Page 38 - ASME IMECE 2015 Program

Track Plenary

increases, the dislocation length and density increase. Consequently, the Opportunities for improvement in a number of area (materials and
number of dislocation sources and their characteristic length increase structures used downhole, processes, etc.) will be discussed, highlighting
which decreases the material strength. Finally, increasing the dislocation the important role that the mechanical community has to play in further
length and density, the dislocation interaction mechanism also becomes enhancing hydrocarbon production from unconventional reservoirs.
important. The coupling effects of the grain boundary types and sample
length scale are then studied for thin films of various sizes and different Biography: Brice Lecampion is currently a faculty member and the head of
grain boundaries. the Geo-Energy Lab at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
(EPFL), Switzerland. Prior to joining EPFL, he worked at Schlumberger in
Although MD is very powerful to model the size effects in nanoscale research and development from 2006 until May 2015, serving in a variety
metallic thin films, it has both the size and time scale limitations. Another of roles ranging from project manager to principal scientist in both Europe
way to study the size effects in metallic samples is the strain gradient and the United States. Dr. Lecampion received his PhD in mechanics from
plasticity models. A coupled thermo-mechanical framework of higher-or- Ecole Polytechnique, France in 2002 and worked as a research scientist
der strain gradient plasticity theory is used to investigate the behavior of in the hydraulic fracturing research group of CSIRO division of petroleum
small-scale metallic volumes in fast transient times. Furthermore, the effect resources (Melbourne, Australia) from 2003 to 2006. During his time in
of temperature change due to the plastic work along with the generalized Schlumberger R&D, he worked on problems related to the integrity of deep
heat equation is incorporated into the formulation. Moreover, the effect of wells, large-scale monitoring of reservoir deformation, and more specifical-
the material microstructural interface between two materials (i.e., grain ly, on the stimulation of oil and gas wells by hydraulic fracturing. He was
boundary in polycrystalls) is adopted into a thermodynamic-based higher notably recently part of a company-wide effort to significantly improve the
order strain gradient plasticity framework. The developed grain boundary efficiency of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional reservoirs, which
flow rule accounts for the energy storage at the grain boundary due to the resulted in a number of technological developments (new fluids, comple-
dislocation pile up as well as energy dissipation caused by the dislocation tion techniques, etc.). His current research interests cover hydraulic fracture
transfer through the grain boundary. mechanics, mechanics of porous media, and dense suspensions flow.

Track 12: Mechanics of Solids, Structures, and Fluids Track 12: Mechanics of Solids, Structures, and Fluids
SESSION 12-50-1: PLENARY SESSION SESSION 12-50-2: PLENARY SESSION
Monday, November 16, 2015 10:30am–12:00pm Tuesday, November 17, 3:30pm–5:00pm
362A, Convention Center 372B, Convention Center
Bioengineering and Precision Medicine: Opportunities and Challenges
(IMECE2015-54229)
Hydraulic Fracturing for Unconventional Resources Development:
Challenges and Opportunities for the Mechanical Community Gang Bao
(IMECE2015-54228) Rice University

Brice Lecampion Abstract: With the recent development of precision medicine, there are
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) new opportunities for researchers in mechanics and bioengineering.
Precision medicine is an innovative approach to disease prevention and
Abstract: Oil and gas production from unconventional reservoirs (i.e., tight) treatment that takes into account differences in individuals’ genes,
now accounts for about half of the total U.S. hydrocarbon production from environments, and lifestyles, leading to a transformation in the way we can
essentially zero ten years ago. Such a drastic increase in production from treat diseases such as cancer. In particular, a tremendous amount of
unconventional resources was made possible by combining horizontal genomic information has accumulated over the last few decades, thanks
drilling and hydraulic fracturing. More than 15,000 horizontal wells per year to the Human Genome Project. We now have the ability to decipher the
have been drilled and hydraulically fractured in unconventional reservoirs information stored in genomes and precisely modify them. We also have
(oil and gas) since the mid-2000s. It is typical to design for 60–100 unprecedented opportunities to engineer micro-devices and cellular
hydraulic fractures to be placed over a well length of about 5,000 ft (with machines for understanding and treating diseases using an individual’s
spacing between fractures of 30–100 ft). In order to reduce operations genomic information and cells.
cost, the completion of the well is performed in “stages,” with one
pumping stage aiming at placing a number of hydraulic fractures simulta- In this talk I will discuss new opportunities and challenges in mechanics
neously (typically, between 2 and 6). Although, such a “plug & perf” and bioengineering as related to precision medicine. Examples will be
multistages completion technique has allowed tremendous cost savings, given to illustrate the important roles engineers can play in developing
its overall efficiency and robustness remains doubtful: about 30–40% of precision medicine, including tumor-on-a-chip approaches for understand-
the fractures are typically found not contributing to well production at all. ing cancer biology and improving cancer treatment, generation of
In this talk, we will review the basics of hydraulic fracturing operations and patient-matched cardiomyocytes for repairing damaged heart tissue, and
its mechanical modeling (e.g., viscosity versus toughness dominated the use of genome editing for treating beta-hemoglobinopathies. The
regime of propagation of hydraulic fractures, fracture height containment, potential applications of mechanics-based tools in precision medicine, and
38 etc.). We will then present theoretical and field evidence of the difficulties interdisciplinary education and training issues in mechanical engineering
associated with multistage plug & perf fracturing as it is performed today. will also be discussed.