Simulation of Solute Transport in Fractured Network with a Probability Method

The simulation of solute transport in fractured rock mass has been conducted with the Finite Difference Method(FDM), Finite Element Method(FEM) and Finite Analysis Method(FAM), etc.. However, groundwater flow and solute transport is very complex in fractured network compared to the rocks matrix because water flow and tracer particles have different selections of pathways when they travel to the fractured intersections. It is difficult for traditional method to simulate the law of solute transport in fractured network. Hence a new simulation method, the probability method, is developed. In the method, transfer probabilities for fractured network are calculated using the flux of input and output from fractured intersection points, and travel times of tracer particles are determined with random numbers, dispersion parameter and velocity. Furthermore, corresponding computing program is developed using the FORTRAN language. The comparison between simulated and experimental results shows that the probability method is of considerable reliability and is an effective method to simulate solute transport in fractured network, and the case study of the Jinping I-Hydropower Station displays its wide application prospect.