Abstract
Calculations to investigate the effect of path tortuosity and connectivity on fluid flow rate through a single rough fracture were carried out. The flow paths are represented by electrical resistors placed on a two‐dimensional grid, and the resistances vary as the inverse of the fracture aperture cubed. The electric current through the circuit bears a one‐to‐one correspondence to the fluid flow rate. Both fracture apertures derived from measurements and from hypothetical analytic functions were used in a parameter study to investigate the dependence of tortuosity on fracture roughness characteristics. It was found that the more small apertures there are in the aperture distribution, the larger is the effect of tortuosity. When the fraction of contact area between the fracture surfaces rises above 30%, the aperture distributions are invariably large at small apertures, and the effect of fracture roughness and flow path tortuosity depresses flow rate from the value predicted by the parallel plate representation of a fracture by three or more orders of magnitude. The impact of these results on the calculations and measurements in fracture hydrology is discussed.
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