Development of Upscaling Techniques and Construction of Calibrated Models for Fractured Rocks Using Discrete Fracture Network Approaches
- Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Reno, NV (United States)
- Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Las Vegas, NV (United States)
The Pahute Mesa Corrective Action Unit on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) contains several fractured aquifers that can potentially provide high-permeability pathways for radionuclides to migrate away from underground nuclear testing locations. Although the geometric properties of fractures, such as length and orientation, can be found using geophysical methods and borehole image analyses, the hydraulic property of fractures (which are primarily influenced by apertures) are often unknown or have a high degree of uncertainty attached to their values. The aperture values have a profound impact on groundwater velocity and are critical to understanding transport scales at Pahute Mesa. Fracture aperture values and their distributions also have dominant control over radionuclide transport with potential for long-range correlations or scale-invariant dynamics. Understanding of the small-scale transport variability in fractures could lead to identification of distinct characteristics on larger scales. Furthermore, upscaling techniques need to be developed to adequately predict transport behavior at field scales by capturing the transport trends of smaller scale networks. This report explores these vital modeling needs to understand the role of fractures in Pahute Mesa. Discrete fracture network (DFN) models are the basis for constructing a well-calibrated model to ascertain aperture values of fractures in lava-flow aquifers. These models are also used to develop and compare the usefulness of several random-walk-based models to perform transport upscaling.
- Research Organization:
- Desert Research Institute (DRI), Reno, NV (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
- DOE Contract Number:
- NA03590
- OSTI ID:
- 1574144
- Report Number(s):
- DRI-45289; DOE/NV/0003590-43
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Discrete Fracture Network Modeling and Simulation of Subsurface Transport for the Topopah Springs and Lava Flow Aquifers at Pahute Mesa, FY 15 Progress Report
ABSTRACT: Upscaling Fracture Properties in Support of Dual-permeability Simulations