Abstract
Contaminant transport through fractured rock mass is predominated by diffusion. This is due to the continuous interaction of the mobile water present in the fracture network and relatively immobile pore water, which is adsorbed on the surface and in the rock matrix itself. Even though the advective flow through the fracture network is high, besides sorption of rock mass, the diffusive exchange into the rock mass leads to significant retardation of contaminant transport. Hence, for describing contaminant transport in fractured rock mass, more precisely, the effect of retardation attributed to the matrix diffusion must be taken in account. With this in view, a methodology, which can be employed for determination of the diffusion characteristics of the rock mass, has been developed and its details are presented in this paper. Validation of the methodology has been demonstrated with the help of Archie’s law.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
G. E. Archie (1942) ArticleTitleThe electrical resistivity log as an aid in determining some reservoir characteristics Trans. Am. Inst. Min. Met. Petr. Eng. 146 54–62
R. D. Barker (1994) ArticleTitleSome hydro geophysical properties of the chalk of humberside and Lincolnshire Quarterly J. Eng. Geol. 27 S5–S13
M. W. Becker A. M. Shapiro (2000) ArticleTitleTracer transport in fractured crystalline rock: Evidence of nondiffusive breakthrough tailing Water Resour. Res. 36 IssueID7 1677–1686 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000WR900080
L. Birgersson I. Neternieks (1990) ArticleTitleDiffusion in the matrix of granitic rock: Field test in the Stripa Mine Water Resour. Res. 26 IssueID11 2833–2842 Occurrence Handle10.1029/90WR00822
M. H. Bradbury A. Green (1985) ArticleTitleMeasurement of important parameters determining aqueous phase diffusion rates through crystalline rock matrices J. Hydro. 82 39–55 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0022-1694(85)90045-9
P. C. Carman (1956) Flow of gases through porous media Academic Press Inc. New York
H. S. Carslaw J. C. Jaeger (1959) Conduction of heat in solids Clarendon Press Oxford
Chapman, N. and McKinley, I. G. (1987) Geological disposal of nuclear waste, Wiely.
J. Crank (1975) The mathematics of diffusion Clarendon Press Oxford
S. Feenstra J. A. Cherry E. A. Sudicky Z. Haq (1984) ArticleTitleMatrix diffusion effects on contaminant migration from an injection well in fractured sandstone Ground Water. 22 IssueID3 307–316 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.1745-6584.1984.tb01403.x
C. Gurumoothy D. N. Singh (2004) ArticleTitleExperimental methodology to assess contaminant diffusion in rock mass Environ. Monit. Assess. 91 277–291 Occurrence Handle10.1023/B:EMAS.0000009241.81014.9c
D. C. Henry (1922) ArticleTitleA kinetic theory of adsorption: Philos. Mag. Ser. 6 IssueID44 689–705 Occurrence Handle10.1080/14786441108634035
N. Iversen B.B. Jørgensen (1993) ArticleTitleDiffusion coefficients of sulfate and methane in marine sediments: influence of porosity Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 57 571–578 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0016-7037(93)90368-7
Käss, W. (1998), Tracing Technique in Geohydrology, A. A. Balkema, Lisse.
D. A. Lever M. H. Bradbury (1985) ArticleTitleRock-matrix diffusion and its implications for radionuclide migration Mineralogical mag. 49 245–254
D. A. Lever M. H. Bradbury S. J. Hemingway (1985) ArticleTitleThe effect of dead-end porosity on rock-matrix diffusion J. Hydrol. 80 45–76 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0022-1694(85)90074-5
I. Neretnieks (1980) ArticleTitleDiffusion in the Rock Matrix: An important factor in radionuclide retardation J. Geophys. Res. 85 IssueIDB8 4379–4397 Occurrence Handle10.1029/JB085iB08p04379
K. P. Saripalli R. J. Serne P. D. Meyer B. P. McGrail (2002) ArticleTitlePrediction of diffusion coefficients in porous media using tortuosity factors based on interfacial areas Ground Water 40 346–352 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.1745-6584.2002.tb02512.x
K. Skagius I. Neretnieks (1988) ArticleTitleMeasurement of cesium and strontium diffusion in biotite gneiss Water Resour. Res. 24 IssueID1 75–84
K. Skagius I. Neretnieks (1986) ArticleTitlePorosities and diffusivities of some nonsorbing species in crystalline rocks’ Water Resour. Res. 22 389–398 Occurrence Handle10.1029/WR022i003p00389
J. Tits A. Jacob E. Wieland P. Spieler (2003) ArticleTitleDiffusion of tritiated water and 22Na+through non-degraded hardened cement pastes J. Contam. Hydrol. 61 45–62 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0169-7722(02)00112-2
W.J. Ullmann R.C. Aller (1982) ArticleTitleDiffusion coefficients in near shore marine sediments Limnology Oceanogr. 27 IssueID3 552–556 Occurrence Handle10.4319/lo.1982.27.3.0552
K. Witthüser B. Reichert H. Hötzl (2003) ArticleTitleContaminant transport in fractured chalk: laboratory and field experiments’ Ground Water 41 IssueID6 806–815 Occurrence Handle10.1111/j.1745-6584.2003.tb02421.x
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Witthüser, K., Arnepalli, D. & Singh, D.N. Investigations on Diffusion Characteristics of Granite and Chalk Rock Mass. Geotech Geol Eng 24, 325–334 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-004-7549-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-004-7549-y