• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.39-53
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• 2007

Generally, fractured medium can be described with some key parameters, such as hydraulic conductivities or random field of hydraulic conductivities (continuum model), spatial and statistical distribution of permeable fractures (discrete fracture network model). Investigating the practical applicability of the well-known conceptual models for the description of groundwater flow in fractured media, various types of hydraulic tests were applied to studies on the highly fractured media in Geumsan, Korea. Results from single-hole packer test show that the horizontal hydraulic conductivities in the permeable media are between $7.67{\times}10^{-10}{\sim}3.16{\times}10^{-6}$ m/sec, with $7.70{\times}10^{-7}$ m/sec arithmetic mean and $2.16{\times}10^{-7}$ m/sec geometric mean. Total number of test interval is 110 at 8 holes. The number of completely impermeable interval is 9, and the low permeable interval - below $1.0{\times}10^{-8}$ m/sec is 14. In other words, most of test intervals are permeable. The vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivities shows apparently the good correlation with the results of flowmeter test. But the results from the cross-hole test show some different features. The results from the cross-hole test are highly related to the connectivity and/or the binary properties of fractured media; permeable and impermeable. From the viewpoint of the connection, the application of the general stochastic approach with a single continuum model may not be appropriate even in the moderately or highly permeable fractured medium. Then, further studies on the investigation method and the analysis procedures should be required for the reasonable and practical design of the conceptual model, with which the binary properties, including permeable/impermeable features, can be described.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.163-178
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• 2011

A test borehole was drilled in the Cheongwon area to investigate the relationship between geochemical environment and the natural occurrence of radioactive materials (uranium and Rn-222) in borehole groundwater. The borehole encountered mainly biotite schist and biotite granite, with minor porphyritic granite and basic dykes. Six groundwater samples were collected at different depths in the borehole using the double-packed system. The groundwater pH ranges from 5.66 to 8.34, and the chemical type of the groundwater is Ca-$HCO_3$. The contents of uranium and Rn-222 in the groundwater are 0.03-683 ppb and 1,290-7,600 pCi/L, respectively. The contents of uranium and thorium in the rocks within the borehole are 0.51-23.4 ppm and 0.89-62.6 ppm, respectively. Microscope observations of the rock core and analyses by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) show that most of the radioactive elements occur in the biotite schist, within accessory minerals such as monazite and limenite in biotite, and in feldspar and quartz. The high uranium content of groundwater at depths of -50 to -70 m is due to groundwater chemistry (weakly alkaline pH, an oxidizing environment, and high concentrations of bicarbonate). The origin of Rn-222 could be determined by analyzing noble gas isotopes (e.g., $^3He/^4He$ and $^4He/^{20}Ne$).