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Hydrothermal coupling in a self-affine rough fracture
A Neuville1, R Toussaint, J Schmittbuhl
1Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg (IPGS), CNRS, and Université de Strasbourg (EOST), 5 rue Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg, France. amelie.neuville@unistra.fr
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|January 15, 2011
Summary
Fracture roughness significantly impacts fluid flow and heat exchange. Elongated fractures can inhibit flow, enhancing heat transfer, while other configurations may favor channeling, reducing fluid heating.
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Fluid Dynamics
- Heat Transfer
Background:
- Understanding heat exchange in fractured rock is crucial for geothermal energy and subsurface processes.
- Fracture roughness introduces complexity to fluid flow and thermal transport.
- Previous studies often simplified fracture geometry, limiting applicability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To numerically investigate the influence of multiscale fracture roughness on heat exchange.
- To model the interplay between hydraulic and thermal properties in rough fractures.
- To quantify the impact of fracture geometry, specifically aspect ratio, on heat transfer.
Main Methods:
- Numerical simulation based on the Stokes equation under hydrolubrication and thermolubrication assumptions.
- Modeling fracture aperture using self-affine perturbations on a uniform field.
- Characterizing hydraulic and thermal apertures at micro and macro scales by comparing fluxes to flat fractures.
- Statistical analysis over numerous fracture configurations to determine average behavior and variability.
Main Results:
- Long-range correlations in fracture roughness induce significant channeling effects, altering hydraulic and thermal properties.
- Fracture aspect ratio is a key parameter: elongated fractures can inhibit flow and enhance thermal exchange.
- Roughness can lead to channeling that inhibits fluid heating, with thermal behavior largely dependent on hydraulic behavior via a simple law.
Conclusions:
- Multiscale fracture roughness profoundly influences heat exchange processes.
- Fracture geometry, particularly aspect ratio, dictates the balance between flow inhibition and enhanced thermal exchange.
- A unified understanding of hydraulic and thermal transport in rough fractures is achievable through simple laws.
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