[1] Box counting is widely used for characterizing fracture networks as fractals and estimating their fractal dimensions (D). If this analysis yields a power law distribution given by N / r , where N is the number of boxes containing one or more fractures and r is the box size, then the network is considered to be fractal. However, researchers are divided in their opinion about which is the bes...

Many geological formations consist of crystalline rock that have very low matrix permeability but allow flow through an interconnected network of fractures. Understanding the flow of groundwater through such rocks is important in considering disposal of radioactive waste in underground repositories. A specific area of interest is the conditioning of fracture transmissivities on measured values ...

Determining flows and transfers in natural Discrete Fracture Networks (DFNs) receives more and more attention in applied geosciences, from oil and gas industry, geothermal recovery, to CO2 sequestration issues. Geological characterization of these DFN is becoming more and more accurate. So, accounting for the details of the flow inside the fracture network, and later modelling the transfers bet...

A concept of "Fractal Fracture Mechanics" for HDR .(Hot Dry Rock) geothermal reservoir design has been developed as an extension of conventional rock fracture mechanics. It is suggested that this concept is successfully applicable to characterize and model subsurface fracture network in HDR geothermal reservoir. Furthermore, this modeling procedure makes it possible to evaluate the thermal ener...

One of the current objectives of karst research is to understand the spatial dynamics of karstic processes that increase or decrease pore volume. Although we can construct 3D numerical models, it is a complex, multi-step process. These modelling approaches combine a dissolution algorithm, a flow and/or transport model and an algorithm to reconstruct the spatial geometry of fracture networks. Th...

Structural and topological information play a key role in modeling of flow through fractured rock. Discrete fracture network (DFN) computational suites such as dfnWorks [23] are designed to simulate flow and transport in such media. Transport calculations that use a particle tracking method reveal that a small backbone of fractures exists where most transport occurs providing a significant redu...

Hyaluronan (HA) is a natural polyelectrolyte with distinctive biological functions. Cross-linking of HA to generate less degradable hydrogels for use in biomedical applications has attracted interest over many years. One limitation of HA hydrogels is that they are very brittle and/or easily dissolve in physiological environments, which limit their use in load-bearing applications. Herein, we de...