Abstract
Flow analysis plays a major role in various geotechnical applications, and the understanding of flow mechanisms is essential for the development of a hydro-mechanical flow model suitable for underground excavations in rock. Discrete flow analysis through discontinuities is reviewed including empirical and analytical flow models. The influence of external loading on joint deformation and single-phase flow show that the surface roughness and aperture size are the prime factors influencing flow rate. Nevertheless, the idealization of natural fractures as smooth parallel plate joints is still followed in many numerical models, because of the simplicity of the cubic law when applied to fracture networks. A numerical study of water flow through a network of joints employing Universal Distinct Element Code (UDEC) is used to quantify the effects of joint orientation and external stress acting on idealized joints.
It is found that, for the same joint spacing, the flow rate into an excavation depends on the boundary block size (Ab) relative to the excavation size (Ae). The inflow becomes excessive if Ab/Ae is less than 4, but becomes very small if Ab/Ae exceeds 8.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amadei, B. and Illangasekre, T. (1992) Analytical solutions for steady and transient flow in nonhomogeneous and anistropic rock joints. Int. J. of Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech Abstr. 29(6), 561-572.
Bandis, S.C., Lumsden, A.C. and Barton, N.R. (1983) Fundamentals of rock joint deformation. Int. J. of Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech Abstr. 20(6), 249-268.
Barton, N.R., Bandis, S. and Bakhtar, K. (1985) Strength deformation and conductivity coupling of rock joints. Int. J. of Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech Abstr. 22(3), 121-140.
Brace, W.F. (1980) Permeability of crystalline and argillaceous rock. Int. J. of Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 17, 241-250.
Brady, B.H.G. and Brown, E.T. (1994) Rock Mechanics for Underground Mining, 2nd edn, Chapman & Hall.
Brown, S.R. (1987) Fluid flow through rock joints: effects of surface roughness. J. of Geophysical Research 92(B2), 1337-1347.
Engelder, T. and Scholz, C.H. (1981) Fluid flow along very smooth joints at effective pressures up to 200 MPa, in mechanical behavior of crustal rocks. Am. Geophysics 24, 147-152.
Gale, J.E. and Raven, K.G. (1980) Effects of sample size on the stress-permeability relationship for natural fractures. Lawerence Berkely Laboratory Report, LBL-11865, (SAC-48).
Gangi, A.F. (1978) Variation of whole and fractured porous rock permeability with confining pressure. Int. J. of Rock Mech. Min. Sci. Geomech. Abstr. 15, 249-257.
Herbert, A.W. (1996) Modelling Approaches for Discrete Fracture Network Flow Analysis, Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Process of Fractured Media, Elsevier.
Indraratna, B. and Wang, J.C. (1996) Effects of Stress Change on Water Inflows to Underground Excavation. Australian Geomechanics 29, 99-114.
Indraratna, B., Ranjith, P.G. and Aziz, N. (1998) Numerical prediction of inflow to underground cavity using a coupled hydro-geomechanical model. International Conference on Geomechanics/Ground Control in Mining and Underground Construction, Australia, Vol. 2, pp. 863-871.
Indraratna, B. and Ranjith P. (1999) Deformation and pereability characteristics of rocks with interconnected fractures, 9th International Congress on Rock Mechanics, Paris, Vol. 2, pp. 755-760.
ITSCA Consulting Group (1996) UDEC-Universal Distinct Element Code, Version 3.0, Vol. 1, 2 and 3, User's Manual.
Iwai, K. (1976) Fundamental studies of fluid flow through single fracture. PhD Thesis, University of California, Berkeley.
Lee, C.H. and Farmer, I. (1993) Fluid Flow in Discontinuous Rocks, Chapman & Hall.
Liao, Q.H. and Hencher, S.R. (1997) Numerical modelling of the hydro-mechanical behaviour of fractured rock masses. Int. J. Rock Mech. & Min. Sci. 34, NYRocks's 97, No. 3–4, paper no. 117 (CD ROM).
Lomize, G.M. (1951) Filtratsia v treshchinovatykh, Gosudarstvennoe Energetitcheskoe Izdatelstvo, Moskva.
