Derek Elsworth

Affiliate Researcher
Titles and Affiliations
Professor, John and Willie Leone Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering (EME)

Research Summary

Computational mechanics, rock mechanics, groundwater hydrology, mathematical modeling, poromechanics, coupled processes, contaminant hydrology, mining engineering, petroleum engineering and fracture hydrology with applications to geothermal energy; the de

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Recent Publications

A Laboratory Investigation of Friction and Frictional Stability of Epidote Gouge Under Shear-Reactivation and Concurrent Fluid-Flow

An, M., Huang, R., Yin, Z. Y., Huang, L., Zhong, Z. & Elsworth, D., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. 230497.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

An, M., Huang, R., Elsworth, D., Zhang, F., Yin, Z. Y., Huang, L. & Xu, Z., Mar 6 2025, In: Tectonophysics. 898, 230628.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Thermoporoelastic stress perturbations from hydraulic fracturing and thermal depletion in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and implications for fault reactivation and seismicity

An, M., Huang, R., Elsworth, D., Zhang, F. & Dontsov, E., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Impact of micro-scale characteristics of shale reservoirs on gas depletion behavior: A microscale discrete model

Cheng, W., Guo, Y., Cui, G., Elsworth, D., Tan, Y. & Pan, Z., Feb 2025, In: Advances in Geo-Energy Research. 15, 2, p. 143-157 15 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Particle transport in fractured geo-energy reservoirs considering the effect of fluid inertia and turbulent flow: A review

Edirisinghe, E. A. A. V., Perera, M. S. A., Elsworth, D., Matthai, S. K. & Goudeli, E., Mar 2025, In: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. 17, 3, p. 1906-1939 34 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Constraints on triggered seismicity and its control on permeability evolution

Elsworth, D., Li, Z., Yu, P., An, M., Zhang, F., Huang, R., Sun, Z., Cui, G., Chen, T., Gan, Q., Zhao, Y., Liu, J. & Liu, S., Jan 2025, In: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. 17, 1, p. 20-30 11 p.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Influence of roughness and slip velocity on the evolution of frictional strength

Gan, Q., Zhang, X., Li, Q., Chen, J., Zhang, F., Zhong, Z., Jia, Y., Yu, P., An, M. & Elsworth, D., Apr 2025, In: International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences. 188, 106076.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Mechanistic controls on permeability evolution in thermally-upgraded low-maturity oil shales: Application of machine learning outputs

He, B., Xie, L., Liu, X., Liu, J. & Elsworth, D., Apr 2025, In: Unconventional Resources. 6, 100133.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Millisecond-resolved gas sorption kinetics and time-dependent diffusivity of coal

He, X., Elsworth, D. & Liu, S., Apr 2025, In: Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. 58, 4, p. 4421-4439 19 p., 117438.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Ancient ocean coastal deposits imaged on Mars

Li, J., Liu, H., Meng, X., Duan, D., Lu, H., Zhang, J., Zhang, F., Elsworth, D., Cardenas, B. T., Manga, M., Zhou, B. & Fang, G., Mar 4 2025, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 122, 9, e2422213122.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Dynamic evolution of reservoir permeability and deformation in geothermal battery energy storage using abandoned mines

Liu, Y., Liang, Y., Ma, Y., Liu, J., Elsworth, D. & Gan, Q., Jan 2025, In: Rock Mechanics Bulletin. 4, 1, 100155.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Linking evolution of heterogeneous microstructure and rheology of granite to 1000 °C

Liu, L., Luo, S., Elsworth, D., Liu, K., Luo, Y., Ji, H. & Wang, T., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Moment tensor inversion of mining-induced seismic events and forward modeling of critical fault slip to prevent rockbursts

Song, J., Lu, C., Zang, A., Elsworth, D., Zhang, X., Qi, Q. & Song, C., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Hydro-Grain-Texture Modeling of Systematics of Propagation, Branching, and Coalescence of Fluid-Driven Fractures

Wang, S., Elsworth, D., Zhang, L., Zhao, X. & Wang, T., Jan 2025, In: Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. 58, 1, p. 623-644 22 p., 104766.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Mineral grain-texture model and impact on microcracking and mechanical response of granite

Wang, S., Wang, T., Elsworth, D., Zhao, X. & Zhang, L., Aug 2025, In: Computers and Geotechnics. 184, 107286.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review