Evaluation of retention properties of a semi-synthetic fractured block from modelling at performance assessment time scales (Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Sweden)

Modelling of radionuclide transport in fractured media is a primary task for safety evaluation of a deep nuclear waste repository. A performance assessment (PA) model has been derived from site characterization data with the aim of improving confidence for quantifying transport of sorbing radionuclides at a safety time scale of 10⁶ y. The study was conducted on a 200?×?200?×?200 m semi-synthetic fractured block, providing a realistic system derived from the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (Sweden) dataset. The block includes 5,632 fractures ranging from 0.5 to 100 m in length and a heterogeneous matrix structure (fracture coating, gouge, mylonite, altered and non-altered diorite). The PA model integrates steady-state flow conditions and transport of released radionuclides during the safety time scale. An original simulation method was developed involving Eulerian flow and transport within fracture planes with a mixed hybrid finite element scheme and a semi-analytical source term to account for heterogeneous matrix diffusion. Total mass flux of radionuclides (conservative to strongly sorbing) was computed. A method to simplify the system was demonstrated, leading to a major path of 12 fractures. This is mainly due to the low connectivity of the fracture network. Matrix diffusion and sorption proved to have major impact on block retention properties for PA conditions.     

Hydraulic conditions at the source zone and their impact on plume behavior

A laboratory sandbox model (105?×?60?×?15 cm) was filled with different types of sediments to arrange different hydraulic conditions at the tracer’s injection zone. Tracer-input functions were monitored at the injection location and tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs) were measured at a downgradient detection plane. Numerical transport simulations analogous to the sandbox experiments were conducted in a numerical model parameterized with the properties of the sediments used in the sandbox. The results of the study demonstrate that the hydraulic conditions at the source zone have a major influence on plume development. Tracer injection into high-permeability zones causes early arrival, and enhanced transverse and reduced longitudinal spreading. Tracer injection into low-permeability zones causes late arrival, and reduced transverse and enhanced longitudinal spreading. It was further found that using simplified tracer-input functions in the analysis of BTCs can lead to biased transport parameters. The results suggest that transport parameter estimation based on tracer experiments can benefit from monitoring of the tracer-input function and subsequent consideration of the measured tracer-input function in the analysis of BTCs.     

Development of a Darcy-Brinkman model to simulate water flow and tracer transport in a heterogeneous karstic aquifer (Val d’Orléans, France)

Darcy’s law is the equation of reference widely used to model aquifer flows. However, its use to model karstic aquifers functioning with large pores is problematic. The physics occurring within the karstic conduits requires the use of a more representative macroscopic equation. A hydrodynamic model is presented which is adapted to the karstic aquifer of the Val d’Orléans (France) using two flow equations: (1) Darcy’s law, used to describe water flow within the massive limestone, and (2) the Brinkman equation, used to model water flow within the conduits. The flow equations coupled with the transport equation allow the prediction of the karst transfer properties. The model was tested by using six dye tracer tests and compared to a model that uses Darcy’s law to describe the flow in karstic conduits. The simulations show that the conduit permeability ranges from 5?×?10^?6 to 5.5?×?10^?5?m² and the limestone permeability ranges from 8?×?10^?11 to 6?×?10^?10?m². The dispersivity coefficient ranges from 23 to 53 m in the conduits and from 1 to 5 m in the limestone. The results of the simulations carried out using Darcy’s law in the conduits show that the dispersion towards the fractures is underestimated.     

Regional-scale analysis of karst underground flow deduced from tracing experiments: examples from carbonate aquifers in Malaga province,southern Spain

