Clay
Clay is an extremely important geological material. The ability of clean customized synthetic clay makes it possible in a systematic way to study this material and it's geological consequenses. Studies and resulting application clays beyond the traditional approaches are merely in its infancy. More..
Fracture
Understanding and thereby preventing or controlling fracture processes has until recently been defined as belonging exclusively to engineering. Over the last two decades we have introduced new methods from statistical physics into the field of fracture. Our approach is to emphasize fluctuations as these control the behavior of the fracture process. This has led to new results, in particular in connection with fracture morphology (the shape of cracks) and scaling. More..
Friction
It is remarkable that the physics of friction is not a finished chapter in physics as one is thaught in essentially all elementary textbooks on physics. Rather, there are fundamental questions lingering both on the nano-scale, focusing on the interactions between atoms in the surfaces in contact, to the macroscopic scale where dynamic and static elastic properties control the process. More..
Granular materials
Granular materials ar everywhere in nature and of central importance for soil mechanics and geological processes. Examples are propagation of dunes and avalanches below and above the sea level. Problems with sand in the drill welling is another example that is of great interest for the oil industry. More..
Porous media
Porous media physics is a research field which is extremely and of central importance for geological physics. Oil production and the spread of contamination in the soil are typical examples. More..
