Permeability of 3D discontinuity networks: New tensors from boundary-conditioned homogenisation

Two equivalent permeability tensors are defined for 3D heterogeneous media, KpKp and KqKq, valid respectively for linear pressure and constant flux conditions at the block boundary. Both tensors are symmetric and positive-definite and the second one produces lower magnitude of directional permeability than the first one. These tensors only depends upon the internal block structure and 3D distribution of the local permeability values. On this basis, we develop first a straightforward method for evaluating the coefficients of the 2D tensor for the problem of flow through fracture traces in a cross-section, subject to linear pressure conditions. A quartzite rock mass is used as an example to illustrate this method. Then, an approximated method is proposed to build up the 3D permeability tensor of the fractured block from the ellipses within cross-sections in varied orientations.