• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.66-74
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• 2007

Stationary and trolling methods in measuring flow using flowmeter were adopted to investigate the hydraulic connectivity of fractures and to evaluate the applicability of the measurement methods. Stationary method was useful for identifying the inflow and outflow patterns in the measured section, which enabled us to analyze the hydraulic connectivity of fractures between the wells. Trolling method failed to find the inflow and outflow patterns in the well, but was very effective for locating the conductive fractures. Measuring flow in the borehole by both stationary and trolling methods was found to be very efficient for identifying conductive fractures and their hydraulic connectivity in fractured rock aquifer.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.503-515
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• 2022

The permeability coefficient is an essential parameter for the study of seepage flow in fractured rock mass. This paper discusses the feasibility and application value of using readily available RQD (rock quality index) data to estimate mine water inflow and grouting quantity. Firstly, the influence of different fracture frequencies on permeability in a unit area was explored by combining numerical simulation and experiment, and the relationship between fracture frequencies and pressure and flow velocity at the monitoring point in fractured rock mass was obtained. Then, the stochastic function generation program was used to establish the flow analysis model in fractured rock mass to explore the relationship between flow velocity, pressure and analyze the universal law between fracture frequency and permeability. The concepts of fracture width and connectivity are introduced to modify the permeability calculation formula and grouting formula. Finally, based on the on-site grouting water control example, the rock mass quality index is used to estimate the mine water inflow and the grouting quantity. The results show that it is feasible to estimate the fracture frequency and then calculate the permeability coefficient by RQD. The relationship between fracture frequency and RQD is in accordance with exponential function, and the relationship between structure surface frequency and permeability is also in accordance with exponential function. The calculation results are in good agreement with the field monitoring results, which verifies the rationality of the calculation method. The relationship between the rock mass RQD index and the rock mass permeability established in this paper can be used to invert the mechanical parameters of the rock mass or to judge the permeability and safety of the rock mass by using the mechanical parameters of the rock mass, which is of great significance to the prediction of mine water inflow and the safety evaluation of water inrush disaster management.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.229-243
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• 2013

An in situ solute migration system was designed and installed in KAERI Underground Research Tunnel (KURT) constructed in the site of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in order to investigate the migration and retardation of non-sorbing and sorbing tracers through a rock fracture. The system is composed of three main parts including injection, extraction, and data treatment. For the selection of a water-conducting fracture, boreholes were drilled. The fractures in the drilled boreholes were investigated using borehole image analysis using borehole image processing system (BIPS). The results of BIPS analysis showed that borehole YH 3-1 and YH 3-2 were connected each other. Moreover, hydraulic tests were carried out to determine the test section with connectivity for the in situ experiments. The in situ solute migration experiments were accomplished to understand the migration of solutes through fractures in KURT using non-sorbing tracers which were fluorescein sodium, eosin-B, bromide and sorbing tracers which were rubidium, nickel, zirconium, and samarium.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.179-189
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• 2014

We analyzed the three-dimensional distribution of micropores and internal structures in both fresh and weathered granite using micro-focus X-ray computed tomography (micro-CT). Results show that the pore radius in fresh granite is mostly in the range of $17-50{\mu}m$, the throat radius is in the range of $5-25{\mu}m$, and the coordination number (CN) of pores is less than 10. In contrast, the pore radius in weathered granite is mostly in the range of $20-80{\mu}m$, the throat radius is in the range of $8-30{\mu}m$, and the CN is less than 12. In general, a positive linear relationship exists between pore radius and CN. In addition, both the size and the density of pores increase with an increasing degree of rock weathering. The size of the throats that connect the pores also increases with an increasing degree of weathering, which induces fracture propagation in rocks. Micro-CT is a powerful and versatile approach for investigating the three-dimensional distributions of pores and fracture structures in rocks, and for quantitatively assessing the degree of pore connectivity.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2006

