National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

ROCK FRACTURES AND FLUID FLOW

Contemporary Understanding and Applications

Committee on Fracture Characterization and Fluid Flow

U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics

Geotechnical Board

Board on Energy and Environmental Systems

Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

National Research Council

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS

Washington, D.C.

1996

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×


NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.

This report was prepared with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Grant Nos. DE-AC01-89DP48070, DE-FG22-91BC14837, DE-FG05-91ER40668, and DE-FG08-92NV11227 and Contract No. DE-FG01-92CE31021, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Grant Nos. NRC-G-04-91-089 and NRC-04-91-089. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of DOE or NRC.

SPONSORS: This project was sponsored by the following federal agencies: Department of Defense (Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Defense Nuclear Agency); Department of Energy (Office of Energy Research, Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Office of Fossil Energy, Geothermal Division of the Office of Conservation and Renewable Energy, Office of the Superconducting Super Collider, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Office); Department of the Interior (Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Reclamation); Environmental Protection Agency (Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory, Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory); Federal Transit Administration; National Science Foundation; and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In addition, the Gas Research Institute and Dowell-Schlumberger, Inc., provided support for this project. The National Research Council, through its Day Fund, extended financial support for the publication and dissemination of the report.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rock fractures and fluid flow : contemporary understanding and applications / Committee on Fracture Characterization and Fluid Flow … [et al.].

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-309-04996-2 (alk. paper)

1. Rocks—Fracture. 2. Rock mechanics. 3. Fluid dynamics. 4. Hydrogeology. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Fracture Characterization and Fluid Flow.

TA706.R525 1996 96-14613

624.1′5132—dc20 CIP

Copyright 1996 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

COMMITTEE ON FRACTURE CHARACTERIZATION AND FLUID FLOW

Jane C. S. Long (Chair),

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

Atilla Aydin,

Stanford University, Stanford, California

Stephen R. Brown,

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Herbert H. Einstein,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

Kevin Hestir,

Utah State University, Logan

Paul A. Hsieh,

U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California

Larry R. Myer,

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

Kenneth G. Nolte,

Dowell-Schlumberger, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Denis L. Norton,

University of Arizona, Tucson (until October 13, 1993)

Olle L. Olsson,

Conterra AB, Uppsala, Sweden

Frederick L. Paillet,

U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado

J. Leslie Smith,

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Leon Thomsen,

Amoco Production, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Staff

Duncan Brown, Study Director

Kevin Crowley, Technical Editor

Amelia B. Mathis, Senior Secretary/Project Assistant

Wendy Lewallen, Project Assistant (from November 1994)

Peter H. Smeallie, Study Director (to May 1994)

Jennifer T. Estep, Administrative Assistant (to May 1994)

Helen Johnson, Administrative Associate (from November 1994 to July 1995)

Susanna Clarendon, Administrative Assistant (from November 1995)

Theron Feist, Project Assistant (from November 1994 to June 1995)

Beth Shevitz, Research Assistant (from December 1994 through February 1995)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR ROCK MECHANICS

Jane C. S. Long (Chair),

Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

Herbert H. Einstein,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

Bezalel C. Haimson,

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Ronald P. Nordgren,

NAE, Rice University, Houston, Texas

Miklos G. Salamon,

Colorado School of Mines, Golden

Lawrence W. Teufel,

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Donald L. Turcotte,

NAS, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Former Members Active During the Course of the Study

Bernard Amadei (until 1994),

University of Colorado, Boulder

Barry H. G. Brady (Chair from 1992 until 1994),

Dowell-Schlumberger, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Arthur McGarr (until 1992),

U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California

James E. Monsees (until 1994),

PB/MK Team, Dallas, Texas

Wolfgang R. Wawersik (Chair until 1992),

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Lewis V. Wade (until 1994),

U.S. Bureau of Mines, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Staff

Mahadevan Mani, Director

Peter H. Smeallie, Director (to May 1994)

Jennifer T. Estep, Administrative Assistant (to May 1994)

Amelia B. Mathis, Senior Secretary/Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

