Impact of velocity correlation and distribution on transport in fractured media: Field evidence and theoretical model
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Juanes_Impact of velocity.pdf
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Author(s)
Kang, Peter K.
Le Borgne, Tanguy
Dentz, Marco
Bour, Olivier
Juanes, Ruben
Date Issued
February 2015
Journal
Water Resources Research
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (Wiley platform)
Citation
Kang, Peter K., Tanguy Le Borgne, Marco Dentz, Olivier Bour, and Ruben Juanes. “Impact of Velocity Correlation and Distribution on Transport in Fractured Media: Field Evidence and Theoretical Model.” Water Resour. Res. 51, no. 2 (February 2015): 940–959. © 2014 American Geophysical Union
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Flow and transport through fractured geologic media often leads to anomalous (non-Fickian) transport behavior, the origin of which remains a matter of debate: whether it arises from variability in fracture permeability (velocity distribution), connectedness in the flow paths through fractures (velocity correlation), or interaction between fractures and matrix. Here we show that this uncertainty of distribution- versus correlation-controlled transport can be resolved by combining convergent and push-pull tracer tests because flow reversibility is strongly dependent on velocity correlation, whereas late-time scaling of breakthrough curves is mainly controlled by velocity distribution. We build on this insight, and propose a Lagrangian statistical model that takes the form of a continuous time random walk (CTRW) with correlated particle velocities. In this framework, velocity distribution and velocity correlation are quantified by a Markov process of particle transition times that is characterized by a distribution function and a transition probability. Our transport model accurately captures the anomalous behavior in the breakthrough curves for both push-pull and convergent flow geometries, with the same set of parameters. Thus, the proposed correlated CTRW modeling approach provides a simple yet powerful framework for characterizing the impact of velocity distribution and correlation on transport in fractured media.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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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.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR015799
