Application of Tempered-Stable Time Fractional-Derivative Model to Upscale Subdiffusion for Pollutant Transport in Field-Scale Discrete Fracture Networks

Bingqing Lu, Yong Zhang, Donald M. Reeves, HongGuang Sun and Chunmiao Zheng
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Bingqing Lu: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
Yong Zhang: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
Donald M. Reeves: Department of Geosciences, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA
HongGuang Sun: College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Chunmiao Zheng: School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China

Mathematics, 2018, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Fractional calculus provides efficient physical models to quantify non-Fickian dynamics broadly observed within the Earth system. The potential advantages of using fractional partial differential equations (fPDEs) for real-world problems are often limited by the current lack of understanding of how earth system properties influence observed non-Fickian dynamics. This study explores non-Fickian dynamics for pollutant transport in field-scale discrete fracture networks (DFNs), by investigating how fracture and rock matrix properties influence the leading and tailing edges of pollutant breakthrough curves (BTCs). Fractured reservoirs exhibit erratic internal structures and multi-scale heterogeneity, resulting in complex non-Fickian dynamics. A Monte Carlo approach is used to simulate pollutant transport through DFNs with a systematic variation of system properties, and the resultant non-Fickian transport is upscaled using a tempered-stable fractional in time advection–dispersion equation. Numerical results serve as a basis for determining both qualitative and quantitative relationships between BTC characteristics and model parameters, in addition to the impacts of fracture density, orientation, and rock matrix permeability on non-Fickian dynamics. The observed impacts of medium heterogeneity on tracer transport at late times tend to enhance the applicability of fPDEs that may be parameterized using measurable fracture–matrix characteristics.

Keywords: fractional partial differential equations (fPDEs); discrete fracture networks (DFNs); anomalous transport; fractional advection-dispersion equations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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