Effect of shear-induced contact area and aperture variations on nonlinear flow behaviors in fractal rock fractures

Abstract

This study experimentally analyzes the nonlinear flow characteristics and channelization of fluid through rough-walled fractures during the shear process using a shear-flow-visualization apparatus. A series of fluid flow and visualization tests is performed on four transparent fracture specimens with various shear displacements of 1 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm, 7 mm and 10 mm under a normal stress of 0.5 MPa. Four granite fractures with different roughnesses are selected and quantified using variogram fractal dimensions. The obtained results show that the critical Reynolds number tends to increase with increasing shear displacement but decrease with increasing roughness of fracture surface. The flow paths are more tortuous at the beginning of shear because of the wide distribution of small contact spots. As the shear displacement continues to increase, preferential flow paths are more distinctly observed due to the decrease in the number of contact spots caused by shear dilation; yet the area of single contacts increases. Based on the experimental results, an empirical mathematical equation is proposed to quantify the critical Reynolds number using the contact area ratio and fractal dimension. • A visualization method is developed to determine the channelization of sheared fracture. • A model for predicting the Re c is proposed.