Impact of stress on solute transport in a fracture network : A comparison study

• This paper compares numerical modeling of the effect of stress on solute transport (advection and matrix diffusion) in fractured rocks in which fracture apertures are correlated with fracture lengths. It is mainly motivated by the performance and safety assessments of underground radioactive waste repositories. Five research teams used different approaches to model stress/deformation, flow and transport processes, based on either discrete fracture network or equivalent continuum models. The simulation results derived by various teams generally demonstrated that rock stresses could significantly influence solute transport processes through stress-induced changes in fracture apertures and associated changes in permeability. Reasonably good agreement was achieved regarding advection and matrix diffusion given the same fracture network, while some observed discrepancies could be explained by different mechanical or transport modeling approaches. 

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Naturresursteknik -- Geofysisk teknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Environmental Engineering -- Geophysical Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

advection

deformation mechanism

discrete element method

fracture aperture

fracture flow

numerical model

performance assessment

porosity

radioactive waste

repository

rock mechanics

safety

solute transport

stress field

stress measurement

underground storage

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)