FLUID FLOW THROUGH JOINTED DEFORMATION BANDS

Cataclastic deformation bands, which are common in porous sandstone, have the potential to restrict fluid flow. Geological studies have shown that permeability of deformation band shear zones can be one to five orders of magnitude less than for the sandstone host rock. However, recent studies based on simplified analytical estimates have shown that fluid flow in jointed deformation bands may not be retarded since joints play an important role in conducting fluids. In this study, 2 dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) is used to simulate the total discharge flow rate through jointed deformation bands. Variations of single planar and conjugate jointed deformation bands are considered. The study includes a sensitivity analysis of joint aperture, joint orientation, joint spacing, and deformation band thickness in order to evaluate the influence of these parameters on the total discharge flow rate via jointed deformation bands.