A new modeling approach for advective and dispersive pollutant transport
in 3D discrete fracture network backbones of heterogeneous aquifers
Abstract
In the present study, we demonstrate comprehensive three-dimensional
breakthrough pollutant advection-dispersion curve predictions throughout
the 3D block of a highly heterogeneous fractured aquifer, using a
combination of 3D particle-following tracking (P-FT) outputs and
channeling theory results, without substantial computations. The P-FT
method neglects slow tracer pathways in groundwater, owing to pollutant
recirculation and dead-end pathways, when applied to backbones extracted
from discrete fracture networks (DFNs), providing a non-exhaustive
advection and dispersion solution in a 3D DFN characterized by
preferential flow path formation. The combination of proposed models was
positively verified at a local scale using a benchmark DFN in a
fractured limestone aquifer in Bari (Italy) to evaluate its suitability
for use in larger scale simulations with comprehensive DFNs (up to
100,000 fractures). The modeling results were validated using tracer
(chlorophyll-A) concentrations obtained from a well-to-well
monitoring/injection test. The P-FT simulations to the DFN-extracted
backbones helped to instantly generate suitable histograms of the
pollutant concentration as a function of time, providing input for the
3D channeling model solution of the tracer advection-dispersion in the
rock aquifer. Unlike other Lagrangian or stochastic models, which
accommodate the tail of the expected concentration curve, the solution
of the proposed model does not require tail improvements because, in
groundwater, the advection-dispersion theory helps to explain the
complete trend of pollutant spreading, including macro-scale channeling
effects. In addition to the dispersion coefficients and Peclet number,
the P-FT output provides information on actual 3D particle displacement,
i.e., the 3D pollutant plume spreading through the studied aquifer.