The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems

The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems

Abstract The connectivity of rocks’ porous structure and the presence of fractures influence the transfer of fluids in the Earth’s crust. Here, we employed laboratory experiments to measure the influence of macro-fractures and effective pressure on the permeability of volcanic rocks with a wide rang...

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Autores principales: A. Lamur, J. E. Kendrick, G. H. Eggertsson, R. J. Wall, J. D. Ashworth, Y. Lavallée
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:
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Science
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/44491eadf6434177b124c201c9c50d89
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:44491eadf6434177b124c201c9c50d892021-12-02T12:32:05ZThe permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems10.1038/s41598-017-05460-42045-2322https://doaj.org/article/44491eadf6434177b124c201c9c50d892017-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05460-4https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The connectivity of rocks’ porous structure and the presence of fractures influence the transfer of fluids in the Earth’s crust. Here, we employed laboratory experiments to measure the influence of macro-fractures and effective pressure on the permeability of volcanic rocks with a wide range of initial porosities (1–41 vol. %) comprised of both vesicles and micro-cracks. We used a hand-held permeameter and hydrostatic cell to measure the permeability of intact rock cores at effective pressures up to 30 MPa; we then induced a macro-fracture to each sample using Brazilian tensile tests and measured the permeability of these macro-fractured rocks again. We show that intact rock permeability increases non-linearly with increasing porosity and decreases with increasing effective pressure due to compactional closure of micro-fractures. Imparting a macro-fracture both increases the permeability of rocks and their sensitivity to effective pressure. The magnitude of permeability increase induced by the macro-fracture is more significant for dense rocks. We finally provide a general equation to estimate the permeability of intact and fractured rocks, forming a basis to constrain fluid flow in volcanic and geothermal systems.A. LamurJ. E. KendrickG. H. EggertssonR. J. WallJ. D. AshworthY. LavalléeNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2017)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
A. Lamur
J. E. Kendrick
G. H. Eggertsson
R. J. Wall
J. D. Ashworth
Y. Lavallée
The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems
description Abstract The connectivity of rocks’ porous structure and the presence of fractures influence the transfer of fluids in the Earth’s crust. Here, we employed laboratory experiments to measure the influence of macro-fractures and effective pressure on the permeability of volcanic rocks with a wide range of initial porosities (1–41 vol. %) comprised of both vesicles and micro-cracks. We used a hand-held permeameter and hydrostatic cell to measure the permeability of intact rock cores at effective pressures up to 30 MPa; we then induced a macro-fracture to each sample using Brazilian tensile tests and measured the permeability of these macro-fractured rocks again. We show that intact rock permeability increases non-linearly with increasing porosity and decreases with increasing effective pressure due to compactional closure of micro-fractures. Imparting a macro-fracture both increases the permeability of rocks and their sensitivity to effective pressure. The magnitude of permeability increase induced by the macro-fracture is more significant for dense rocks. We finally provide a general equation to estimate the permeability of intact and fractured rocks, forming a basis to constrain fluid flow in volcanic and geothermal systems.
format article
author A. Lamur
J. E. Kendrick
G. H. Eggertsson
R. J. Wall
J. D. Ashworth
Y. Lavallée
author_facet A. Lamur
J. E. Kendrick
G. H. Eggertsson
R. J. Wall
J. D. Ashworth
Y. Lavallée
author_sort A. Lamur
title The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems
title_short The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems
title_full The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems
title_fullStr The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems
title_full_unstemmed The permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems
title_sort permeability of fractured rocks in pressurised volcanic and geothermal systems
publisher Nature Portfolio
publishDate 2017
url https://doaj.org/article/44491eadf6434177b124c201c9c50d89
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