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Improving characterization of fractured rock using 3D cross-borehole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)
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Robinson, Judith L.. Improving characterization of fractured rock using 3D cross-borehole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3DF6T3V

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TitleImproving characterization of fractured rock using 3D cross-borehole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)
NameRobinson, Judith L. (author); Slater, Lee (chair); Ntarlagiannis, Dimitrios (internal member); Keating, Kristina (internal member); Johnson, Timothy (outside member); Rutgers University; Graduate School - Newark
Date Created2015
Other Date2015-05 (degree)
SubjectEnvironmental Science, Geophysics, Rocks--Fracture
Extent1 online resource (xvi, 146 p. : ill.)
DescriptionThere is a growing need to understand the hydraulic properties of fractured rock for the development and extraction of natural resources and also to engineer remediation strategies at contaminated sites. The characterization of fractured rock is inherently complex due to the multifaceted interrelationships between stress, temperature, roughness and fracture geometry that affect hydraulic conductivity and flow paths that have hydraulic properties varying over orders of magnitude. Often, sparse data points are interpolated from borehole locations to infer the spatial distribution of flow and transport within fractures. However, these fracture distributions are often poorly resolved due to the heterogeneity of these networks between the borehole locations. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a viable technology to characterize fractured rock as the electrical pathways mimic hydraulic pathways in fractured rock, assuming surface conduction is small. Previous work using ERT in fractured rock gave limited hydrogeological information due to finite element modeling techniques which were not physically appropriate for fractured rock and lack of instrumentation to permit imaging of isolated fracture zones. Synthetic and field datasets were used to incorporate field information to yield an improved hydrogeological interpretation. Specifically, model constraints were incorporated in the inversion modeling and borehole deviations defining these boundaries were explicitly defined in the discretization. Where this information was incorporated, ERT time-lapse changes in conductivity were more focused surrounding fracture locations and borehole effects were minimized. A rigorous examination of localized effects of de-regularization was undertaken and it was found that uncertainty in these boundaries can lead to spurious inversion artifacts. Electrode arrays within seven boreholes were designed, which included isolation bladders and a water sample/injection line. This design facilitated multiple tracer tests in a fractured mudstone to be conducted. The spatial scale of this experiment was such that the primary hydrogeological heterogeneity controlling flow and transport was captured, providing unique information relative to that acquired from borehole logging methods alone. The modeling techniques and instrumentation advancements detailed in this dissertation demonstrates the potential of ERT at fractured rock sites to work towards creating comprehensive flow and transport models.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
NoteIncludes vita
Noteby Judith L. Robinson
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3DF6T3V
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - Newark Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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