Experimental analysis of infiltration process and hydraulic properties in soil and rock profile in the Taihang Mountains, North China

In this research, an experiment was conducted in the Taihang Mountains in China with a self-designed automatic soil and rock water infiltration monitoring system and a time domain reflectometry (TDR) device to analyze the infiltration process of disturbed soil and rock profile under constant head, unsaturated seepage properties and permeability coefficient of discontinuous rock masses. It was found that the infiltration process curve has an obvious fluctuation in the late stage of unsaturated seepage (after 18:00 p.m. on March 20th) which not only reflects the temporal variation of infiltration rate, but the spatial variation of rock structure. The lateral soil water of soil and rock dual-texture mainly flows in the interface of soil and rock. The infiltration rate of soil water can be as high as 2.42 × 10−4 cm/s, accounting for about 20% of the stable infiltration rate. After the water infiltrated in the lower rock layers, the water mainly stored and flowed in the fissure network in the rocks, but not completely fill the whole fissure network. Firstly, the local priority channel is adopted to infiltrate. With the increasing of rock saturation, the local priority channel will also expand and finally extend to the whole fissure network. The permeability coefficient of the soil and rock dual-texture in the study area is 1.26 × 10−3 cm/s.

Experimental Study on Seepage Properties of Postpeak Fractured Rocks under Cyclic Loading-Unloading Confining Stress and Axial Stress

Excavation in rock masses always encounters safety problems from rock fracture seepage in water-rich areas, which needs to be paid much attention, especially for fractured rocks under complicated stress state. For this reason, the permeability of fractured sandstone and granite is experimentally investigated under cyclic loading-unloading confining stress and axial stress. The variation of permeability coefficient and seepage flow with increasing and decreasing the confining stress and axial stress are comprehensively analyzed. Results show that the changing patterns of permeability with loading-unloading cycles of confining stress for both fractured sandstone and granite are similar. The permeability is most sensitive to the initial loading-unloading stages. After several loading-unloading cycles, the confining stress has little effect on permeability. The seepage flow decreases as the confining stress is unloaded to the same level in the loading process, indicating a hysteresis effect on the recovery of seepage capacity. The seepage properties under cyclic loading-unloading the axial stress are quite different from those under the confining stress. The permeability of fractured sandstone is most sensitive to the first cycle of loading-unloading of axial stress. The irrecoverable shear slide between fractures under the axial stress causes dilatancy or contraction, which makes the permeability coefficient to consecutively decrease at the subsequent cycles. The permeability of granite first decreases during the first loading of axial stress, while this trend is disordered at the subsequent stages no matter loading or unloading the axial stress. This is because of the accumulation of breakage fragments between fractures, which further disturbs the seepage flow. These findings may be useful for further understanding the seepage properties of fractured granite and sandstone under complex loading-unloading history.

Reservoir characteristics of Chang 2 Member of Yanchang Formation in Area A, Ordos Basin

With the continuous enhancement of exploration and development in the Ordos Basin, in-depth research has been carried out on the petrological and reservoir characteristics of Chang 2 reservoir in Area A, which provides a geological basis for the efficient development of oil reservoirs. Comprehensive use of reservoir sandstone thin section identification casting analysis, mercury intrusion analysis, logging analysis and other methods to systematically study the petrological characteristics, pore characteristics and reservoir physical properties of Chang 2 reservoir in Area A. The results show that the reservoirs in the study area are dominated by fine-grained sandstones, with low component maturity and high structural maturity. They are all medium-low porosity, low-permeability and ultra-low permeability reservoirs. Primary intergranular pores and residual intergranular pores are developed, the reservoir drainage pressure is low, which is good-medium, and the mercury removal efficiency is high, indicating that the reservoir has good storage performance and seepage properties.

Laboratory investigation of permeability property of natural gravels with different particle sizes under different laying conditions

The seepage properties of natural gravel are one of the problems to be considered in seepage project designs. In this paper, the seepage properties of the natural gravel with particle sizes of 5, 20 and 60 mm were investigated under different laying conditions. The effect of the particle size, laying depth, bulk density and pressurized head on the seepage properties of the natural gravel was analyzed by using the combined methods of theoretical analysis with physical model test. The results showed that the seepage flow in the natural gravel was non-laminar flow in the test conditions described in this paper. Meanwhile, the relationship between particle size, laying depth, bulk density, pressurized heads and seepage property was established. The seepage discharge increased with the increase of the pressurized head and particle size, and decreased with the increasing of laying depth and bulk density. The critical laying depth and bulk density can be obtained when the seepage discharge becomes zero. The empirical formula of the seepage discharge of natural gravel with different particle sizes, laying depths, bulk densities and pressurized heads was obtained with the method of nonlinear regression, which can be expressed as: [Formula: see text]. The empirical formula was experimentally validated. The maximum relative error did not exceed 6.73%, proving that the empirical formula of the seepage discharge of natural gravel was rational. The results can provide an important reference to further studying the seepage properties of macropore media, and form a theoretical basis for applying the natural gravel in the seepage projects.

Investigation on the Water Flow Evolution in a Filled Fracture under Seepage-Induced Erosion

Water inrush is a major geological hazard for safe mining and tunnel construction. For the water inrush channel containing mud, sand, and other sediments, it is difficult to predict the change of permeability and water surge, which makes disaster prevention difficult. As a typical water inrush channel, a filled fracture under seepage-induced erosion needs to be focused. In this work, a numerical model for the evolution of flow in a filled fracture under seepage-induced erosion was established, which included the seepage velocity, hydraulic erosion, and permeability of the filling medium. The effects of joint roughness coefficient (JRC) and homogeneity of the filling medium on the seepage evolution are discussed. The results showed that the fracture seepage properties experienced a non-linear change process, and the evolution can be divided into three phases: the slowly varying phase, the rapidly varying phase, and the stable phase. The increase of the JRC hindered the development in flow velocity and erosion. Compared with low homogeneous filling medium, pores in the high homogeneous filling medium were easier to expand and connect, and the seepage characteristics evolved faster. The model established in this study will help to understand the seepage evolution of filled fractures, and can be used to predict the permeability of filled fractures in engineering geology.