Anomalous transport on regular fracture networks: Impact of conductivity heterogeneity and mixing at fracture intersections
Name
PhysRevE.92.022148.pdf
Size
3.09 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
6bbf7cb30f96dd9b8b414e5f90abb50d
Author(s)
Kang, Peter Kyungchul
Dentz, Marco
Le Borgne, Tanguy
Juanes, Ruben
Date Issued
August 2015
Journal
Physical Review E
Publisher
American Physical Society
Citation
Kang, Peter K., Marco Dentz, Tanguy Le Borgne, and Ruben Juanes. “Anomalous Transport on Regular Fracture Networks: Impact of Conductivity Heterogeneity and Mixing at Fracture Intersections.” Physical Review E 92, no. 2 (August 28, 2015). © 2015 American Physical Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We investigate transport on regular fracture networks that are characterized by heterogeneity in hydraulic conductivity. We discuss the impact of conductivity heterogeneity and mixing within fracture intersections on particle spreading. We show the emergence of non-Fickian transport due to the interplay between the network conductivity heterogeneity and the degree of mixing at nodes. Specifically, lack of mixing at fracture intersections leads to subdiffusive scaling of transverse spreading but has negligible impact on longitudinal spreading. An increase in network conductivity heterogeneity enhances both longitudinal and transverse spreading and leads to non-Fickian transport in longitudinal direction. Based on the observed Lagrangian velocity statistics, we develop an effective stochastic model that incorporates the interplay between Lagrangian velocity correlation and velocity distribution. The model is parameterized with a few physical parameters and is able to capture the full particle transition dynamics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.92.022148
