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The Development of Wormholes in Laboratory‐Scale Fractures: Perspectives From Three‐Dimensional Simulations
Author(s) -
Starchenko Vitaliy,
Ladd Anthony J. C.
Publication year - 2018
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 - 10.1029/2018wr022948
Subject(s) - wormhole , aperture (computer memory) , phase diagram , fracture (geology) , mechanics , diagram , development (topology) , dissolution , inlet , boundary (topology) , damköhler numbers , phase (matter) , geometry , mathematics , geology , physics , mathematical analysis , geotechnical engineering , classical mechanics , engineering , statistics , turbulence , quantum mechanics , geomorphology , chemical engineering , acoustics
We investigate the development of wormholes in laboratory‐scale fractures using three‐dimensional numerical simulations. Well‐controlled initial conditions, involving a small perturbation near the inlet of an otherwise flat fracture aperture field, were used to make a systematic study of the effects of flow rate and reaction rate on the aperture evolution. We find at least two characteristic wormhole shapes, which can be grouped within a phase diagram in the space of Péclet and Damköhler numbers. We investigate how this phase diagram depends on fracture geometry, specifically the length ( L ) and width ( W ) in comparison to the initial aperture ( h 0 ). This information is used to determine an effective Damköhler number that leads to a Péclet and length‐independent phase boundary between wormholes and uniform dissolution. We relate these observations to experimental studies of wormhole formation in dissolving fractures.