Spatial statistics for predicting fluid flow through a single rock fracture

Steady-state laminar flow through single rock fractures is predicted in terms of spatial statistics computed from the arrangement of voids and contact areas within the fracture. Within the voids, aperture is assumed to be constant. One statistic measures how often pixels alternate from void to contact area in the rows parallel to the flow direction. Two others measure the dispersion of voids in the rows and columns of the pattern. Fractures with complexity typical of observed data are simulated. Flow through patterns with 80% voids is predicted in terms of a linear combination of the three statistics. Using an extended model involving one of the three statistics, flow through patterns with other void fractions is predicted.The author did this work at the Earth Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California. It is part of a Ph.D. thesis which was submitted at Stanford University.