Tracer concentration data from field experiments conducted in several carbonate aquifers (Malaga province, southern Spain) were analyzed following a dual approach based on the graphical evaluation method (GEM) and solute transport modeling to decipher flow mechanisms in karst systems at regional scale. The results show that conduit system geometry and flow conditions are the principal factors influencing tracer migration through the examined karst flow routes. Solute transport is mainly controlled by longitudinal advection and dispersion throughout the conduit length, but also by flow partitioning between mobile and immobile fluid phases, while the matrix diffusion process appears to be less relevant. The simulation of tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs) suggests that diffuse and concentrated flow through the unsaturated zone can have equivalent transport properties under extreme recharge, with high flow velocities and efficient mixing due to the high hydraulic gradients generated. Tracer mobilization within the saturated zone under low flow conditions mainly depends on the hydrodynamics (rather than on the karst conduit development), which promote a lower longitudinal advection and retardation in the tracer migration, resulting in a marked tailing effect of BTCs. The analytical advection-dispersion equation better approximates the effective flow velocity and longitudinal dispersion estimations provided by the GEM, while the non-equilibrium transport model achieves a better adjustment of most asymmetric and long-tailed BTCs. The assessment of karst underground flow properties from tracing tests at regional scale can aid design of groundwater management and protection strategies, particularly in large hydrogeological systems (i.e. transboundary carbonate aquifers) and/or in poorly investigated ones.     

Regional evaluation of hydraulic properties in variably fractured rock using a hydrostructural domain approach

A hydrostructural domain approach was tested and validated in fractured bedrock aquifers of the Gulf Islands, British Columbia (BC), Canada. Relative potential hydraulic properties for three hydrostructural domains in folded and faulted sedimentary rocks were derived using stochastically generated fracture data and hybrid discrete fracture network-equivalent porous media (DFN-EPM) modelling. Model-derived relative potential transmissivity values show good spatial agreement with transmissivity values obtained from pumping tests at selected sites. A spatial pattern of increasing transmissivity towards the southeast along the island chain is consistent between both datasets. Cluster analysis on relative potential permeability values obtained from a larger dataset for the region identified four clusters with geometric means of 9?×?10^?13, 4?×?10^?13, 2?×?10^–13, and 3?×?10^–14 m². The general trend is an increase in relative potential permeability toward the southeast, emulating the trends identified in the site-specific analyses. Relative potential permeability values increase with proximity to the hinge line of a regional northwest-trending asymmetric fault propagation fold structure, and with proximity to superimposed high-angle north- and northeast-trending brittle faults. The results are consistent with documented patterns of structurally controlled fluid flow and show promise for use in regional characterization of fractured bedrock aquifers.     

水箱-管道系统溶质运移实验研究及其岩溶水文地质意义

为了研究岩溶管道中溶潭对溶质运移的影响,在实验室内构建水箱-管道系统,在不同管道结构和水流条件下进行定量示踪实验并得到相应的穿透曲线(BTCs);采用Qtracer2软件分析溶质运移参数,采用滞后系数R分析实验结果与一维经典对流弥散方程解析解之间的差别。实验结果显示:随着水箱数量的增加,示踪剂(NaCl)峰值质量浓度逐渐降低,弥散系数和弥散度逐渐增加,穿透曲线拖尾逐渐增长,表明水箱的瞬态存储使溶质运移滞后;与不对称水箱相比,对称水箱BTC拖尾较长;峰现时间随着不对称水箱数量的增多明显滞后;出口流量增加时,弥散度减小,BTC拖尾变短。一维经典对流弥散方程解析解仅对单管道最大流量条件下的BTC拟合较好,对流量较小的单管道和水箱-管道系统的BTC拟合较差,需研究适用的模型解释其拖尾现象。     

Laboratory investigation and simulation of breakthrough curves in karst conduits with pools

A series of laboratory experiments are performed under various hydrological conditions to analyze the effect of pools in pipes on breakthrough curves (BTCs). The BTCs are generated after instantaneous injections of NaCl tracer solution. In order to test the feasibility of reproducing the BTCs and obtain transport parameters, three modeling approaches have been applied: the equilibrium model, the linear graphical method and the two-region nonequilibrium model. The investigation results show that pools induce tailing of the BTCs, and the shapes of BTCs depend on pool geometries and hydrological conditions. The simulations reveal that the two-region nonequilibrium model yields the best fits to experimental BTCs because the model can describe the transient storage in pools by the partition coefficient and the mass transfer coefficient. The model parameters indicate that pools produce high dispersion. The increased tailing occurs mainly because the partition coefficient decreases, as the number of pools increases. When comparing the tracer BTCs obtained using the two types of pools with the same size, the more appreciable BTC tails that occur for symmetrical pools likely result mainly from the less intense exchange between the water in the pools and the water in the pipe, because the partition coefficients for the two types of pools are virtually identical. Dispersivity values decrease as flow rates increase; however, the trend in dispersion is not clear. The reduced tailing is attributed to a decrease in immobile water with increasing flow rate. It provides evidence for hydrodynamically controlled tailing effects.     