For the accurate safety assessment of potential radioactive waste disposal site which is located in the crystalline rock it is important to simulate the mass transportation through engineered and natural barrier system precisely, characterized by porous and fractured media respectively. In this work the methods to construct discrete fracture network for the analysis of flow and mass transport through fractured-porous medium are described. The probability density function is adopted in generating fracture properties for the realistic representation of real fractured rock. In order to investigate the intersection between a porous and a fractured medium described by a 2 dimensional rectangular and a cuboid grid respectively, an additional imaginary fracture is adopted at the face of a porous medium intersected by a fracture. In order to construct large scale flow paths an effective method to find interconnected fractures and algorithms of swift detecting connectivities between fractures or porous medium and fractures are proposed. These methods are expected to contribute to the development of numerical program for the simulation of radioactive nuclide transport through fractured-porous medium from radioactive waste disposal site.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.326-326
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• 2016

The fault can be defined, in a geological context, as a rupture plane showing a significant displacement generated in the case that the local tectonic stress exceeds a threshold of rupture along a particular plane in a rock mass. The hydrogeological properties of this fault can be varied with the spatial distribution and the connectivity of void spaces in a fault. When the formation of fault includes the process of the creation and the destruction of void spaces, a complex relation between the displacement along the fault and the variation of void spaces. In this study, the variation of flow with the geometrical characteristics of the fault is simulated and analyzed by using the three-dimensional discrete fracture network model. Three different geometrical characteristics of the faults are considered in this study: 1) simple hydraulic conductive plane, 2) damaged zone, and 3) relay structure of faults.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-86
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• 2004

Hydraulic conductivity along rock fracture is mainly dependent on fracture geometries such as orientation, aperture, roughness and connectivity. Therefore, it needs to consider fracture geometries sufficiently on a fracture model for a numerical analysis to calculate permeability coefficient in a fracture. This study performed new type of numerical analysis using a homogenization analysis method to calculate permeability coefficient accurately along single fractures with several fracture models that were considered fracture geometries as much as possible. First of all, fracture roughness and aperture variation due to normal stress applied on a fracture were directly measured under a confocal laser scaning microscope (CLSM). The acquired geometric data were used as input data to construct fracture models for the homogenization analysis (HA). Using the constructed fracture models, the homogenization analysis method can compute permeability coefficient with consideration of material properties both in microscale and in macroscale. The HA is a new type of perturbation theory developed to characterize the behavior of a micro inhomogeneous material with a periodic microstructure. It calculates micro scale permeability coefficient at homogeneous microscale, and then, computes a homogenized permeability coefficient (C-permeability coefficient) at macro scale. Therefore, it is possible to analyze accurate characteristics of permeability reflected with local effect of facture geometry. Several computations of the HA were conducted to prove validity of the HA results compared with the empirical equations of permeability in the previous studies using the constructed 2-D fracture models. The model can be classified into a parallel plate model that has fracture roughness and identical aperture along a fracture. According to the computation results, the conventional C-permeability coefficients have values in the range of the same order or difference of one order from the permeability coefficients calculated by an empirical equation. It means that the HA result is valid to calculate permeability coefficient along a fracture. However, it should be noted that C-permeability coefficient is more accurate result than the preexisting equations of permeability calculation, because the HA considers permeability characteristics of locally inhomogeneous fracture geometries and material properties both in microscale and macroscale.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.93-104
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• 2004

This paper intended to assess the hydro-structure characteristics of volcanic rocks based on the hydrogeological data obtained from the underground storage cavern during construction. The variation of groundwater levels was periodically measured from the 28 surface monitoring holes(NX size) and the hydraulic pressures and injection rates were daily monitored from the water curtain holes(95 horizontal holes and 63 vertical holes). The hydraulic interference tests were performed in whole water curtain holes. The distribution patterns of hydraulic pressure are closely related to the dip angles of fracture intersected to the water curtain holes. Three domains can be grouped by the distribution of hydraulic pressures in the horizontal water curtain holes. The initial hydraulic pressures measured immediately after drilling of water crutain holes are high in ascending order of the cavern C-2, C-1, and C-3. The priliminary hydrochemical data also indicate that the portions of the deep groundwater composition is relatively great in the cavern C-3 area. Some of the horizontal water curtain holes in the cavern C-3 show a steady higher groundwater pressure with the composition of shallow groundwater indicating the outer boundary as constant hydraulic boundary. The water curtain holes in the cavern C-2 is characterized as low initial hydraulic pressure and less injection rates, suggesting poor hydraulic connectivity to a shallow groundwater system. The results of the study can help to understand a hydraulic compartment concept in a fracture hydro-geology and be utilized during the surface investigation for a groundwater system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.51-59
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• 1996

