slip and hydrodynamic bridging, I will discuss how nonlinear simulations and stability analysis reveal the role of pore-pressure feedback, and how extending minimal models to spatially distributed systems introduces localization and collective dynamics. Together, these examples illustrate how choosing the appropriate level of mathematical description can provide insight into complex fluid-solid systems.
Presenters
Maryam Alghannam, Ibn Rushd Assistant Professor, Earth Systems Science and Engineering
Brief Biography
Dr. Maryam Alghannam is an Ibn Rushd Assistant Professor of Earth Systems Science and Engineering, as well as of Mechanical Engineering at KAUST. She is the principal investigator of the Interface Physics and Poromechanics Lab. After working as a reservoir engineer in the oil and gas industry for a few years, she returned to academia to pursue an MS degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Computational Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2023, she joined the California Institute of Technology as the inaugural George Housner Postdoctoral Fellow in Earthquake Engineering. Maryam studies how fluids interact with faults and fractures in the subsurface and applies this knowledge to induced seismicity and enhanced geothermal systems. Her work appears in leading journals such as Nature Communications and Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids.