Journal article
Investigation of the permeability anisotropy of 2D fractured rock masses
Engineering geology, Vol.196, pp.171-182
28/09/2015
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Abstract
A hydro-geometric anisotropy factor is derived for better correlation with the permeability anisotropy of fieldscale fractured rock masses. The hydro-geometric anisotropy factor considers the orientation, length, spacing and hydraulic aperture properties of a discrete fracture network. Numerical simulations are carried out by using a pipe network method which simulates the fractures as connected and directed pipes obeying Darcy's law to validate the correlation between the hydro-geometric anisotropy factor and the permeability anisotropy of fracture networks. Fracture patterns from simple to complex with a scale of 10 m by 10 m are generated to study the effects of different fracture distributions on the hydro-geometric anisotropy of fracture networks and thus on the permeability anisotropy. It is found that the aperture size and distribution have a significant effect on the permeability anisotropy that affects the main permeable direction of the fracture networks. The permeability anisotropy varies following a power relation with the change of the intersection angle between two fracture sets. Varying the number and length ratio of the fracture sets also alters the permeability anisotropy. In all fracture patterns, the hydro-geometric anisotropy factor gives an accurate correlation with the permeability anisotropy. An anisotropic conductivity index is further defined to evaluate the directional hydraulic connectivity of the fracture system. Based on this approach, the permeability anisotropy of a fracture network system can be quickly assessed through the correlation with the hydro-geometric anisotropy factor and the anisotropic conductivity index.
Details
- Title
- Investigation of the permeability anisotropy of 2D fractured rock masses
- Creators
- Feng Ren - The University of Western AustraliaGuowei Ma - The University of Western AustraliaGuoyang Fu - The University of Western AustraliaKe Zhang - The University of Western Australia
- Publication Details
- Engineering geology, Vol.196, pp.171-182
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Grant note
- This research was supported by the Scholarships for International Research Fees (SIRF) [F51416], and University Postgraduate Awards (International Students) [F51204] at UWA.
- Identifiers
- 991013291154702368
- Copyright
- © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article