Junlong Shang is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor, permanent) in Rock Mechanics at the Department of Civil Engineering and Management. He is the Director of Postgraduate Research for the department. His research combines an array of approaches including experiments and modeling to understand the mechanical and hydraulic behaviour of rocks and fractures under subsurface environments. He is interested in coupled thermal–hydrological–mechanical–chemical (THMC) processes in fractured rocks and clay formations with applications in the context of energy transition (subsurface nuclear waste disposal, geothermal energy extraction, hydrogen storage. etc). We recently developed some interest in shaping fractures with many implications for subsurface science and engineering applications. 

Research Interests

• Rock Mechanics/Fractures and Engineering Geology
• Low-carbon Underground Technologies and Engineering
• Sustainable Infrastructure; Geological Disposal Facility
• Renewable Energy Extraction (geothermal) and Storage (hydrogen)

Selected Research Projects

• Diamond Light Source at Oxford, Synchrotron X-ray imaging. Co-I, 2024
• EPSRC, Influence of fracture heterogeneity on rock deformation and failure (INFORM): A mechanics-based multi-scale framework for radioactive waste disposal, PI, £403,820, 02/2023-01/2026, EP/W031221/1)
• NERC, Digging deep Earth for heat to promote environmental sustainability (DEEPHEAT), PI, £88,404, 07/2021-06/2023 (International Partnership Seedcorn Fund, NE/W004127/1)        
• Royal Society, Impact of particle migration on permeability evolution and clogging of rock fractures, PI, £11,831, 03/2022-02/2024 (International Exchange, IES\R3\213050)
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellowship, Coupled flow processes in fractured media (COFFEE), PI, £166,515
• GFZ (Germany), A travel grant to support fieldwork at Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Sweden, PI, €20,000, 08/2021-07/2023 (GFZ Innovative Research Expedition Fund)

Selected Awards

• Fellowship of Recognising Excellence in Teaching (Glasgow)              
• EPSRC New Investigator Award (UKRI)                                                  
• Visiting Scientist, GFZ Germany                                                             
• Wiley Top Cited Paper Award for my solo-authored JGR paper           
• Recipient of the Rocha Medal of International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM)     
• Future Leader of the American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA) 

My Research Team

https://www.junlongshang.com/