Technical Papers and Presentations

The disposal of highly radioactive waste in geological environment is not the possibility studies anymore as the countries such as Finland, Sweden, France with more advanced radwaste disposal programs are actually implementing it nowadays. In such disposal system, passive safety does not ... Read More

Soil sedimentation and consolidation, whether they are naturally or anthropically driven processes, are closely interconnected. While theoretical models are available to separately describe the behaviour of either ‘fluid’ suspensions or ‘solid’ soil, no well-established unified theory ... Read More

Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are known to be the main cause of global warming. Among the various decarbonisation strategies proposed, geological storage of CO2 is one of the most interesting options for reducing net carbon emissions to the atmosphere. ... Read More

The study of bentonite erosion mechanisms in fractures is a problem of maximum interest to understand the long-term performance of the engineered barrier in deep geological repositories of spent nuclear fuel. In this context, erosion due to shear by seeping water, sedimentation due to ... Read More

Decarbonization of the heating sector requires the exploitation of climate-neutral energy sources and the use of natural heat storage. Shallow and deep geothermal energy can make a valuable contribution to this. The dimensioning and design of geothermal boreholes and larger borehole heat ... Read More

Transforming the energy sector worldwide towards renewable, climate-neutral energy sources requires innovative ideas and excellent engineering solutions. In particular, shallow geothermal energy utilization is currently showing a remarkable development. In highly urbanized regions, large ... Read More

Campi Flegrei Caldera is an active volcano located westward of Naples, Italy. Despite its volcanic activity spanning over 39,000 years, the area is densely populated and poses a significant threat to the inhabitants due to ongoing seismicity, ground uplift, and hydrothermal activity ... Read More

In this work we present a novel approach to enhance energy efficiency in cooling intake air for air conditioning (AC) systems in harsh environments using geothermal energy. We developed a 3D finite element model to simulate the heat transfer between underground soils/gravels and cooling ... Read More

COMSOL Multiphysics® is used in various engineering fields and has recently been introduced as an efficient tool to solve certain geophysical problems. We used this software to study the mechanisms associated with the buckling formation at a plate-tectonic scale on Earth. Buckling is not ... Read More

Rick has a BS in Physics, a ScM in Geological Sciences, and a PhD in Physics. He worked at Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, Conoco Petroleum Exploration Research, and, since 1989, has been at the DuPont Experimental Station. In this industrial setting, Rick has had opportunity to work on ... Read More