A stochastic analysis of macroscopic dispersion in fractured media

A stochastic modeling technique has been developed to investigate mass transport in a network of discrete fractures. The model is based on the repetitive generation of realizations of a fracture network from probability distributions, describing the fracture geometry, and on a solution for mass transport within each network, using a particle‐tracking technique. The system we work with consists of two orthogonal fracture sets of finite length, oriented at various angles with respect to the direction of the mean hydraulic gradient. Emphasis is placed on describing the character of dispersion, which develops as a consequence of fracture interconnectivity, and on testing the validity of the conventional diffusion‐based model of dispersion in describing transport in fractured media. Results show that mass distributions have a complex form. Marked longitudinal dispersion can develop even a short distance from a source. The distribution of mass in the direction of flow has a consistent negative skew. This pattern of dispersion arises from the limited number of pathways for mass to migrate through the network. Controlling factors in the transport process are the orientation of the fracture sets with respect to the mean hydraulic gradient, the difference in the mean flow velocity in the two fracture sets, and the standard deviation in velocity for fracture set 1. Transport patterns can change greatly as the orientation of the hydraulic gradient changes with respect to the two fracture sets. A conventional diffusion‐based model of dispersion cannot characterize transport in these fracture networks. A skewed spatial distribution of mass is observed much more frequently than a Gaussian distribution. When the mean velocities in the two fracture sets are not equal, the form of mass spreading is described by a more general, skewed distribution that accounts for the bias in the probability of mass moving along one fracture set over another. There is a tendency for mass to form a more symmetric distribution as the orientation of the two fracture sets is rotated toward a 45° angle with respect to the direction of the mean hydraulic gradient. Furthermore, constant dispersivity values or simple dispersivity functions are not definable because of the sensitivity of transport to the local velocity field in the fracture network.