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Detailed Reference Information |
Mourzenko, V.V., Yousefian, F., Kolbah, B., Thovert, J.-F. and Adler, P.M. (2002). Solute transport at fracture intersections. Water Resources Research 38: doi: 10.1029/2000WR000211. issn: 0043-1397. |
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A numerical study of three-dimensional solute transportat fracture intersections by using a particle tracking technique is presented.Two models of orthogonal fracture intersection are considered, namely, twoparallel-walled channels and two rough-walled Gaussian fractures. The fluidvelocity is calculated by solving the three-dimensional Stokes equation withno-slip boundary condition at the solid wall. Examples of individual trajectoriesof particles are first given in order to illustrate the main features of thephenomenon. Solute mass partitioning between outgoing fracture branches isconsidered for various transport regimes, characterized by the local P¿cletnumber, and for various ratios of the flow rates in the intersecting channels.Generally speaking, it can be said that at dominant diffusion the influenceof the flow rates ratio is weak, while it is important in the opposite situation.Validity of the classical models of solute mixing, stream tube routing, andperfect mixing is analyzed by comparing their predictions with the numericaldata. Preliminary recommendations are made for the use of these results inlarge-scale modeling. |
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Abstract |
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Keywords
Hydrology, Groundwater transport, Mathematical Geophysics, Numerical solutions, Physical Properties of Rocks, Fracture and flow, Physical Properties of Rocks, Microstructure |
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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