AEM – A Stepwise Tool for Analyzing Flow in Fractured Bedrock Aquifers

Analysis of groundwater flow in fractured bedrock aquifers may be performed using a spectrum of modeling approaches that includes (in general order of complexity) analytic solutions; analytic element method (AEM) models; numerical (FD / FE) models with few discrete fractures/faults; and discrete fracture network (DFN) models with many (often stochastically generated) fractures. On that analysis spectrum, AEM models offer a number of advantages including allowing the modeler to:

• Build on a selected analytic solution
• Move beyond the analytic solution to create a more useable model framework that incorporates other hydraulic and hydrologic features for site analyses
• Represent any fracture or fault geometry and orientation without problems of cutting across or excessively refining the grid, because there is no grid!
• Examine the flow field on scales from inches (near a fracture or fault) to miles (in the far field)
• Use insight gained to develop a more complex numerical model if required.

AEM models have been used for decades for fractured rock aquifers to design groundwater remediation systems (Earle, 1994), investigate fault-controlled contaminant movement (He and Thalheimer, 2004), and represent one or more discrete conductive fractures in a rock matrix (Marin et al., 2012).

The current study shows techniques for using AEM models to analyze pumping tests in wells fed by a fracture or fault; using fracture elements to explicitly represent the discrete fracture features that cause anisotropy in fractured rock aquifers; and analyzing pathways in natural and pumping-influenced flow fields in fractured and faulted bedrock aquifers.

To learn more and gain a better understanding of how to use AnAqSim to analyze flow in a fractured bedrock aquifer video, watch the presentation recorded by Dr. Charles McLane from the 2019 MODFLOW and More conference titled "AEM - Stepwise Tool for Analyzing Flow in Fractured Bedrock Aquifers".

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