GEOTECHNICAL BOARD

James K. Mitchell,

NAE,

(Chair)

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg

Clarence R. Allen,

NAE/NAS, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

Joan (Jodie) Z. Bernstein,

Waste Management, Oak Brook, Illinois

David E. Daniel,

University of Texas, Austin

William S. Gardner,

W. S. Gardner and Associates, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

James P. Gould,

NAE, Mueser, Rutledge Consulting Engineers, New York, New York

François E. Heuze,

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

Charles C. Ladd,

NAE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

James D. Murff,

Exxon Production Research Company, Houston, Texas

Shlomo P. Neuman,

NAE, University of Arizona, Tucson

Thomas D. O'Rourke,

NAE, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Reuben Samuels,

Parsons Brinckerhoff, New York, New York

Robert L. Schuster,

U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado

Don W. Steeples,

University of Kansas, Lawrence

Liaison Members from the Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

William C. Webster,

University of California, Berkeley

Robert V. Whitman,

Lexington, Massachusetts

Former Members Active During the Course of the Study

Philip E. LaMoreaux (until 1992),

P. E. LaMoreaux and Associates, Inc., Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Jean-Claude Roegiers (until 1992),

University of Oklahoma, Norman

Wilson H. Tang (until 1992),

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Staff

Mahadevan Mani, Director

Peter H. Smeallie, Director (to May 1994)

Jennifer T. Estep, Administrative Assistant (to May 1994)

Amelia B. Mathis, Senior Secretary/Project Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

BOARD ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS

H. M. (Hub) Hubbard (Chair), President and Chief Executive Officer,

Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, Honolulu, Hawaii

Richard Meserve (Vice-Chair), Partner,

Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C.

Stephen D. Ban, President,

Gas Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois

Robert D. Banks, Program Director,

Technology and Environment, World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C.

Allen J. Bard,

NAS,

Professor,

Department of Chemistry, University of Texas, Austin

Barbara R. Barkovich, Partner,

Barkovich and Yap, Consultants, San Rafael, California

Jan Beyea, Chief Scientist,

National Audubon Society, New York, New York

David E. Daniel, L. B. (Preach) Meaders Professor of Civil Engineering,

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas, Austin

Linda C. Dolan, Staff Environmental Engineer,

Martin Marietta Electronics and Missiles, Orlando, Florida

Robert L. Hirsch, President,

Energy Technology Collaborative, Washington, D.C.

François E. Heuze, Head,

Geotechnical Group, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

Charles D. Kolstad, Professor,

Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara

Jane C. S. Long, Staff Scientist,

Earth Sciences Division, Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California

Seymour Meisel,

NAE,

Vice-President,

Research (Retired), Mobil R&D Corporation, Princeton, New Jersey

Shlomo P. Neuman,

NAE,

Regents' Professor,

Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson

Thomas O'Rourke,

NAE,

Professor,

Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Lawrence T. Papay,

NAE,

Vice-President and Manager of Research and Development,

Bechtel Group, San Francisco, California

Ruth A. Reck, Director,

Global Climate Change Program, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois

Marc H. Ross, Professor,

Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Harold H. Schobert, Chairman,

Fuel Sciences Program, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Joel Spira,

NAE,

Chairman and Director of Research,

Lutron Electronics Company, Coopersburg, Pennsylvania

Jon M. Veigel, President,

Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

Liaison Members from the Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems

Richard A. Conway,

NAE,

Senior Corporate Fellow,

Union Carbide Corporation, South Charleston, West Virginia

Trevor O. Jones,

NAE,

Chairman of the Board (Retired),

Libbey-Owens-Ford Company, Cleveland, Ohio

Staff

Mahadevan Mani, Director

James Zucchetto, Senior Program Officer

Tracy Wilson, Senior Program Officer

Jill Wilson, Program Officer

Helen Johnson, Administrative Associate

Susanna Clarendon, Administrative Assistant

Amelia Mathis, Senior Secretary/Project Assistant

Wendy Lewallen, Administrative Assistant

Theron Feist, Project Assistant

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of out-standing engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is interim president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and interim vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

Preface

At its meeting in June 1990, the U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics (USNCRM), a standing committee of the National Research Council (NRC), identified rock fractures as a subject of great concern to the rock mechanics community. The USNCRM proposed that the NRC undertake a study to review characterization and fluid flow in rock fractures. The Committee on Fracture Characterization and Fluid Flow was appointed by the NRC in April 1991 and met for the first time in May 1991. The committee membership represents many of the disciplines concerned with rock fractures and fluid flow, including rock mechanics, hydrogeology, hydrofractures, geophysics, geology, geostatistics, civil engineering, and seismology. The committee met six times over the course of this study to debate, define, and develop this report.

