Transport heterogeneity quantification in heterogeneous fractured media - Chalk

The realistic assessment and the quantification of heterogeneity is crucial for transport in fractured rocks. Common solute tracer tests are limited to advection, while smart tracer as dissolved gases or heat offer new innovative process imaging possibilities for fractured media. Within the PhD program these smart tracers were injected between two adjacent boreholes (7.55 m distance) in the double porosity Chalk at Mons in Belgium. Preliminary fields result shows a diffusion induced variation between the one magnitude higher diffusive Helium and the used dye tracer Uranine. In the heat case, heat is 12.5 hours delayed compared to Uranine, due to matrix storage effects. Also, after stopping the heat injection and a temporary temperature drop down, a temperature rebound was measurable. The preliminary results motivate for further numerical modelling to get a realistic assessment of heterogeneity.