How to characterize fluid flow, heat, and chemical transport in geologic media remains a central challenge for geo-scientists and engineers worldwide. Investigations of fluid flow and transport within rock relate to such fundamental and applied problems as environmental remediation; nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) transport; exploitation of oil, gas, and geothermal resources; disposal of spent nuclear fuel; and geotechnical engineering. It is widely acknowledged that fractures in unsaturated-saturated rock can play a major role in solute transport from the land surface to underlying aquifers. It is also evident that general issues concerning flow and transport predictions in subsurface fractured zones can be resolved in a practical manner by integrating investigations into the physical nature of flow in fractures, developing relevant mathematical models and modeling approaches, and collecting site characterization data. Because of the complexity of flow and transport processes in most fractured rock flow problems, it is not yet possible to develop models directly from first principles. One reason for this is the presence of episodic, preferential water seepage and solute transport, which usually proceed more rapidly than expected from volume-averaged and time-averaged models. However, the physics of these processes is still known.
Preface
Boris Faybishenko, Paul A. Witherspoon, and John Gale vii
Section I. Introduction and Overview
Emerging Issues in Fractured-Rock Flow and Transport Investigations: Introduction and Overview
Boris Faybishenko, Paul A. Witherspoon, Gudmundur 5. Bodvarsson, and John Gale 1
Section II . Models and Modeling of Flow and Transport in Fractured Rock
Do Heterogeneous Sediment Properties and Turbulent Velocity Fluctuations Have Something in Common? Some History and a New Stochastic Process
Fred J. Molz, Mark M. Meerschaert, Tom J. Kozubowski, and Paul D. Hyden 13
Quantification of Non-Fickian Transport in Fractured Formations
Brian Berkowitz and Harvey Scher 23
Study of Single and Multiphase Flow in Fractured Porous Media, Using a Percolation Approach
P. M. Adler, V. V. Mourzenko, J.-F. Thovert, and I. Bogdanov 33
Percolation-Continuum Model of Evaporative Drying: Homogeneous or Patchy Saturation?
H. F. Wang, T. E. Strand, and J. G. Berryman 43
Navier-Stokes Simulations of Fluid Flow Through a Rock Fracture
Azzan H. Al-Yaarubi, Chris C. Pain, Carlos A. Grattoni, and Robert W. Zimmerman 55
Theoretical and Numerical Study of Flow at the Interface of Porous Media
Ravid Rosenzweig and Uri Shavit 65
Numerical Simulations Show Potential for Strong Nonisothermal Effects During Fluid Leakage From a Geologic Disposal Reservoir for C02
Karsten Pruess 81
Uncertainty in Groundwater Flow Simulations Caused by Multiple Modeling Approaches, at the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory, Japan
Atsushi Sawada, Hiromitsu Saegusa, and Yuji Ijiri 91
Section III: Case Studies From Laboratory and Field Investigations
III.1. Multi-Scale Investigations and Underground Facilities
Predicting Fractured Zones in the Culebra Dolomite
Robert M. Holt, Richard L Beauheim, and Dennis W. Powers 103
Assessment of Retention Processes for Transport in a Fractured System at Aspo (Sweden) Granitic Site: From Short-Time Experiments to Long-Time Predictive Models
Christophe Grenier, Andre Fourno, Emmanuel Mouche, Frederick Delay and Hakim Benabderrahmane 11 7
Simulation of Hydraulic Disturbances Caused by the Underground Rock Characterization Facility in Olkiluoto, Finland
Jari Lofman and Ferenc Meszaros 129
III.2. Coupled Processes of Solute Transport and Chemical Processes
Evaporation From Fractures Exposed at Land Surface: Impact of Gas-Phase Convection on Salt Accumulation
Noam Weisbrod, Modi Pillersdorf, Maria Dragila, Chris Graham, James Cassidy, and Clay A. Cooper 151
Dissolved Chemical Discharge From Fractured Clay Aquitards Contaminated by DNAPLs
Ronald W. Falta 165
III.3. Geothermal Reservoirs
Dry-Steam Wellhead Discharges From Liquid-Dominated Geothermal Reservoirs: A Result of Coupled Nonequilibrium Multiphase Fluid and Heat Flow Through Fractured Rock
John W. Pritchett 175
III.4. Microbial Transport
Microbial Processes in Fractured Rock Environments
Nancy E. Kinner, T. Taylor Eighmy, M. Mills, J. Coulburn, and L. Tisa 183
The Effect of Microbial Activity on Biodegradation of 2,4,6-Tribromophenol and Flow in Naturally Fractured Chalk Cores
Shai Arnon, Eilon Adar, Zeev Ronen, Alexander Yakirevich, and Ron it Nativ 195