Interest in fluid flow in fractured rock has grown rapidly in the past two decades, as a tool in recovering water and hydrocarbon supplies and geothermal energy, in predicting the flow of pollutants underground, and in engineering structures. Practitioners have recognized that progress in this field can be made only by drawing information from a number of different disciplines. However, a person trained in hydrology may have a limited understanding of what geology, geophysics, or geomechanics can do to help solve a problem in fluid flow. As a result, hydrological modelers often disregard geological or geophysical information that they do not know how to use. Similarly, those trained in geology, geophysics, or geomechanics may fail to understand aspects of fractures that are relevant to fluid flow. Studies produced under these conditions may be fascinating, but peripheral or even irrelevant to the real problems they are intended to address. These attitudes are self-propagating and lead to dead ends.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

This report is intended to promote a new, interdependent approach. It discusses the varied approaches used to solve problems of fluid flow in fractured rock, so that students, faculty, and practitioners may understand the strengths and limitations, as well as the interdependencies, of the available tools. It also contains recommendations for interdisciplinary research on problems that are not well understood, for the use of policy makers and research program managers.

This report has limitations. Its breadth has prohibited a comprehensive treatment of any single disciplinary area, although it does communicate a basic understanding of each area. Experts are unlikely to learn much from the chapters devoted to their fields, but should find much of interest in the other chapters.

The report is neither a review of the state of the art nor a literature survey, and does not include references to much important work. However, although the references are not all-inclusive, they are designed to be an entrance to the literature.

Committee members served the NRC as volunteers for more than three years to complete this study despite busy schedules and conflicting demands. Committee members responded to the chairman's unending demands and the critiques of their colleagues and of the NRC's staff and reviewers.

The committee was supported by an impressive list of outside contributors who responded with enthusiasm to calls such as ''Could you write a brief treatment of the importance of diagenesis?" or "Tell us what you know about two-phase flow in fractures." These individuals made a great difference in the quality of the final report. Steve Martel of the University of Hawaii merits special thanks. He contributed a significant effort to Chapter 2 as well as helping organize a field trip for the committee to look at fracture patterns in crystalline and volcanic rocks. Chris Dyke of British Petroleum wrote an account of diagenesis. Steve Laubach of the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology wrote one about joint systems. Marcelo Lippmann contributed sections on the role of fractures in geothermal energy development. Kenzi Karasaki of Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory contributed a treatment of well test analysis. Bill Foxall of Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory wrote about the San Andreas Fault system. Ernie Majer of Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory gave advice about cross-hole seismic methods. Tom Daley, also of Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, contributed a treatment of shear-wave anisotropy. Richard Everitt of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited contributed a description of the hydrology of fault zones at the Underground Research Laboratory. Bob Glass of Sandia National Laboratory wrote about two-phase flow in fractures in Chapter 3. Norm Warpinski of Sandia National Laboratory contributed an account of the Multiwell Experiment. Duayne Chesnut of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Deborah Hopkins, Robert Zimmerman, and Jahan Noorishad of Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory put time and effort into helping us with the difficulties of Chapter 7. Ki Ha Lee

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

and Karstin Pruess of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also made essential contributions. To all of these people we are grateful.

