X-ray Tomography and Finite Elements Simulations of Rock Mechanics

Chalk cliffs in many countries, such as around the North Sea in Europe, are places of natural beauty but also under the constant threat of erosion. Collapse of chalk cliffs, which are often poorly consolidated (Figure 1), have cost lives and destroyed property and cultural heritage with a concerning frequency. Predicting collapse, however, is difficult and has had little success in the past. To assess the stability of these cliffs it is necessary to know about the mechanical properties of the rock. On the macroscale, common mechanical testing, as performed in engineering, can help to provide estimates but ultimately, it is the morphology of the nanoscale pore system in chalk, or any poorly consolidated material, that determines its macroscopic mechanical properties.