We demonstrate and validate predictive pore-scale modeling: we start with three-dimensional images of small rock samples obtained using micro-CT scanning with a resolution of a few microns, extract networks from these images and then predict multiphase flow properties by simulating capillary-controlled displacement. We study two sand packs, a poorly consolidated sandstone, Berea sandstone and a...

Due to geological reasons, fractured reservoirs are extremely heterogeneous. Modelling of these reservoirs has so far been considered complex and progress is still inadequate. This paper presents a novel and hybrid method to model discrete fracture networks in naturally fractured reservoirs. It involves investigation and systematic integration of tasks spanning cross-disciplinary areas: geologi...

Geology and the detailed understanding of its properties are fundamental to the optimal design and successful operation of any mine. To that end, extensive fieldwork was conducted at Sandsloot open pit (PPRust— Anglo Platinum) to collect geotechnical information both from exploration boreholes and in-pit mining faces. Over a fie-year period, geotechnical data were collected from 29, 213 m of ex...

[1] This work presents a series of numerical modeling studies that investigate the hydrogeologic conditions required to form capillary barriers and the effect that capillary barriers have on fluid flow and tracer transport processes in the unsaturated fractured rock of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a potential site for storing high-level radioactive waste. The modeling approach is based on a dual-con...

Because the continuum approach is relatively simple and straightforward to implement, it has been commonly used in modeling flow and transport in unsaturated fractured rock. However, the usefulness of this approach can be questioned in terms of its adequacy for representing fingering flow and transport in unsaturated fractured rock. The continuum approach thus needs to be evaluated carefully by...

In this article we propose an algorithmic approach – the detection and the characterization of planar fractures based on the analysis of 3D data relative to rock samples (coming from X-ray=NMR tomography). Data analysis is based on a particular implementation of the Hough Transform for the detection of planes in a 3D space. One of the original aspects of our approach is the pattern detection st...

Several key techniques in 3D geological modeling including planar mesh generation, spatial interpolation, and surface intersection are summarized in this paper. Note that these techniques are generic and widely used in various applications but play a key role in 3D geological modeling. There are two essential procedures in 3D geological modeling: the first is the simulation of geological interf...

The volumetric expansion of freezing pore water is widely assumed to be a major cause of rock fracture in cold humid regions. Data from experiments simulating natural freezing regimes indicate that bedrock fracture results instead from ice segregation. Fracture depth and timing are also numerically simulated by coupling heat and mass transfer with a fracture model. The depth and geometry of fra...