The Hydrology of Fractured Rocks: A Literature Review

Abstract

Recent literature on the quantitative description of flow in fractured rocks is reviewed with emphasis on modeling approaches and their conceptual framework. The relationships of modeling results to laboratory and field observations is also emphasized. The review is organized in terms of the following three categories: fracture characterization, hydraulics of fractured rocks, and solute transport in fractured media. It is found that there are several probabilistic models which seem to adequately characterize three-dimensional fracture geometry, but it is not clear how well these models represent fracture interconnection. The theory for hydraulic behavior of extensively fractured systems is well established but no workable theory has been developed for non-extensive three-dimensional fracture networks. The question of when the flow in a discrete fracture network can be treated as a hydraulic continuum remains unresolved. Matrix diffusion models of solute transport are conceptually attractive and have been developed extensively. However, it has not been shown by direct field observations that the matrix diffusion mechanism is important in the field. No theoretical approach has been advanced for treating solute transport in three-dimensional fracture networks.