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GeoFlow: A novel model simulator for prediction of the 3‐D channeling flow in a rock fracture network
Author(s) -
Ishibashi Takuya,
Watanabe Noriaki,
Hirano Nobuo,
Okamoto Atsushi,
Tsuchiya Noriyoshi
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2011wr011226
Subject(s) - fracture (geology) , flow (mathematics) , geology , aperture (computer memory) , fluid dynamics , mechanics , inlet , sample (material) , volumetric flow rate , geotechnical engineering , simulation , geomorphology , computer science , engineering , structural engineering , thermodynamics , physics
A fluid flow experiment was conducted on a granite sample containing two intersecting fractures. At constant confining pressure, water was supplied to the sample via a single inlet port, and the effluent was collected using four isolated outlet ports. The flow rate varied widely among these ports, indicating the formation of 3‐D preferential flow paths (channeling flow), which likely occur in fractured rocks but have been considerably difficult to identify by existing methods. The novel concept of GeoFlow, a discrete fracture network model simulator in which fractures have a heterogeneous aperture distribution, has been developed to analyze such complex fluid flow. A fluid flow simulation was conducted using GeoFlow with aperture distributions within the two fractures, as determined using fracture surface topography data. Despite the simplicity of the simulation, GeoFlow revealed a 3‐D channeling flow within the sample, which explains the general trend of the uneven outflows in the experiment.