USACM Technical Thrust Areas

 

Committee: Energy & Earth Systems

Description: The USACM Energy & Earth Systems TTA encompasses a broad range of topics involving the modeling and analysis of Earth systems and energy applications.  Topics relevant to the TTA include: climate and Earth system modeling; climate couplings; geomechanics; wind, solar and nuclear energy; carbon sequestration, capture and storage; oil/gas recovery.  The TTA will promote advancements in both traditional first principles-based modeling and simulation, as well as the development of innovative data-driven model reduction and analysis methods, applied to the aforementioned domains.

Chair: Irina Tezaur, Sandia National Laboratories
Vice-Chair: Steve WaiChing Sun, Columbia University
Members-at-Large: Yuri Bazilevs, Brown University
Clint Dawson, The University of Texas at Austin

 

View Members

 

Webinar Series

December 17, 2024, 8:00AM PST

Join via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89805920868?pwd=UaxOZeVHZAs9BeKkjqRWbNadZYCIZo.1

Speaker: Prof. D. Todd Griffith, The University of Texas at Dallas

Title: Multidisciplinary Challenges in the Design and Operation of Offshore Wind Energy Systems

Abstract: Wind energy installations have shown strong growth in recent decades, especially on land, while offshore deployments are also gaining momentum. Wind turbines are the largest rotating structures in the world (e.g., the GE Haliade X wind turbine produces 14MW with blades longer than a football field at 107 meters in length). Despite the progress, new research is needed to develop the next generation of large-scale, reliable wind energy systems, especially in the nascent offshore environment. This presentation will cover multidisciplinary challenges in the design and operation of offshore wind systems. Several recent and ongoing studies will be presented that include design of floating offshore wind systems, new concepts such as floating offshore vertical axis wind turbines, and multi-fidelity wind turbine digital twins for asset management.

Bio: Dr. D. Todd Griffith is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas. Griffith leads a research group focused on developing new technology solutions in wind turbine design and structural dynamics. Prior to joining UT Dallas in Fall of 2017, Griffith was a researcher (Principal Member of the Technical Staff) at Sandia National Laboratories. There, he was the Technical Lead for Sandia’s Offshore Wind Energy Program, responsible for developing and leading national projects for the US Department of Energy. Prior to joining Sandia, he completed PhD work at Texas A&M University in Aerospace Engineering, and BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Griffith is the co-founder and Deputy Director of the UT-Dallas Center for Wind Energy.

February 25, 2025, 8:00AM PST

Speaker: Valerio Lucarini, University of Leicester

Title: TBD

April 1, 2025, 8:00AM PDT

Speaker: Prof. Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, Iowa State University

Title: Building Resilience through Computational Mechanics: From Microclimate Aware Urban Planning to Climate-Resilient Agriculture

April 22, 2025, 8:00AM PDT

Speaker: Assistant Professor Hannah Lu, The University of Texas at Austin

Title: TBD

---

Past Webinars

November 12, 2024, 8:00AM PST

Speaker: Prof. Ning Lin, Princeton University

Title: Tropical Cyclone Hazards and Risk in a Changing Climate

Abstract: Tropical cyclones (TCs) cause much damage and loss of life worldwide. The impacts of TCs may worsen in the coming decades due to rapid coastal development coupled with sea-level rise and possibly increasing TC activity due to climate change. Here we discuss about TC hazard projection and risk management in a holistic modeling framework. First, we introduce probabilistic TC models that can be used to generate large numbers of synthetic storms with physically correlated characteristics under projected climate conditions. Second, we discuss about TC wind, rainfall, and surge hazard modeling, and the coupling with the TC models to estimate individual and compound hazard probabilities in a changing climate. Then, we discuss about infrastructure vulnerability modeling, and the coupling with the TC hazard projection to estimate future TC risk and develop risk management strategies. We focus on two examples, namely, TC-blackout-heatwave compound risk and adaptive coastal protection.

