From Fluid Flow to Coupled Processes in Fractured Rock: Recent Advances and New Frontiers

Journal Article · Mon Feb 21 23:00:00 EST 2022 · Reviews of Geophysics (1985)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021RG000744· OSTI ID:1846225

Viswanathan, H. S. ^[1]; Ajo‐Franklin, J. ^[2]; Birkholzer, J. T. ^[3]; Carey, J. W. ^[4]; Guglielmi, Y. ^[3]; Hyman, J. D. ^[1]; Karra, S. ^[1]; Pyrak‐Nolte, L. J. ^[5]; Rajaram, H. ^[6]; Srinivasan, G. ^[7]; Tartakovsky, D. M. ^[8]

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1. Computational Earth Science Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
2. Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science Rice University Houston TX USA, Energy Geosciences Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA
3. Energy Geosciences Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA
4. Earth System Observations Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
5. Department of Physics and Astronomy Purdue University West Lafayette IN USA, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette IN USA, Lyles School of Civil Engineering Purdue University West Lafayette IN USA
6. Department of Environmental Health and Engineering Johns‐Hopkins University Baltimore MD USA
7. Physics Division Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USA
8. Department of Energy Resources Engineering Stanford University Stanford CA USA

Abstract

Quantitative predictions of natural and induced phenomena in fractured rock is one of the great challenges in the Earth and Energy Sciences with far‐reaching economic and environmental impacts. Fractures occupy a very small volume of a subsurface formation but often dominate fluid flow, solute transport and mechanical deformation behavior. They play a central role in CO ₂ sequestration, nuclear waste disposal, hydrogen storage, geothermal energy production, nuclear nonproliferation, and hydrocarbon extraction. These applications require predictions of fracture‐dependent quantities of interest such as CO ₂ leakage rate, hydrocarbon production, radionuclide plume migration, and seismicity; to be useful, these predictions must account for uncertainty inherent in subsurface systems. Here, we review recent advances in fractured rock research covering field‐ and laboratory‐scale experimentation, numerical simulations, and uncertainty quantification. We discuss how these have greatly improved the fundamental understanding of fractures and one's ability to predict flow and transport in fractured systems. Dedicated field sites provide quantitative measurements of fracture flow that can be used to identify dominant coupled processes and to validate models. Laboratory‐scale experiments fill critical knowledge gaps by providing direct observations and measurements of fracture geometry and flow under controlled conditions that cannot be obtained in the field. Physics‐based simulation of flow and transport provide a bridge in understanding between controlled simple laboratory experiments and the massively complex field‐scale fracture systems. Finally, we review the use of machine learning‐based emulators to rapidly investigate different fracture property scenarios and accelerate physics‐based models by orders of magnitude to enable uncertainty quantification and near real‐time analysis.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1846225
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1859818; OSTI ID: 1864853; OSTI ID: 1865023; OSTI ID: 1925184
• Journal Information: Reviews of Geophysics (1985), Journal Name: Reviews of Geophysics (1985) Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 60; ISSN 8755-1209
• Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English