Several individuals were critical to the development and conduct of this study and must be mentioned explicitly. Wolfgang Wawersik, chaired the USNCRM when that committee developed the idea for this study, provided enthusiasm and moral support that sustained the project, and particularly the chairman. Peter Smeallie, as study director, developed the financial support, steered the work through the required procedures of the NRC, and guided the committee with skill, intelligence and tact. Jennifer Estep dealt with the committee's trips, its manuscripts, and its unending trivial requests—all with consistent cheerfulness, intelligence and know-how—and in addition had two beautiful babies during the study! Amelia Mathis doggedly yet cheerfully prepared numerous versions of the manuscript. Kevin Crowley edited the entire document, written by scores of people; he made it a readable and coherent document. Dev Mani became coordinator of the project near its completion and deserves our thanks for his efforts. The end game of this report was skillfully handled by Duncan Brown with help from Wendy Lewallen and Beth Shevitz. Jim Mitchell served as report review coordinator on behalf of the NRC, performing that demanding job with insight and good cheer. Nine anonymous reviewers went through the extensive text and provided comments that significantly improved the product.

The study received direct support from a number of federal government agencies concerned with research, resource development, environmental regulation and remediation, and civil infrastructure systems. These agencies were the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Office of Energy Research, Office of Fossil Energy, Geothermal Energy Division, Office of the Super conducting Super Collider, and Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Office; the Environmental Protection Agency's Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory and the Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Mines, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bureau of Land Management; the Department of Defense's Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Defense Nuclear Agency; Federal Transit Administration; and the National Science Foundation. In addition, two private-sector organizations contributed to the support of the study: the Gas Research Institute and Dowell-Schlumberger, Inc. The National Research Council, through its Day Fund, extended financial support for the publication and dissemination of the report. The committee and staff gratefully acknowledge the support of each of these agencies and organizations.

A number of individuals from the various federal agencies and other organizations that sponsored the study helped the committee by serving as liaisons to the committee and providing data, information, and materials. The committee wishes specifically to acknowledge the contributions of the following: Max Blanchard and Robert Levich, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project Office, U.S.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×

Department of Energy; Barry H. G. Brady, Dowell-Schlumberger, Inc.; James Carney, Office of the Superconducting Super Collider, U.S. Department of Energy; Peter G. Chamberlain, F. Michael Jenkins, and Robert D. Schmidt, U.S. Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior; Alex Crawley and Robert Lemmon, Bartlesville Project Office, U.S. Department of Energy; George Stosur, Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Joseph Dlugosz, Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Allan Jelacic and Marshall J. Reed, Geothermal Energy Division, U.S. Department of Energy; Stephen Kraemer and Steven G. Schmelling, Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Eric Lightner and Caroline B. Purdy, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy; Jacob Philip and Thomas Nicholson, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Hillary A. Oden, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior; Kent F. Perry, Gas Research Institute; Byron L. Ristvet, Nevada Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy; Greg A. Scott, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior.

This study has been an odyssey, albeit a rewarding one. We hope our readers find equivalent rewards in it.

Jane C. S. Long

Chairman, Committee on Fracture Characterization and Fluid Flow

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×
   

Appendix 2.B, Fracture Patterns in Frontier Formation Sandstones, Southwestern Wyoming

 

88

   

Appendix 2.C, Role of Pore Fluids in the San Andreas Fault

 

92

   

References

 

93

3

 

Physical Properties and Fundamental Processes in Fractures

 

103

   

Geometric Properties And Stress Effects

 

104

   

Single-Phase Fluid Flow in Fractures

 

118

   

Solute Transport

 

126

   

Two-Phase Immiscible Fluid Flow

 

127

   

Seismic Properties

 

132

   

Electrical Properties

 

138

   

Summary

 

146

   

Appendix 3.A, Seismic Displacement Discontinuity Theory

 

149

   

Appendix 3.B, Gravity-Driven Infiltration Flow Instability

 

153

   

Appendix 3.C, Influence of Two-Phase Structure on Fracture Permeability and Solute Transport

 

156

   

References

 

160

4

 

Fracture Detection Methods

 

167

   

Surface Methods

 

172

   

Borehole-Borehole and Borehole-Surface Methods

 

186

   

Single-Hole Methods

 

200

   

Fluid Flow Monitoring Using Geophysical Methods

 

219

   

Discussion

 

222

   

