Stochastic Modeling and Upscaling of Hydrodynamic Transport in Geological Fractures

Abstract

Characterizing hydrodynamic transport in fractured rocks is essential for carbon storage and geothermal energy production. Multiscale heterogeneities lead to anomalous solute transport, with breakthrough-curve (BTC) tailing and nonlinear growth of plume moments. We study purely advective transport in synthetic fractures with prescribed relative closure $ \sigma_a/\langle a \rangle $ and correlation length $ L_c $. For each geometry we generate multiple realizations and solve steady, depth-averaged Stokes flow under the lubrication approximation. Flow heterogeneity persists up to $ L_c $. The ensemble-averaged velocity PDFs are insensitive to $ L_c $ but strongly affected by $ \sigma_a/\langle a \rangle $, particularly their low-velocity power-law scaling. A time-domain random walk (TDRW) yields plume moments and outlet BTCs: the mean longitudinal position grows linearly in time, while the variance shows early ballistic scaling and a late-time regime controlled by the low-velocity power law with exponent $ \alpha $, which depends on $ \sigma_a/\langle a \rangle $. BTC properties, including peak broadening and tail scaling, are likewise governed by $ \alpha $. We further model advection with a one-dimensional continuous-time random walk (CTRW) that uses only the velocity PDF, flow tortuosity, and $ L_c $. CTRW results closely match TDRW and enable analytical predictions of asymptotic transport scalings.