Measurements of electrical conductivity for characterizing and monitoring nuclear waste repositories

Abstract

The detection of major fractures is one topic of this study but another equally important problem is to develop quantitative relationships between large scale resistivity and fracture systems in rock. There has been very little work done on this central issue. Empirical relations between resistivity and porosity have been derived on the basis of laboratory samples or from well logging, but there are no comparable 'laws' for rock masses with major fracture or joint patterns. Hydrologic models for such rocks have been recently been derived but the corresponding resistivity models have not been attempted. Resistivity due to fracture distributions with preferred orientation could be determined with such models, as could quantitative interpretation of changes as fracture aperature varies with load. This study is not only important for the assessment of a repository site, but has far ranging implications in reservoir studies for oil, gas, and geothermal resources. The electrical conductivity can be measured in two ways. Current can be injected into the ground through pairs of electrodes and corresponding voltage drops can be measured in the vicinity with other pairs of electrodes. The electrical conductivity can also be measured inductively. Instead of injecting current into the ground as described in the dc resistivity method, currents can be induced to flow by a changing magnetic field. In these inductive or electromagnetic (em) methods the interpretation depends both on transmitter-receiver geometry and frequency of operation. In principle the interpretation should be more definitive than with the dc resistivity methods. Rigorous confirmation of this statement in inhomogeneous media awaits the development of generalized inversion techniques for em methods.