HR: 1340h
AN: H33H-1717    [Abstracts]
TI: Macroscopic properties of fractured porous media
AU: Thovert, J
EM: thovert@lcd.ensma.fr
AF: LCD ENSMA, SP2MI, Futuroscope, 86960, France
AU: Mourzenko, V V
EM: mourzenk@lcd.ensma.fr
AF: LCD ENSMA, SP2MI, Futuroscope, 86960, France
AU: * Adler, P M
EM: padler@ccr.jussieu.fr
AF: Sisyphe-UPMC, 4 place Jussieu, Paris, 75252, France
AB: The determination of the local fields in fractured porous media is a challenging problem, because of the multiple scales that are involved and of the possible nonlinearity of the governing equations. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overall view of the numerical technique which has been used to solve numerous problems. It is based on a three-dimensional discrete description of the fracture network and of the embedding matrix. Any fracture network geometry, any type of boundary condition, and any distribution of the fracture and matrix properties can be addressed, without simplifying approximations. The first step is to mesh the fracture network as it is by triangles of a controlled size. This meshing by an advancing front technique is done successively for each fracture and the intersections between fractures are taken into account. Then, the space in between the fractures is meshed by tetrahedra by the advancing front technique again. The faces of the tetrahedra which are in contact with fractures, coincide with the corresponding triangles in these fractures. The performances of these meshing codes will be illustrated by a few examples. The second step consists in discretizing the conservation equations by the finite volume technique. Specific properties are given to each fracture such as a surface permeability or a joint rigidity. This general technique has been applied to the basic and most important properties of fracture networks and of fractured porous media (1). These properties are single and two phase flows, wether they are accompagnied or not by dispersion of a solute and mechanical properties possibly coupled with flow. These applications will be briefly illustrated by some examples, including when possible comparison with real data. Ref: (1) P.M. Adler, V.V. Mourzenko, J.-F. Thovert, I. Bogdanov, in Dynamics of fluids and transport in fractured rock, ed. B. Faybishenko, Geophysical Monograph Series, 162, 33, 2005.
DE: 0545 Modeling (4255)
DE: 1847 Modeling
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting