Granted by E2S UPPA, NewPores is an international hub dedicated to the mechanics and physics of porous materials, which intends to answer to new Energy and Environment challenges. This is a joint effort of the group on Geomechanics and Porous Materials (G2MP) of the Laboratoire des Fluides Complexes et leurs Réservoirs at E2S UPPA (France), the Centre for Sustainable Engineering of Geological and Infrastructure Materials (SEGIM) at Northwestern University (USA), the University of Vigo (Spain), the Technical University of Madrid (Spain) and University of Liège (Belgium).

Granted by the European Union and the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, Ezponda intends to predict the evolution of the impact and the velocity of coastal erosion under current climate changes and forthcoming sea level rises. In particular, the Ezponda project aims at studying and hierarchizing the different key parameters (haloclasty, rain, storms), which drives coastal erosion and coastal protection building damage. Haloclasty is a natural rock failure process driven by salt crystallisation and salt weathering. It is particularly at sight on coastal areas because it is a key parameter for their natural erosion, which is a crucial social-economic challenge for local authorities in charge of coast management.

Although crystallisation-induced damage under environmental conditions has been studied for years, motivated by the interest of the local authorities and restoration companies in salt weathering of historic monuments1-7, few research works have been performed in the geomechanical context of confined reservoir conditions, although fractures correspond to the main damaging process in the upper crustal levels. Granted by E2S UPPA and Total, this project aims at obtaining a better understanding of the mechanism of crystallisation-induced damage under confined reservoir conditions, which is of utmost importance to explain and predict the localisation of cracks and veins in heterogeneous unconventional reservoirs and therefore enhances their characterisation, their stimulation and their production of both conventional georessources as well as sustainable georessources.

Crystallization-induced damage contributes majorly to the degradation or weathering of natural building stones, construction materials and our cultural heritage. When saline fluids are present in the pore space of the material, salt crystals might precipitate upon changes in temperature or humidity conditions, leading to salt precipitation on the surface, efflorescence, or to salt crystals precipitating in the pores, subflorescence. The confined crystal growth within the pores might lead to a buildup of crystallization-induced stresses, which can eventually induce fractures in the porous medium. The fracturing results from the interplay of saline flow, salt precipitation reactions and crystallization-induced stresses. The CRYSTAL project, funded by the Communauté d'Agglomération Pau Pyréenées aims at understanding the coupling between those phenomena in order to develop models for advising the building and stone conservation industry.