Dr. Bo Zhang, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta, presents his talk "Multi-scale, multi-physics and data-driven modeling framework for subsurface energy geotechnics".

Abstract: The net-zero emission goal in 2050 is driving a paradigm shift in the oil and gas industry to improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Oil sands in Alberta will still play an important role in providing a sustainable energy supply as solar, wind, and hydraulic power are subject to natural temporal fluctuations. The success of CO 2 capture, storage and utilization (CCUS) project demonstrates its potential to be a promising carbon mitigation technology and play an important role in economic growth and employment in the transforming energy sector. Dr. Zhang’s talk will focus on a multi-scale, multi-physics and data-driven modeling framework for subsurface energy geotechnics. The “multi-scale” component is a development of elastic and plastic numerical upscaling techniques and extending them using machine learning techniques for improved computational efficiency. The “multi-physics” component is the implementation of upscaling techniques to coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical simulations; therefore, it is possible to optimize the production performance while also ensuring caprock integrity for in-situ recovery of oil sands. The “data-driven” component is focused on the development of surrogate models using deep learning and pathways using the surrogate models for uncertainty quantification and optimizations for geological CO2 storage.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Zhang is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta, where he obtained his MSc in petroleum engineering and PhD in geotechnical engineering. He is a registered professional engineer and has been leading/involved in a variety of projects in subsurface energy geomechanics. Dr. Zhang is currently the PI for several research projects funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Alberta Innovates and #UAlberta Future Energy Systems that focus on 1) experimental and numerical investigations of thermal-hydro-mechanical-chemical response from pore to field scale; 2) multi-scale modelling and simulation of subsurface energy developments; and 3) data-driven decision-making in in-situ recovery/open-pit mining of oil sands, CO2 storage and utilization and geothermal system.

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