Rock Fractures And Fluid Flow: Contemporary Understanding and Applications

This book presents an interdisciplinary viewpoint, case studies of fracture sites, illustrations, conclusions, research recommendations, and examines the state of conceptual and mathematical modeling, and it provides a useful framework for understanding the complexity of fracture changes that occur during fluid pumping and other engineering practices. With a practical and multidisciplinary outlook, this volume will be welcomed by geologists, petroleum geologists, geoengineers, geophysicists, hydrologists, researchers, educators and students in these fields, and public officials involved in geological projects.


Scientific understanding of fluid flow in rock fractures - a process underlying contemporary earth science problems from the search for petroleum to the controversy over nuclear waste storage - has grown significantly.

The book addresses these questions:
• How can fractures that are significant hydraulic conductors be identified, located, and characterized?
• How do flow and transport occur in fracture systems?
• How can changes in fracture systems be predicted and controlled?

Among other topics, the committee provides a geomechanical understanding of fracture formation, reviews methods for detecting subsurface fractures, and looks at the use of hydraulic and tracer tests to investigate fluid flow.

Contents
Preface
Contents
Executive Summary
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Rock Fractures and Fluid Flow: Practical Problems
Appendix 1.A : Fractures In The Geysers Field
Appendix 1.B : Superfund Site: Byron Salvage Yard
2 Physical Characteristics of Fractures and Fracture Patterns
Appendix 2.A : Diagenetic Enhancement Of Natural Fracture Permeability
Appendix 2.B : Fracture Patterns In Frontier Formation Sandstones, Southwestern Wyoming
Appendix 2.C : Role Of Pore Fluids In The San Andreas Fault
3 Physical Properties and Fundamental Processes in Fractures
Appendix 3.A : Seismic Displacement Discontinuity Theory
Appendix 3.B : Gravity-Driven Infiltration Flow Instability
Appendix 3.C : Influence of Two-Phase Structure On Fracture Permeability And Solute Transport
4 Fracture Detection Methods
Appendix 4.A : Directional Borehole Radar System
Appendix 4.B : Summary Of Conventional Log Applications In Fracture Studies
Appendix 4.C : Flowmeter Case Studies
Appendix 4.D : Example Of Shear-Wave Anisotropy In Fractured Reservoirs
5 Hydraulic and Tracer Testing of Fractured Rocks
Appendix 5.A : Example Of A Conductive Network Exhibiting Fractal Geometry
Appendix 5.B : Using A Multiple-Borehole Test To Determine The Hydraulic Conductivity Tensor Of A Rock Mass
Appendix 5.C : Using A Numberical Model And Inverse Method To Analyze A Multiple-Borehole Hydraulic Test
Appendix 5.D : A Radially Convergent Flow Tracer Test In A Fractured Chalk Formation
Appendix 5.E : A Large-Scale Flow And Tracer Experiment In Granite
Appendix 5.F : Diagnostic Well Test Analysis At The Fracture Research Investigation
Appendix 5.G : The Fracture Zone Project At Finnsjon
6 Field-Scale Flow and Transport Models
Appendix 6.A : Model Prediction Using A Continuum Approach: The URL Drawdown Experiment
Appendix 6.B : Percolation Theory
Appendix 6.C: Connectivity
7 Induced Changes to Fracture Systems
Appendix 7.A : Natural Fracturing
Appendix 7.B : Drainage Methods In Construction
8 Case Histories
9 Technical Summary
Appendix A : Committee's Statement of Task
Index