Project Details
Projekt
Fracture sealing processes in the Buntsandstein - comparison of nature and see-through experiments
Applicant
Professor Dr. Christoph Hilgers
Subject Area
Palaeontology
Term
from 2002 to 2006
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5368118
This study is aimed at a detailed understanding of the sealing process in fracture networks and the microstructural evolution of syntectonic veins grown from advecting solute. ... The first type of experiments uses thin transparent reaction cells, where the sealing process can be studied in-situ on a grain scale. Two different processes will be studied: The sealing caused by advection of supersaturated solution along the fracture, and precipitation driven by cooling effects of the fracture wall including diffusional processes. Finally, we investigate the microstructural evolution during hydraulic fracturing. The second type of experiments will study the 3-d sealing processes in fractured sandstone and ceramic cylinders. These experiments will prove the application of see-through results to 3-dimensional fracture networks. Our existing numerical model of experimental fracture sealing processes will be extended to natural systems, and will be applied to the sealing of fluid migration paths in Triassic sandstones of the Central-European Basin System.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
