Fluid Flow, Chemical Transport and Fracture Evolution (Due to Thermoelastic Stress, and Chemical Dissolution and Precipitation) in Laser-induced Fracture Networks is Visualized

Dijk, Peter E, Atlanta GA

Investigators

Abstract

0000451 Dijk The processes occurring inside opaque rocks are inherently difficult to measure directly and analyze quantitatively. Therefore, they are not well understood. As a result, existing conceptual and theoretical models are based on unvalidated assumption and simplifications. The principal objectives of this research are (i) to visualize and study fluid flow, chemical transport and fracture evolution (due to thermoelastic stress, and chemical dissolution and precipitation) inside single fractures and fracture networks, (ii) to determine the validity and accuracy of existing conceptual and theoretical models, and (iii) to apply and extend existing predictive models for fluid flow, chemical transport, and fracture evolution. For this purpose, experimental techniques will be developed to generate laser-induced fractures and fracture networks of prescribed geometry in transparent materials, and to visualize the processes occurring in these fracture networks. The project has both scientific and practical significance. The principal scientific benefit is the experimental and theoretical investigation of fluid flow, chemical transport, and fracture evolution. Practical, long-standing problems (e.g., in subsurface hydrology and rock fracture mechanics) will benefit enormously from the increased knowledge of these processes, and the development of more valid and accurate predictive models.