Visualization of Fluid Flow through in a Rough-Walled Fracture Using micro-PIV Technique

Fluid flow in rough-walled rock fractures have been described by the cubic law and the Reynolds equation which are derived from Navier-Stokes equation. They are based on the assumption of a laminar flow, and basically state that fluid flux is proportional to cube of the aperture of the channel, which yields an ideal parabolic velocity profile across the channel. However, it has been reported that even for low Reynolds numbers (Re), there are discrepancies between analytical/numerical works and experiments. It is questioned whether these assumptions are satisfied in real rough-walled fractures even for Re<1. In order to examine those assumptions, micro-PIV (particle image velocimetry) was introduced, which allowed for direct and microscopic observation of fluid flow in rough-walled fractures. Both surfaces of a rough-walled fracture were scanned, and were then duplicated on acrylics using CNC modeling machine, which formed a rough-walled acrylic fracture with and 450 micrometer average aperture. Deionized water, mixed with 2 micrometer size of fluorescent particle, was injected into the rough-walled acrylic fracture at Re = 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.10. Velocity vectors were calculated by analyzing relative movement of particles between snap shots. Fluid flow features were primarily monitored at the five representative spots of fracture roughness. As a result, it was found that the laminar flow prevails over the fracture. For Re<1, the velocity profile was highly dependent on fracture roughness. The development of dead spots at which flow velocity was almost zero was remarkable in the regions where apertures change rapidly, which significantly reduces the channel that actually contributes to fluid flow: hydraulic aperture. Further quantitative analysis is in progress to examine whether the cubic law-based analytical solutions are effective for the quantification of fluid flow through rough-walled fractures.