Solute transport in fractured rocks with stagnant water zone and rock matrix composed of different geological layers - Model development and simulations

Abstract

A model is developed to describe solute transport in channels in fractures The analytical solution to the Laplace-transformed concentration is derived Simulations show that diffusion into stagnant water is important A model is developed to describe solute transport and retention in fractured rocks. It accounts for the fact that solutes can not only diffuse directly from the flowing channel into the adjacent rock matrix composed of different geological layers but also at first diffuse into the stagnant water zone occupied in part of the fracture and then from there into the rock matrix adjacent to it. In spite of the complexities of the system, it is shown that the analytical solution to the Laplace-transformed concentration at the outlet of the flowing channel is a product of two exponential functions, and it can be easily extended to describe solute transport through channels in heterogeneous fractured media consisting of an arbitrary number of rock units with piecewise constant geological properties. More importantly, by numerical inversion of the Laplace-transformed solution, the simulations made in this study help to gain insights into the relative significance and the different contributions of the rock matrix and the stagnant water zone in retarding solute transport in fractured rocks. It is found that, in addition to the intact wall rock adjacent to the flowing channel, the stagnant water zone and the rock matrix adjacent to it may also lead to a considerable retardation of solute in cases with a narrow channel. ©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.