Fractures are discontinuities in rocks that are present in almost all geological settings and at any scale. They may represent small-scale fissures or build up large scale faults. Fractures are extreme forms of heterogeneities, often with a small extension but huge impact.
The presence of fractures modifies the bulk physical properties of the original media by many orders of magnitudes, and they often introduce a strongly nonlinear behavior. This refers in particular to the mechanical properties via reduction of strength and stiffness. Fractures also provide the main flow and transport pathways in hard rock aquifers, dominating over the permeability of the rock matrix, as well as creating anisotropic flow fields and transport. Understanding their hydraulic and mechanical properties of fractures and fracture networks thus are crucial for predicting the movement of any fluid such as of water, air, hydrocarbons, or CO2. Consequently, fractures are of great importance in various disciplines such as hydrogeology, hydrocarbon reservoir management, and geothermal reservoir engineering.
The geologist toolbox to explore and model fractured rocks is getting more and more extended. This session is dedicated to novel ideas and concepts on treating the challenges related to the generic understanding, the characterization and the modelling of fractured geological media.
Contributions are welcome from the following topics
• Exploration methods for mechanical and/or hydraulic characterization of fractured media
• Structural construction of fractured media by deterministic or stochastic approaches,
• Representation of static hydraulic and/or mechanical characteristics of fractured media involving continuous or discontinuous methods,
• Simulation of dynamic processes and the hydraulic and/or mechanical behavior of fractured media,
• Theoretical studies and field applications in fractured geological formations,
• Concepts of accounting for fractured properties specifically in groundwater, petroleum or geothermal management applications.