All geophysical methods detect fractures indirectly [e.g. NAS/NRC, 1996]. Typically several levels of interpretation follow the collection of raw geophysical data. Field measurements must first be interpreted (for example from travel time to velocities or identification of the origin of seismic scattering features in the coda). Then the fracture properties must be deduced using models (from sei...

a typical iranian carbonate matrix block surrounded by an open fracture was modeled in order to understand the fracture-matrix interaction and realize how to model the interaction best. the modeling was carried out by using a fine-scaled eclipse model in the single porosity mode (the fractures were explicitly modeled). the model was extended to a stack of 6 matrix blocks to understand block-to-...

This study outlines a new method for disposing of hazardous (e.g., nuclear) waste. The technique is called Abyssal Sequestration, and it involves placing the waste at extreme depths in Earth’s crust where it could achieve the geologically long period of isolation. Abyssal Sequestration involves storing the waste in hydraulic fractures driven by gravity, a process we term as gravity fracturing. ...

We present a three-dimensional modeling study of gas flow in the unsaturated fractured rock of Yucca Mountain. Our objective was to estimate large-scale fracture permeability, using the changes in subsurface pneumatic pressure in response to barometric pressure changes at the land surface. We incorporate the field-measured pneumatic data into a multiphase flow model for describing the coupled p...

Tight gas reservoirs are characterized by single-phase (gas) or two-phase (gas and liquid) flow in extremely low-permeability, highly heterogeneous porous/fractured, and stress-sensitive rock. Gas flow in such tight formations is further complicated by other co-existing processes, such as Klinkenberg effect, non-Newtonian or non-Darcy flow behavior, due to strong interaction between fluid molec...

This presentation provides an overview of a major field focused program of studies aimed at improved investigation methods and understanding organic contaminant source zones and plumes in fractured porous sedimentary rock. This research began in 1997, when intensive field studies were initiated at a TCE contaminated site on steeply dipping and faulted sandstone in California. Now, with collabor...

We present an experimental approach for investigating the potential for bioremediation of Ž . volatile organic compounds VOCs in fractured rock vadose zones. The experimental work was performed with rock samples and indigenous microorganisms from the site of the United States Ž . Department of Energy’s Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory INEEL , located in a basalt flow basi...

T.C. Ekneligoda Abstract: The paper presents a graphical technique for the rapid analysis of the complex, nonlinear equation that describes the variation of the production temperature of a horizontally-fractured geothermal well. The nomogram presented for the evaluation of the production temperature incorporates the mass flow rate, fracture width, fracture length, number of conductive fractures...

[1] Accurate and efficient simulation of contaminant transport in fractured rock is practically important, yet current approaches suffer from numerical constraints that limit the full inclusion of fracture network properties at the regional scale. We propose a multidimensional transport model, nonlocal in space and time, which describes complex transport behavior in fractured media at regional ...