Heterogeneity-Induced Channelling, Flow-Wetted Surface, and Modelling of Transport in Fractured Rock

Abstract: Heterogeneities in fractured rock are found at all scales; from the scale of individual fractures, to the scale of fracture networks, and to the largest regional scales. These heterogeneities cause challenges for modelling and parameter estimation of flow and solute transport. The heterogeneities in fracture aperture, characterization of the flow channelling they are causing, and implementation of this information into numerical simulation models of the solute transport in fractured media are the subjects of this thesis.Aperture variability within a fracture causes the flow channelling, where the water flow is focused in a few channels and other areas of the fracture have practically stagnant water. The flow-wetted surface is the area where the flowing water is in contact to the fracture area. Contaminants are transported with the flowing water and therefore the flow-wetted surface is an important parameter that influences the diffusion into the rock matrix and sorption to the fracture rock surface. The specific flow-wetted surface (sFWS) is the flow-wetted surface divided by the total fracture area. The sFWS is systematically analyzed for different fracture aperture distribution characteristics. The local aperture is linked to the local hydraulic conductivity K. Increasing standard deviation of the hydraulic conductivity K field (?ln K) leads to decreased sFWS. The sFWS is found to be independent of the correlation length (?) of the field. An empirical relationship is developed, which describes the sFWS as a function of the ?ln K. A method is also introduced to determine this key parameter by analysis of the breakthrough curve from a single-well injection-withdrawal (SWIW) test. Further, an approach is presented to incorporate the effect of fracture level heterogeneity into fracture network models and to analyze the effect on sorption and matrix diffusion, by including the sFWS parameter into the transport calculations. The results show that the median transport time is proportional to the square of the sFWS-value. The results also suggest that there are an averaging behaviour in the fracture network, the sFWS-value of each individual fracture is not important for the transport over the domain, but a mean-value can be utilized in the numerical model.