Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4526716 | Advances in Water Resources | 2009 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
The objective of this work is to explore the use of flow dimensions as a tool for characterizing hydraulic conditions in faulted media. Transient flow is numerically simulated in synthetic vertically-faulted reservoirs. Analysis of the obtained time series following the Generalized Radial Flow (GRF) model displays combined radial and fractional signals with a flow dimension n=1.5. Investigating the transient geometry of the frontal equipotential surface shows that fractional flow occurrence is due to abnormal fault diffusion as a consequence of water supply from the matrix under specific conditions. An original hydrodynamical explanation for fractional flow in vertically faulted media is suggested, along with a reinterpretation of the bilinear regime. It is shown that the GRF theory remains valid in such discontinuum as the fundamental relationship between n and the cross-flow area is satisfied. These results provide insights in the use of the flow dimension as a hydraulic diagnostic tool in faulted media.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Authors
Silvain Rafini, Marie Larocque,