Nitrate vertical transport and simulation in soils of rocky desertification in Karst regions,Southwest China

The characteristics of nitrate vertical transport in soils collected from Libo and Puding in Guizhou Province were studied by simulating soil column in laboratory. The results were as follows: (1) Vertical transport velocity of nitrate decreased, and the breakthrough curves (BTCs) of nitrate were more dispersed, in each horizon from surface layer to bottom layer in every soil profile. As rocky desertification progressed, the BTCs experienced a gentle up and down trend, and tailing was more obvious. (2) An analytical solute transport model (CXTFIT 2.0) was used to estimate nitrate dispersion coefficient (D) and average pore water velocity (V) from the observed BTCs. The results showed that CXTFIT 2.0 model was suitable in fitting the nitrate transport in these soils. The dispersion coefficient was found to be a function of average pore water velocity. (3) The transport of nitrate was mainly affected by the soil structural coefficient. As soil structural coefficient decreased, nitrate outflow was retarded, and the peak concentration was reduced. Soil bulk density, organic matter, and clay also affected the vertical transport of nitrate. Low bulk density, clay content, and high organic matter content were each associated with faster nitrate transport.     

Interpretation of tracer tests performed in fractured rock of the Lange Bramke basin, Germany

 Two multitracer tests performed in one of the major cross-fault zones of the Lange Bramke basin (Harz Mountains, Germany) confirm the dominant role of the fault zone in groundwater flow and solute transport. Tracers having different coefficients of molecular diffusion (deuterium, bromide, uranine, and eosine) yielded breakthrough curves that can only be explained by a model that couples the advective–dispersive transport in the fractures with the molecular diffusion exchange in the matrix. For the scale of the tests (maximum distance of 225 m), an approximation was used in which the influence of adjacent fractures is neglected. That model yielded nearly the same rock and transport parameters for each tracer, which means that the single-fracture approximation is acceptable and that matrix diffusion plays an important role. The hydraulic conductivity of the fault zone obtained from the tracer tests is about 1.5×10^–2 m/s, whereas the regional hydraulic conductivity of the fractured rock mass is about 3×10^–7 m/s, as estimated from the tritium age and the matrix porosity of about 2%. These values show that the hydraulic conductivity along the fault is several orders of magnitude larger than that of the remaining fractured part of the aquifer, which confirms the dominant role of the fault zones as collectors of water and conductors of fast flow. Received, April 1997 Revised, January 1998, August 1998 Accepted, August 1998     

单裂隙介质中的溶质运移研究综述

总结了有关单裂隙介质中溶质运移的基本特点和实验研究的成果,得出影响单裂隙介质中溶质运移的几个重要因素,例如骨架扩散、弥散、表面吸附等,介绍了几个具有代表性的数学模型,同时对模型的有效性和局限性进行了初步讨论.     

Characterization of flow and transport dynamics in karst aquifers by analyzing tracer test results in conduits and recharge areas (the Egino Massif,Basque Country,Spain): environmental and management implications

Karst aquifers contribute to supplying drinking water to almost a quarter of the world´s population. Their complex dynamics requires specific approaches aimed at recognizing their singularities, analyzing its vulnerability, and ensuring water resources quality. In this paper, the results of processing and modeling five breakthrough tracer curves obtained under different hydrodynamic conditions in the main conduit of Egino karst aquifer (Basque Country, Spain) are analyzed together with those involving pressure injections of the tracer in the saturated zone of the karst massif recharge area. In the conduit, transport is immediate and highly efficient (recovery rates above 84% and dispersion coefficients from 15.04 to 84.35 m²/min); tracer retentions increase as flow rates decrease and no significant contributions to its surroundings are observed. In contrast, tracer transport from the massif recharge area is more complex: after injection at a pressure of 1 MPa, most tracer remains in the surrounding of the injection borehole, retained in a saturated medium of low effective fracture porosity (? _f ?=?1.02?×?10^?4, assuming a radial divergent flow model); subsequently, the main tracer mobilization to the spring was registered with the first rains, with 0.088 m/min mean velocity and high concentrations per unit mass being injected (C _p /M₀?=?0.03 mg/L/kg), which is evidence that the tracer reaches soon the karst conduit network. In any case, a decreasing tracer presence is registered at the injection zone during a hydrological cycle. In both cases, the observed non-linearity of transport processes should be considered in the development of vulnerability approaches, modeling efforts, and mapping. Furthermore, in the case of karst massif recharge areas, as the presence of pollutants may have a significant impact on the springs and persist over time, their management and protection needs must be revised in each specific site. Simultaneously, quality-monitoring programs at the springs must be adapted to the aquifers recognized dynamics.     

