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First-Passage-Time Modeling of Transport in Fractured Rock

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

M. W. Becker*
Affiliation:
MSD443, Los Alamos National Laboratories, Los Alamos, NM, 87545, [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper presents theory intended for the design and interpretation of tracer tests in fractured rock. The objective is to provide an understanding of experiments in which particulate and solute tracers are injected simultaneously. In such experiments, it is expected that the solute tracer will diffuse into the rock matrix, while the particulates will be confined to the fractures. The theory allows information about matrix diffusion to be extracted from the breakthrough curve. Furthermore, it can accommodate tests in which a non-ideal source is used, and where some of the withdrawn fluid is re-injected. The solution is performed in Laplace space and transformed to the time domain using a commercial spreadsheet.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

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