Bio: Ning Lin is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University, where she has affiliate appointments with Princeton School for Public and International Affairs, Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment, High Meadows Environmental Institute, and Department of Geosciences. Lin’s research areas include Natural Hazards and Risk Analysis, Wind Engineering, Coastal Engineering, and Climate Change Impact and Adaptation. Her current primary focus is hurricane risk analysis. She integrates science, engineering, and policy to study hurricane-related weather extremes (strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges, and compounding sea level rise and heatwaves), how they change with changing climate, and how their impact on society can be better mitigated. Lin has published in high-impact journals including Science, Nature Climate Change, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. She is a recipient of CAREER award from National Science Foundation (NSF), Natural Hazards Early Career Award and Global Environmental Change Early Career Award from American Geophysical Union, Huber Research Prize from American Society of Civil Engineers, and The Walter Orr Roberts Lectureship by American Meteorological Society (“for pioneering physics-based weather risk analysis by integrating state-of-the-art weather and risk modeling to understand hurricane hazards under climate change”). Lin has been the lead PI or Co-PI for several large NSF projects, including Interdisciplinary Research in Hazards and Disasters (Hazards SEES), Prediction of and Resilience against Extreme Events (PREEVENTS), and Coastlines and People Hubs for Research and Broadening Participation (CoPe). Lin received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton University in 2010. She also received a certificate in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy in 2010 from Princeton. Before rejoining Princeton as an assistant professor in 2012, she conducted research in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT as a NOAA Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellow.

October 15, 2024, 8:00AM PT

Speaker: Dr. Alejandro Mota, Sandia National Laboratories

Title: Assessing permafrost demise and infrastructure destabilization using the Arctic Coastal Erosion (ACE) model

Abstract: The Arctic holds one-third of the world's coastline and faces rapid, episodic coastal erosion that current permafrost erosion tools fail to fully explain. In this talk, we introduce the Arctic Coastal Erosion (ACE) model, a novel multi-physics finite element framework designed to simulate permafrost degradation in Arctic coastal regions. The ACE model integrates two key components: A solid mechanics model that calculates 3D stress, strain, and displacement in permafrost, using a plasticity model dependent on frozen water content; and an innovative thermal model that governs 3D heat conduction and the solid-liquid phase transitions within the permafrost.

These components are sequentially coupled through a thermo-mechanical scheme, implemented in the open-source Albany/LCM finite element code. This approach allows us to simulate deformation-induced failures, such as block failure, thermo-denudation, and thermo-abrasion, based on constitutive relationships rather than empirical assumptions. To capture transient erosion events, the model dynamically removes elements from the finite element mesh.

The model's capabilities are demonstrated using a pseudo-realistic scenario of a permafrost slice at Drew Point, Alaska, exposed to actual oceanic and atmospheric conditions from July 2018. This cutting-edge model provides new insights into episodic permafrost erosion processes, offering a more comprehensive understanding of these complex phenomena.

Bio: Alejandro Mota is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff in the Mechanics of Materials Department at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA. He holds a PhD in Structural Engineering with a concentration in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University.

Dr. Mota's career includes the following contributions to computational solid mechanics. At Caltech, he developed and implemented advanced finite element methods to simulate the fracture and fragmentation of brittle and ductile materials, particularly ceramics and metals, under high-speed impact loads. His research extended to constitutive modeling of ductile metals (porous plasticity) and simulations for medical and material applications, including firearm injury to the human cranium, kidney stone fragmentation (lithotripsy) and traumatic brain injury, as well as the fracture mechanics of steel-polyurea composites.

At Sandia National Laboratories, Dr. Mota has focused on regularization methods for finite element simulations and developed constitutive models for damage, failure, fracture, and fragmentation in elastic and inelastic materials under finite deformations. His work also includes implementing variational mapping schemes for field transfer between finite element discretizations and the development of multiscale and multigrid finite element methods based on the Schwarz alternating method. He is actively involved in projects such as Arctic Coastal Erosion (ACE) and Arctic Critical Infrastructure (ACI), contributing to the understanding of climate change impacts in polar regions.

His research interests include multi-physics simulations, computational methods for fracture and damage mechanics, mesh-free methods, GPU computing, and the integration of variational principles in numerical modeling.

October 1, 2024, 8:00AM PT

Speaker: Ronaldo Borja, Stanford University

Title: The poromechanics of shale

Abstract: Shale is a clastic sedimentary rock consisting of softer materials such as clay and organics, stiffer minerals such as quartz, feldspar, and pyrite, and void spaces that can range in size from nanometers to millimeters. It is the most common sedimentary rock on Earth, accounting for approximately 75% of rock in sedimentary basins. My talk will explore the mechanical and hydraulic properties of this material that could have some important implications for hydrocarbon extraction and carbon sequestration. Of particular interest are the impacts of fluids in the pore spaces on the evolution of the stiffness, strength, and fluid conductivity properties of this geologic material.

Bio: Ronaldo Borja works in theoretical and computational geomechanics, geotechnical engineering, and geosciences. His research includes the development of mathematical and computational frameworks for multiscale and multi-physical processes in geomechanics and related fields. He is the author of a textbook entitled Plasticity Modeling and Computation published by Springer and serves as executive editor of two journals in his field: the International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics and Acta Geotechnica. Ronaldo Borja is the recipient of the 2016 ASCE Maurice A. Biot Medal for his work in computational poromechanics.