Study on the optimal development method for offshore buried hill fractured reservoirs

In order to understand the percolation mechanism and development regulation in offshore buried hill fractured reservoir, similarity criteria of physical simulation on water flooding in the fractured reservoirs were established by using similarity and flow theory. Based on the similarity theory and Warren–Root model, a large-scale (1 m?×?1 m?×?0.5 m) physical similarity model was built. By conducting the similar physical experiments, the behavior and mechanism of fluid flow in the reservoir in different development modes were studied, together with the optimal development program selected. The physical simulation results show that the stereoscopic staggered horizontal well pattern can give full play to the function of oil–water gravitational differentiation and reduce the rising rate of water cut. Flooding mechanisms vary from mode to mode: The sweep efficiency of cold water flooding is higher, whereas the oil displacement efficiency in the fracture and oil recovery in the matrix are lower in the affected area. The hot water flooding can improve the oil–water flow ratio of the mainstream line, reduce the seepage resistance, and improve the oil displacement efficiency in the fracture and the oil recovery of the matrix in the area. However, due to poor heat transfer efficiency, the difference of seepage resistance between the mainstream line and other regional increases results in decreased sweep efficiency. Surfactant flooding reduces oil–water interfacial tension and improves flooding efficiency in the area, yet degenerates oil recovery for the matrix.     

Chloride as tracer of solute transport in the aquifer–aquitard system in the Pearl River Delta,China

A 1D numerical model is constructed to investigate the impact of sedimentation and sea level changes on transport of Cl^? in the aquifer–aquitard system in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. The model simulates the evolution of the vertical Cl^? concentration profiles during the Holocene. Sedimentation is modeled as a moving boundary problem. Chloride concentration profiles are reconstructed for nine boreholes, covering a wide area of the PRD, from northwest to southeast. Satisfactory agreement is obtained between simulated and measured Cl^? concentration profiles. Diffusion solely is adequate to reproduce the vertical Cl^? concentration profiles, which indicates that diffusion is the regionally dominant vertical transport mechanism across the aquitards in the PRD. The estimated effective diffusion coefficients of the aquitards range from 2.0?×?10^–11 to 2.0?×?10^–10 m²/s. The effective diffusion coefficients of the aquifers range from 3.0?×?10^–11 to 4.0?×?10^–10 m²/s. Advective transport tends to underestimate Cl^? concentrations in the aquitard and overestimate Cl^? concentrations in the basal aquifer. The results of this study will help understand the mechanisms of solute transport in the PRD and other deltas with similar geological and hydrogeological characteristics.     

Effect of different transport observations on inverse modeling results: case study of a long-term groundwater tracer test monitored at high resolution

Conservative tracer experiments can provide information useful for characterizing various subsurface transport properties. This study examines the effectiveness of three different types of transport observations for sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation of a three-dimensional site-specific groundwater flow and transport model: conservative tracer breakthrough curves (BTCs), first temporal moments of BTCs (m ₁), and tracer cumulative mass discharge (M _d) through control planes combined with hydraulic head observations (h). High-resolution data obtained from a 410-day controlled field experiment at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (USA), have been used. In this experiment, bromide was injected to create two adjacent plumes monitored at six different transects (perpendicular to groundwater flow) with a total of 162 monitoring wells. A total of 133 different observations of transient hydraulic head, 1,158 of BTC concentration, 23 of first moment, and 36 of mass discharge were used for sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation of nine flow and transport parameters. The importance of each group of transport observations in estimating these parameters was evaluated using sensitivity analysis, and five out of nine parameters were calibrated against these data. Results showed the advantages of using temporal moment of conservative tracer BTCs and mass discharge as observations for inverse modeling.     

