The following videos are simulations designed for Georgia Tech’s annual TEC Camp to demonstrate rock mechanics concepts and structures. Simulations are adapted from work for the 2014 STEM Exposition. The outreach effort was headed by students Joy Zhang and Yixuan Sun.
Different types of fluids were injected at different depths in jello in order to demonstrate vertical and horizontal fracturing in the ground. Students were encouraged to draw their own conclusions from the experiment about the relationship between injection depth and fracture direction.
Common household items were used to simulate earth’s strata and faulting in a Hele-Shaw cell. Particles with different masses and shapes were mixed together, then poured into the cell to demonstrate spontaneous segregation and stratification. Sand with different masses, as well as ground coffee and sugar, were used to demonstrate these concepts.
For three days, 40 middle school students were introduced to various concepts that link hydraulic fracturing processes to other subjects they have learned, such as volcanoes, geysers, and earthquakes.