Appendix 4.A, Directional Borehole Radar System

 

224

   

Appendix 4.B, Summary of Conventional Log Applications in Fracture Studies

 

226

   

Appendix 4.C, Flowmeter Case Studies

 

230

   

Appendix 4.D, Example of Shear-Wave Anisotropy in Fractured Reservoirs

 

233

   

References

 

236

5

 

Hydraulic and Tracer Testing of Fractured Rocks

 

243

   

Hydraulic Tests

 

244

   

Tracer Tests

 

272

   

Appendix 5.A, Example of a Conductive Network Exhibiting Fractal Geometry

 

287

   

Appendix 5.B, Using a Multiple-Borehole Test to Determine the Hydraulic Conductivity Tensor of a Rock Mass

 

288

   

Appendix 5.C, Using a Numerical Model and Inverse Method to Analyze a Multiple-Borehole Hydraulic Test

 

290

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
×
   

Appendix 5.D, A Radially Convergent Flow Tracer Test in a Fractured Chalk Formation

 

292

   

Appendix 5.E, A Large-Scale Flow and Tracer Experiment in Granite

 

294

   

Appendix 5.F, Diagnostic Well Test Analysis at the Fracture Research Investigation

 

296

   

Appendix 5.G, The Fracture Zone Project at Finnsjön

 

303

   

References

 

304

6

 

Field-Scale Flow and Transport Models

 

307

   

Development of Conceptual and Mathematical Models

 

309

   

Equivalent Continuum Simulation Models

 

318

   

Discrete Network Simulation Models

 

332

   

Hybrid Methods: Using Discrete Network Models in Building Continuum Approximations

 

351

   

Discrete Network Models with Scale-Dependent Properties

 

358

   

Models of More Complex Hydrogeological Systems

 

375

   

Summary

 

385

   

Appendix 6.A, Model Prediction Using a Continuum Approach: The URL Drawdown Experiment

 

390

   

Appendix 6.B, Percolation Theory

 

393

   

Appendix 6.C, Connectivity

 

395

   

References

 

396

7

 

Induced Changes to Fracture Systems

 

405

   

Changes in Fracture Void Geometry Due to Changes in Effective Stress

 

406

   

Changes in Fracture Fluids

 

426

   

Addition of Solids

 

430

   

Redistribution of Existing Solids by Chemical Processes

 

439

   

Engineering Under Uncertain Conditions

 

443

   

Summary of Deficiencies and Research Needs

 

444

   

Appendix 7.A, Natural Fracturing

 

446

   

Appendix 7.B, Drainage Methods in Construction

 

448

   

References

 

450

8

 

Case Histories

 

455

   

Case History I. U.S. Geological Survey Fractured Rock Research Site Near Mirror Lake, New Hampshire

 

459

   

Case History II. The Site Characterization and Validation Project: Stripa Mine, Sweden

 

469

   

Case History III. Hydrocarbon Production From Fractured Sedimentary Rocks: Multiwell Experiment Site

 

475

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1996. Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/2309.
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Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications Get This Book
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Scientific understanding of fluid flow in rock fractures—a process underlying contemporary earth science problems from the search for petroleum to the controversy over nuclear waste storage—has grown significantly in the past 20 years. This volume presents a comprehensive report on the state of the field, with an interdisciplinary viewpoint, case studies of fracture sites, illustrations, conclusions, and research recommendations.

The book addresses these questions: How can fractures that are significant hydraulic conductors be identified, located, and characterized? How do flow and transport occur in fracture systems? How can changes in fracture systems be predicted and controlled?

Among other topics, the committee provides a geomechanical understanding of fracture formation, reviews methods for detecting subsurface fractures, and looks at the use of hydraulic and tracer tests to investigate fluid flow. The volume examines the state of conceptual and mathematical modeling, and it provides a useful framework for understanding the complexity of fracture changes that occur during fluid pumping and other engineering practices.

With a practical and multidisciplinary outlook, this volume will be welcomed by geologists, petroleum geologists, geoengineers, geophysicists, hydrologists, researchers, educators and students in these fields, and public officials involved in geological projects.

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