Experimental Investigations of Fracture Deformation, Flow, and Transport Using a Pressure‐Controlled Hele‐Shaw Cell and Digital Fabrication

Abstract

In this paper we present a novel pressure‐controlled Hele‐Shaw cell to investigate different physical processes in rough fractures using 3D‐printed rock analogs. Our system can measure high‐resolution fracture aperture and tracer concentration maps under relevant field stress conditions. Using a series of hydraulic and visual measurements, combined with numerical simulations, we investigate the evolving fracture geometry characteristics, pressure‐dependent hydraulic transmissivity, flow channeling, and the nature of mass transport as a function of normal stress. Our experimental results show that as the fracture closes and deforms under increasing normal loading: (a) the contact areas grow in number and size; (b) the flow paths become more focused and tortuous; and (c) the transport dynamics of conservative tracers evolve toward a higher dispersive regime. Moreover, under the applied experimental conditions, we observed excellent agreement between the simulated‐ and the experimentally measured‐hydraulic behavior.