May 13, 2024

Speaker: Roger Ghanem, University of Southern California

Title: Modeling Extremes of Powergrid Generation with PLoM

Abstract: I will describe recent efforts at characterizing extreme behaviors of power grid generation associated with rare events such as blackouts. I will introduce a probabilistic learning on manifolds (PLoM) paradigm that permits us to locate these rare events and construct from them meaningful statistical inferences.  In particular, we are interested in power generation profiles, throughout a powergrid network, associated with these extremes.  For this application, PLoM is trained on a dataset consisting of optimal power generation solutions, computed using PYoMo, in response to demand data collected hourly over a one year period. Augmenting this data with a weather component (temperature, wind, cloud cover) permits our current inferences to extend from power generation profiles to weather profiles.

Biography: Roger Ghanem holds the Tryon Chair in Stochastic Methods and Simulation at the University of Southern California where he is Professor in the Departments of Civil \& Environmental Engineering and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.  Ghanem obtained his PhD from Rice University in 1989 in Civil Engineering. He held faculty positions at SUNY-Buffalo and Johns Hopkins University before moving to the University of Southern California in 2005. He is an expert in uncertainty quantification (UQ) and scientific machine learning (SciML). He has published over 180 refereed Journal publications and over 180 refereed conference papers. Ghanem's research has been funded by NSF, ONR, AFOSR, DARPA, DOE, NRC, NEUP, Sandia, LLNL, in addition to a number of industries. Ghanem is member of FASTMATH, a US Department of Energy SciDAC Institute. He has organized UQ Summer School at USC from 2010-2024 and the UQ/ML Workshop at USC in 2018 and 2019. Ghanem is President of the International Association for Structural Safety and Reliability, has served as President of the Engineering Mechanics Institute of ASCE, on the Executive Council of USACM, and as Chair of the UQ SIAG of SIAM. He is currently a member iof the US National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. Dr. Ghanem is Fellow of AAAS, EMI, SIAM, USACM, IACM, and is a Distinguished Member of ASCE. His research has been recognized by a number of awards from ASCE, USACM, and IASSAR.

April 15, 2024

Speaker: Prof. Joris Degroote, Ghent University

Title: Fluid-Structure Interaction Simulations in Wind Energy

Abstract: Wind energy is essential in the ongoing transition to a sustainable energy system and the technology in this field is constantly evolving. The horizontal axis wind turbine is increasing in size more rapidly than previously expected, resulting in blades of more than 100m long and an increased importance of aeroelastic effects. Also emerging technologies like airborne wind energy, consisting of a tethered aircraft or kite, are influenced by aeroelasticity. Hence, techniques and models to simulate the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) in these wind energy converters have been developed. This presentation focuses on partitioned simulation of FSI, referring to the coupling of a flow solver with a structural solver, and also the connection with a controller in the case of airborne wind energy. Overset techniques are used to handle the rigid body motion and the deformation in the wind subdomain, as well as to facilitate the meshing process. With these techniques, the deformation of a wind turbine blade during a wind gust and in proximity of the tower has been investigated, and the trajectory and wing deflection of an airborne wind energy system have been simulated.

Biography: Joris Degroote obtained his PhD from Ghent University (Belgium) in 2010. He did research stays of 1 year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) as PhD student and 3 months at Technische Universität München (Germany)as post-doctoral researcher. He became associate professor at Ghent University in 2013 and full professor in 2020. His research focuses on simulation of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) and is thus purely numerical. Fundamental aspects of algorithm development and applications in mechanical energy engineering are both investigated. He developed the CoCoNuT coupling software, an object-oriented open-sourcecode for partitioned simulation of coupled problems, containing several quasi-Newton coupling techniques. He is (co)author of 175 journal publications in Web of Science and is the (co)supervisor of 17 completed and 11 ongoing PhDs.

March 18, 2024

Speaker: Prof. Lou Durlofsky, Stanford University

Title: Data assimilation and optimization frameworks for CO2 storage operations

Abstract: There are many challenges associated with achieving carbon storage at gigatonne scales. In this talk, I will present some of our recent developments in two areas relevant for the reservoir engineering of CCUS projects. A deep-learning-based surrogate model for data assimilation/history matching will be presented. This surrogate model, which involves an extension of a previously developed recurrent-residual U-Net architecture, is extended to treat coupled flow-geomechanics problems. Its ability to model pressure and CO2 plume locations in new aquifer realizations, and displacement at the Earth’s surface, will be demonstrated. The surrogate model is then applied for MCMC-based history matching. Next, I will describe aframework for optimizing CO2 storage operations using derivative-free algorithms. Different objective functions (involving minimization of mobile CO2 and maximization of storage efficiency), along with a range of practical constraints, are treated. A multifidelity optimization approach will be shown to be effective and to provide improved computational efficiency. 