Long, J.C.S. and Witherspoon, P.A. (1985) The relationship of the degree of interconnectivity to permeability of fracture networks. J. Geophysical Research 90(B4), 3087-3098.
Louis, C. (1968) Etude des écoulements d'eau dans les roches fissures et de leurs influences sur la stabilité des massifs rocheux. Bull. De la Direction des Ětud. Et Rech. EDF sér. A, 5-132.
Louis, C. (1976) Introduction à l'hydraulique des roches. PhD Thesis, Paris.
Neuzil, C.E. and Tracy, J.V. (1981) Flow through fractures. Water Resources Research 1(3), 191-199.
Oda, M. (1985) Permeability tensor for discontinuous rock mass. Geotechnique 35(4), 483-495.
Ohnishi, Y., Chan, T. and Jing, L. (1996) Constitutive Models for Rock Joints, Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Process of Fractured Media, Elsevier.
Patir, N. and Cheng, H.S. (1978) An average flow model for determining effects of roughness on partial hydrodynamic lubrication. J. Lubrication Technology, 100, 12-17.
Priest, S.D. (1993) Discontinuity Analysis for Rock Engineering, Chapman & Hall, London.
Pyrak-Nolte, L.J., Myer, L.R., Cook, N.G.W. and Witherspoon, P.A. (1987) Hydraulic and mechanical properties of natural fractures in low permeability rock, International Congress on Rock Mechanics (ISRM), Montreal, Canada, pp. 225-231.
Sharp, J.C. (1970) Fluid flow through fissured media. PhD Thesis, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London.
Stietel, A., Millard, A., Treille, E., Vuillod, E., Thoraval, A. and Ababou, R. (1996) Continuum Representation of Coupled Hydro-mechanical Process of Fractured Media Homogenisation and Parameter Identification, Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Process of Fractured Media, Elsevier.
Swan, G. (1980) Stiffness and associated joint properties of rocks, Proc. Conf. on Applications of Rock Mechanics to Cut-and-Fill Mining, University of Lulea, Sweden, Published by Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, London, pp. 169-178.
Swan, G. (1983) Determination of stiffness and other joint properties from roughness measurements. Rock Mech. Rock Eng. 16, 19-38.
Thiel, K. (1989) Rock Mechanics in HydroEngineering, Elsevier.
Tsang, Y.W. (1984) The effect of tortuosity on fluid flow through a single fracture. Water Resources Research 20(9), 1209-1215.
Tsang, Y.W. and Witherspoon, P.A. (1981) Hydromechanical behaviour of a deformable rock fracture subject to normal stress. J. Geophysical Research 86(B10), 9287-9298.
Tsang, C.F. and Stephansson, O. (1996) A Conceptual Introduction to Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechancial Processes in Fractured Rocks, Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Process of Fractured Media, Elsevier.
Walsh, J.B. (1965) The effect of cracks on the compressibility of rocks. J. of Geophysical Research 70(2), 381-389.
Walsh, J.B. (1981) Effect of pore pressure and confining pressure on fracture permeability. Int. J. Rock. Mech. Min. Sci. & Geomech. 18, 429-434.
Walsh, J.B. and Grosenbaugh, M.A. (1979) A new model for analysing the effect of fractures on compressibility. J. of Geophysical Research 84(B7), 3532-3536.
Wilcock, P. (1996) The NAPSAC Fracture Network Code, Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Process of Fractured Media, Elsevier.
Witherspoon, P.A., Wang, J.S.Y., Iwai, K. and Gale, J.E. (1980) Validity of cubic law for fluid flow in a deformable rock fracture. Water Resources Research 16(6), 1016-1024.
Zhang, X., Sanderson, D.J., Harkness, R.M. and Last, N.C. (1996) Evaluation of the 2-D permeability tensor for fractured rock mass. Int. J. Rock Mech. & Min. Sci. 33(1), 17-37.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Indraratna, B., Ranjith, P. & Gale, W. Single phase water flow through rock fractures. Geotechnical and Geological Engineering 17, 211–240 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008922417511
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008922417511