Abstract
The hydraulic conductivity can control geotechnical design, resource recovery and waste disposal. We investigate the effect of pore-scale spatial variability on flow patterns and hydraulic conductivity using network models realized with various tube size distributions, coordination number, coefficient of variation, correlation and anisotropy. In addition, we analyse flow patterns to understand observed trends in hydraulic conductivity. In most cases, the hydraulic conductivity decreases as the variance in pore size increases because flow becomes gradually localized along fewer flow paths; as few as 10 per cent of pores may be responsible for 50 per cent of the total flow in media with high pore-size variability. Spatial correlation reduces the probability of small tubes being next to large ones and leads to higher hydraulic conductivity while focused fluid flow takes place along interconnected regions of high conductivity. A pronounced decrease in tortuosity is observed when pore size and spatial correlation in the flow direction are higher than in the transverse direction. These results highlight the relevance of grain size and formation history dependent pore size distribution and spatial variability on hydraulic conductivity, related geo-process and engineering applications. © 2011 The Authors Geophysical Journal International © 2011 RAS.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