In case waste disposal site is to be constructed close to the underground facilities such as LPG storage cavern which is completely maintained by groundwater pressure, it is generally requested that the possibility on leachate contamination of cavern area be reviewed and the countermeasure, if it is estimated cavern area is severely affected by leachate, be taken into consideration. Prediction was performed and leachate control plan was made using by analytical and the numerical analysis on the leachate migration which is likely to happen at the area between the proposed waste disposal site and the underground LPG storage cavern located at the U petrochemical complex. Analytical solutions were obtained by the conservative mass advection-diffusion equation and the effect of advection and dispersion factor on the leachate migration was reviewed through peclet number calculation and the functional relationship between the factors and leachate transport velocity was established, which leads to enable us to predict the leachate transport velocity without difficulties when different parameters (factors) are used for analytical solution. Numerical solutions were obtained by FEM using AQUA2D which is for the simulation of groundwater flow and contaminant transport. 3-D discrete fracture models were simulated and fracture flow analysis was performed and feasibility study on the water-curtain system was conducted through the fracture connectivity analysis in rock mass. As results of those analyses, it was interpreted that the leachate would trespass on the LPG storage cavern area in 30 years from the proposed wate disposal site and the vertical water-curtain system was effective mathod for the prevention of leachate's migration further into the cavern area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.88-100
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• 1998

Since fractures may serve as major conduits of groundwater flow in crystalline rocks, characterization of conductive fractures is especially important for interpretation of flow system. In this study, characterization of fractures to investigate hydraulically conductive fractures in gneisses at an abandoned mine area was performed. The orientation, width, length, movement sense, infilling materials, spacing, aperture, roughness of both joints and faults and intersection and connectivity to other joints were measured on outcrops. In addition, characteristics of subsurface fractures were examined by core logging in five boreholes, of which the orientations were acquired by acoustic televiewer logging from three boreholes. The dominant fracture sets were grouped from outcrops; GSet 1: N50-82$^{\circ}$E/55-90$^{\circ}$SE, GSet 2: N2-8$^{\circ}$E/56-86$^{\circ}$SE, GSet 3: N46-72$^{\circ}$W/60-85$^{\circ}$NE, GSet 4:Nl2-38$^{\circ}$W/15-40$^{\circ}$SW and from subsurface; HSet 1: N50-90$^{\circ}$E/55-90$^{\circ}$SE, HSet 2: N10-30$^{\circ}$E/50-70$^{\circ}$SE, HSet 3: N20-60$^{\circ}$W/50-80$^{\circ}$NE, HSet 4: N10-50$^{\circ}$E/$\leq$40$^{\circ}$NW. Among them, GSet 1, GSet 3 and HSet 1, HSet 3 are the most intensely developed fracture sets in the study area. The mean fracture spacings of HSet 1 are 30-47cm and code 1 fractures, such as faults and open fractures, comprise 21.0-42.9 percent of the whole fractures in each borehole. HSet 3 shows the mean fracture spacings of 55-57cm and the ratio of code 1 fractures is 15.4-26.9 percent. In spite of the mean fracture spacing of 239cm, code 1 fractures of HSet 4 have the highest ratio of 54.5 percent. From the fact that faults or open fractures have high hydraulic conductivity, it can be inferred that the three fracture sets of N55-85$^{\circ}$E/50-80$^{\circ}$SE, N20-60$^{\circ}$W/50-75$^{\circ}$NE and N10-30$^{\circ}$E/$\leq$30$^{\circ}$NW from a fracture system of relatively high conductivity. It is indirectly verified with geophysical loggings and constant injection tests performed in the boreholes.