Analytical solutions of tracer transport in fractured rock associated with precipitation-dissolution reactions

Precipitation-dissolution reactions are important for a number of applications such as isotopic tracer transport in the subsurface. Analytical solutions have been developed for tracer transport in both single-fracture and multiple-fracture systems associated with these reactions under transient and steady-state transport conditions. These solutions also take into account advective transport in fractures and molecular diffusion in the rock matrix. For studying distributions of disturbed tracer concentration (the difference between actual concentration and its equilibrium value), effects of precipitation-dissolution reactions are mathematically equivalent to a “decay” process with a decay constant proportional to the corresponding bulk reaction rate. This important feature significantly simplifies the derivation procedure by taking advantage of the existence of analytical solutions for tracer transport associated with radioactive decay in fractured rock. It is also useful for interpreting tracer breakthrough curves, because the impact of a decay process is relatively easy to analyze. Several illustrative examples are presented, which show that the results are sensitive to fracture spacing, matrix diffusion coefficient (fracture surface area), and bulk reaction rate (or “decay” constant), indicating that the relevant flow and transport parameters may be estimated by analyzing tracer signals.     

Fair weather and storm sand transport on the Long Island, New York, inner shelf

Both spring-summer and fall-winter sand transport have been observed on the Long Island, New York, inner shelf at water depths of 20-22 m using a radio-isotope sand tracer system. The extent of dispersal of the tagged, fine sand was measured at 3 week intervals in two 70 day experiments. In the late spring and early summer, movement was primarily diffusive in nature, extending 100 m around the line of tracer injection, while late fall-winter patterns had strong advective features, including an ellipsoidal outline extending approximately 1500 m westward of the injection points after the passage of several storms with strong northeasterly winds. Near-bottom current observations made with Savonius rotor sensors identify the event responsible for the bulk of the transport over the 135 day observation period as a storm flow of 2 days duration. Tracer and current observations together suggest that westward winter storm flow along the Long Island shelf is the major mechanism of sand transport at these depths on a yearly time scale. A least-squares fit of several of the observed winter patterns with a plume model yields average sediment mass flux lower bounds of 3.2 × 10^?3 gm/cm/sec and 1.7 × 10^?1 gm/cm/sec for ‘typical’ and extreme winter storm activity.     

裂隙岩体渗流概念模型研究

裂隙岩体中的渗流和传统的多孔介质渗流在机理上存在本质的差别,这种差别主要表现为裂隙岩体在各种尺度上存在的非均质性。模拟裂隙岩体渗流的主要困难在于描述这种非均质性。目前的概念模型,包括等效连续体模型、离散裂隙网络模型和混合模型使用了不同的技术来预测裂隙岩体中的渗流。这些模型基于不同的假设和概念框架,有着各自不同的优缺点。在实际应用时,应当根据研究域的具体特点和所要解决的问题的要求对其选择,此外,还讨论了单裂隙的概念模型。     

Constraining the uncertainty in fracture geometry using tracer tests

In fractured-rock aquifers, the geometric and hydraulic properties of the fractures commonly have a dominant influence on transport. Tracer tests are often used to estimate directly the gross transport properties of a fractured rock mass. The prospects for understanding characteristics of the heterogeneities in a fractured porous medium were explored from evidence provided by tracer experiments. The approach was to simulate flow and transport on a large set of prescribed fracture networks in a two-dimensional homogeneous permeable medium, thus generating synthetic tracer test data. The fracture orientation, aperture, spacing and network geometry were systematically altered from one case to the next. A classification scheme was devised for the tracer breakthrough curves using principal component analysis and this classification was linked to the fracture pattern properties. Even under highly simplified and controlled conditions, quite different fracture patterns can produce very similar breakthrough curves. The classification scheme thus demonstrates that a single breakthrough curve cannot reveal the fracture geometry with any precision. However, the scheme provided a methodology for rejecting geometric properties that do not belong to the fracture pattern under investigation, thus reducing the uncertainty in fracture geometry.