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Simulation of Fluid Flow on Fractures and Implications for Reactive Transport Simulations

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Abstract

The diverse numerical simulation techniques employed to predict fluid flow properties of fractures yield differing results which limits their applicability for reactive transport simulations. Basically the fluid flow simulation techniques can be divided in two groups: (i) techniques that yield average fluid flow characteristics and (ii) techniques that produce space-resolved properties. These differences may have substantial impact on the reactive transport simulations but may also depend on the fracture characteristics. For this reason, a sensitivity analysis of the geometrical properties of fractures on the fluid flow properties is conducted and evaluated with respect to their impact on reactive transport modeling. Although employing space-resolved simulation techniques, the results of the tests show average values for permeability and fluid velocity that are comparable to previous studies that used other simulation techniques. Observed fluid flow channeling appears to be related to fracture surfaces matching and anisotropy. However, average flow velocities at potential sites for reactive transport differ up to a factor of five from the average ones for the entire fracture. Furthermore, extreme values at reactive transport sites may differ even more and the flow may be directed against the applied pressure gradient. For studies concerned with simulation of reactive transport, these deviations are crucial and should be explicitly considered in the calculations. Hence space-resolved fluid flow simulations should be employed for the simulation of reactive transport.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge helpful reviews by two anonymous reviewers who made valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript. This study is carried out within the framework of DGMK (German Society for Petroleum and Coal Science and Technology) research project 718 “Mineral Vein Dynamics Modelling,” which is funded by the companies ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, GDF SUEZ E&P Deutschland GmbH, RWE Dea AG and Wintershall Holding GmbH, within the basic research program of the WEG Wirtschaftsverband Erdöl- und Erdgasgewinnung e.V. We thank the companies for their financial support and their permission to publish our results.

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  1. Institute of Geosciences, University of Mainz, Becherweg 21, 55099 , Mainz, Germany

    Jens-Oliver Schwarz & Frieder Enzmann

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  1. Jens-Oliver Schwarz
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Correspondence to Jens-Oliver Schwarz.

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Schwarz, JO., Enzmann, F. Simulation of Fluid Flow on Fractures and Implications for Reactive Transport Simulations. Transp Porous Med 96, 501–525 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-012-0103-0

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