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Laboratory assessment of the equivalent apertures of a rock fracture
Author(s) -
Piggott Andrew R.,
Elsworth Derek
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/93gl01384
Subject(s) - tracer , fracture (geology) , geology , aperture (computer memory) , volumetric flow rate , hydraulic fracturing , geotechnical engineering , flow (mathematics) , mineralogy , mechanics , structural engineering , engineering , physics , nuclear physics
Hydraulic, electrical, and tracer test results are presented for a natural fracture in granite. The hydraulic and electrical apertures of the fracture are similar and suggest minimal fracture surface‐to‐surface contact. Tracer aperture exceeds hydraulic aperture indicating transport at a rate less than that predicted on the basis of hydraulic aperture. Numerical simulation of tracer transport reveals that transport within the fracture is not explicable in terms of parallel plate flow and that transport occurs locally at rates in excess of the overall rate defined by tracer aperture.