title: Effective permeability of fractured porous media with power-law distribution of fracture sizes.
abstract: The permeability of geological formations which contain fractures with a power-law size distribution is addressed numerically by solving the coupled Darcy equations in the fractures and in the surrounding porous medium. Two reduced parameters are introduced which allow for a unified description over a very wide range of the fracture characteristics, including their shape, density, size distribution, and possibly size-dependent permeability. Two general models are proposed for loose and dense fracture networks, and they provide a good representation of the numerical data throughout the investigated parameter range.
authors.affiliation: LCD, SP2MI, BP 30179, 86962 Futuroscope Cedex, France. gor.bogdanov@univ-pau.fr
authors.forename: I I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Bogdanov
authors.forename: V V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Mourzenko
authors.forename: J-F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Thovert
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Adler