Bio: Louis J. Durlofsky is the Otto N. Miller Professor of Earth Sciences in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University. He codirects the Stanford Smart Fields Consortium and the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage. Earlier in his career, Durlofsky was affiliated with Chevron Energy Technology Company. He holds a BS degree from Penn State, and MS and PhD degrees from MIT, all in chemical engineering. His research interests include subsurface flow simulation and optimization, history matching, uncertainty quantification, and deep-learning-based surrogate modeling.

February 19, 2024

Speaker: Prof. Lea Jenkins, Clemson University

Title: Water Sustainability: Satisfying the Thirst of Stakeholders

Abstract: Allocation of existing water supplies has become critically important in recent years, as overuse, in conjunction with severe levels of drought, have placed aquifers in jeopardy.  The imbalances in aquifer levels are especially dire in regions whose economies are heavily dependent on agriculture, as irrigation of crops accounts for more than 80% of groundwater resources.

Bio: Dr. Lea Jenkins graduated from NCSU with a Ph.D. in mathematics and is currently a professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences at Clemson University.  Her research interests center on mathematical applications; she is particularly motivated by problems which allow her to work in an interdisciplinary environment.  She is a member of a research team whose work on mathematics used to help drought-stricken farmers in California was featured in a PBS NewsHour Science Friday segment, "How Math Is Growing More Strawberries in California", and an NSF Discovery article, "Strawberries With a Thirst".  Her other projects include simulation-based optimization and modeling and for membranes used for protein and virus separation in the pharmaceutical industry and analysis of higher order temporal methods for nonlinear transport problems.

January 22, 2024

Speaker: Ravindra Duddu, Vanderbilt University

Title: Modeling Glacier and Ice-shelf Flow and Fracture Processes using Computation, Data and Machine Learning
Presentation Slides

Abstract: The dynamic mass loss due to ice flow from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets directly into oceans is the greatest source of uncertainty in predicting sea level rise. Fracture propagation in glaciers and ice shelves can accelerate ice flow and cause the detachment of icebergs, thus significantly influencing the mass loss from ice sheets. It has been hypothesized that hydrofracturing of glaciers and ice shelves followed by enhanced basal sliding and ice cliff failure could contribute to rapid sea level rise over the coming centuries. Therefore, it is important that we improve our understanding of the fracture mechanics of ice shelves and glaciers, and better represent their dynamics in Earth system models. In this presentation, I will provide an overview of our recent work on simulating fracture propagation in glaciers and ice shelves using continuum damage mechanics models. First, I will describe phase-field and cohesive fracture models to investigate the propagation of water-filled crevasses in glaciers and ice shelves. Second, I will discuss a two-scale cohesive fracture model that incorporates turbulent fluid flow and accounts for melting/refreezing in fractures to explore the conditions enabling rapid supraglacial lake drainage events. Third, I will present a nonlocal creep damage model incorporated in a shallow shelf approximation to simulate the processes controlling rift paths in ice shelves, which leads to large tabular iceberg calving events. For each modeling study, I will showcase the use of physics-based computation and data from laboratory experiments and field/satellite observations and discuss the important findings. I will end with some remarks on the use of machine learning models in assessment and prediction and future extensions needed to improve the representation of ice sheet fracture over decadal to century timescales in Earth system models.

Bio: Ravindra Duddu got his B. Tech in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. He obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University. He worked as postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas at Austin Institute for Geophysics and Columbia University in the City of New York. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt University, with secondary appointments in Mechanical Engineering and Earth and Environmental Sciences. His research interests are in computational solid mechanics with a focus on multi-physics modeling of material damage evolution. in the field of glaciology, he has pioneered the use of continuum damage mechanics models for simulating fracture processes in glaciers and ice sheets. He is a recipient of the US NSF early CAREER award, Fulbright Kalam-Climate Fellowship, UK The Royal Society International Exchanges travel award, and ONR Summer Faculty Fellowship. He is a member of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Geophysical Union, United States Association for Computational Mechanics, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). He is the Chair of technical committees on Computational Mechanics and Fracture and Failure Mechanics associated with ASCE EMI and ASME IMECE.

Acknowledgements: This work is funded by the NSF Antarctic Glaciology and NASA Cryosphere Science programs.