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Robert Cuss

Dr Robert Cuss

Rock mechanics and fracture flow specialist
BGS Keyworth
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Summary

Robert Cuss gained a B.Sc. with first class honours in Geophysics (Geology) from the University of Liverpool in 1995. He then moved to the Rock Deformation Laboratory at Manchester University to study brittle deformation around scaled boreholes in sandstone. This work was funded by British Gas (later BG plc) and was supervised by Professor Ernie Rutter. Robert Cuss was awarded the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1999. He then moved to the British Geological Survey to work in the Regional Geophysics Group, which included several workers specializing in borehole geophysics as well as potential-field geophysicists. During his 17 years at BGS he has worked on a wide range of activities; specialising in applying rock mechanics to a range of industrial sectors, including radioactive waste disposal, CO2 sequestration, shale gas, hydrocarbon sealing, underground gas storage, hydrogeology and engineering geology. He currently runs the Fracture Physics Laboratory, with close links to the Transport Properties Research Laboratory. Research interests include fluid movement through low permeability media with emphasis on fracture flow

Robert Cuss’s Biography

  •  2010 – ongoing : Radioactive Waste Disposal Team
  •  2001 –2011 : Geophysics & Marine Geology
  •  1999 –2001 : Regional Geophysics Group
  •  1995 –1999 : PhD University of Manchester, Rock Mechanics
  •  1992 –1995 : BSc (Hons) University of Liverpool, Geophysics (Geology)

Research interests

  • Rock and soil mechanics
  • Transport properties of fractures, interfaces and intact rocks
  • Rock stress
  • Radioactive Waste Disposal
  • CO2 sequestration

Current projects and collaborations

ORCID: 0000000270094781

Key papers

  • Cuss, R.J., and Harrington, J.F. (2016) An experimental study of the potential for fault reactivation during changes in gas and porewater pressure. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. In Press
  • Cuss, R.J., Graham, C.C., Wiseall, A.C, and Harrington, J.F. (2016) Cyclic loading of an idealized clay-filled fault; comparing hydraulic flow in two clay gouges. Geofluids, 16, pp.552-564. DOI: 10.1111/gfl.12175
  • Wiseall, A.C., Cuss, R.J., Graham, C.C., & Harrington, J.F. (2015) The visualization of flow paths in experimental studies of clay-rich materials. Mineralogical Magazine, 79(6), pp.1335-1342. DOI: 10.1180/minmag.2015.079.06.09.
  • Gensterblum, Y, Ghanizadeh, A, Cuss, R.J., Amann-Hildenbrand, A., Krooss, B.M., Clarkson, C.R., Harrington, J.F., and Zoback, M.D. (2015) Gas storage capacity and transport in shale gas reservoirs – a review; Part A) Transport processes. Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources, 12, pp.87-122. DOI: 10.1016/j.juogr.2015.08.001
  • Amann-Hildenbrand, A., Krooss, B.M., Harrington, J.F., Cuss, R.J., Davy, C., Skoczylas, F., Jacops, E., and Maes, N. (2015) Chapter 7 – Gas Transfer Through Clay Barriers. In: Natural and Engineered Clay Barriers; Tournassat, C., Steefel, C.I., Bourg, I.C., and Bergaya, F. (Eds.). Developments in Clay Science, Vol. 6, pp.227-267. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100027-4.00007-3
  • Bennett, D.P., Cuss, R.J., Vardon, P.J., Harrington, J.F., Sedighi, M., Thomas, H.R. (2015) Exploratory data analysis of the Large Scale Gas Injection Test (Lasgit) dataset, focusing on ‘second-order’ events around macro-scale gas flows. In: Shaw, R.P., (ed.) Gas generation and migration in deep geological radioactive waste repositories. London, UK, Geological Society of London, 225-239. (Geological Society Special Publication, 415). DOI: 10.1144/SP415.14
  • Cuss, R.J., Harrington, J.F., Sathar, S., and Norris, S. (2015) An experimental study of the flow of gas along faults of varying orientation to the stress-field; Implications for performance assessment of radioactive waste disposal. Journal of Geophysical Research – Solid Earth. 120, pp.3932-3945, doi:10.1002/2014JB011333
  • Sommariva, R., Blake, R., Cuss, R.J., Cordell, R.L., Harrington, J.F., White, I.R., and Monks, P.S. (2014) Observations of the Release of Non-Methane Hydrocarbons from Fractured Shale. Environmental Science and Technology, 48(15), June 2014, doi: 10.1021/es502508w
  • Bennett, D.P., Cuss, R.J., Vardon, P.J., Harrington, J.F., and Thomas, H.R. (2014) Phenomena exposure from the large scale gas injection test (Lasgit) dataset using a bespoke data analysis toolkit. In: Clays in Natural and Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement; Norris, A., Bruni, J., Cathelineau, M., Delage, P., Fairhurst, C., Gaucher, E.C., Hohn, E.H., Kalinichev, A., Lalieux, P, and Sellin, P. (Eds), 400, Geological Society Special Publications: London, United Kingdom, Geological Society of London, pp.497-505, doi:10.1144/SP400.5
  • Cuss, R.J., Harrington, J., Giot, R., and Auvray, C. (2014) Experimental observations of mechanical dilation at the onset of gas flow in Callovo-Oxfordian claystone. In: Clays in Natural and Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement; Norris, A., Bruni, J., Cathelineau, M., Delage, P., Fairhurst, C., Gaucher, E.C., Hohn, E.H., Kalinichev, A., Lalieux, P, and Sellin, P. (Eds), 400, Geological Society Special Publications: London, United Kingdom, Geological Society of London, pp. 507-519, doi:10.1144/SP400.26
  • Cuss, R.J., Harrington, J.F., Noy, D.J., Graham, C.C., and Sellin, P. (2014) Evidence of localised gas propagation pathways in a field-scale bentonite engineered barrier system; results from three gas injection tests in the Large scale gas injection test (Lasgit). Applied Clay Science, 102, pp.81-92, doi:10.1016/j.clay.2014.10.014
  • Cuss, R.J., Harrington, J.F., Graham, C.C., and Noy, D.J. (2014) Observations of Pore Pressure in Clay-rich Materials; Implications for the Concept of Effective Stress Applied to Unconventional Hydrocarbons. European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2014, EGU Division Energy, Resources & the Environment (ERE). Energy Procedia, 59, pp.59-66; doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2014.10.349
  • Graham, C.C., Harrington, J.F., Cuss, R.J., and Sellin, P. (2014) Impact of pore-pressure cycling on bentonite in constant volume experiments. In: Clays in Natural and Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Confinement; Norris, A., Bruni, J., Cathelineau, M., Delage, P., Fairhurst, C., Gaucher, E.C., Hohn, E.H., Kalinichev, A., Lalieux, P, and Sellin, P. (Eds), 400, Geological Society Special Publications: London, United Kingdom, Geological Society of London, pp. 303-312 doi:10.1144/SP400.32

Published outputs

Skills

  • Experimental rock mechanics testing
  • Multi-phase flow
  • Fracture and interfacial flow
  • Project management

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