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Title: Modelling DC responses of 3D complex fracture networks

Journal Article · · Geophysical Journal International
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggy234 · OSTI ID:1452664
 [1];  [2]
  1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Here, the determination of the geometrical properties of fractures plays a critical role in many engineering problems to assess the current hydrological and mechanical states of geological media and to predict their future states. However, numerical modeling of geoelectrical responses in realistic fractured media has been challenging due to the explosive computational cost imposed by the explicit discretizations of fractures at multiple length scales, which often brings about a tradeoff between computational efficiency and geologic realism. Here, we use the hierarchical finite element method to model electrostatic response of realistically complex 3D conductive fracture networks with minimal computational cost.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
1452664
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1465193
Report Number(s):
SAND-2018-2316J; SAND-2018-6063J; 661130
Journal Information:
Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 214, Issue 3; ISSN 0956-540X
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 11 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Comparison of REV size and tensor characteristics for the electrical and hydraulic conductivities in fractured rock journal December 2018
3-D dc resistivity modelling based on spectral element method with unstructured tetrahedral grids journal November 2019

Figures / Tables (10)

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58 GEOSCIENCES
Numerical approximations and analysis
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Azimuthal resistivity surveys
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fracture and flow
numerical approximations and analysis