A network model of channel competition in fracture dissolution
Abstract
During dissolution in porous or fractured rock, a positive feedback between fluid transport and chemical reactions at the mineral surfaces may lead to the formation of pronounced, wormhole‐like channels. As the dissolution proceeds the channels interact, competing for the available flow, and eventually the growth of the shorter ones ceases. Thus the number of channels decreases with time while the characteristic distance between them increases, which leads to a scale‐invariant, power‐law distribution of channel lengths. A simple resistor network model of the evolution of dissolving channels is constructed and its properties studied. The results are compared with pore‐scale simulations of fracture dissolution using a microscopic, three‐dimensional numerical model. Despite its simplicity, the resistor model is found to retain the essential features of the nonlinear interaction between the channels.
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Competition for reactive flux continues among the fingers themselves, leading to successive jumps in the size and spacing of the lobes.
“Then the competition for reactive flux continues among the fingers themselves, leading to successive jumps in the size and spacing of the lobes (Szymczak and Ladd, 2006).”
From Self-accelerating dolomite-for-calcite replacement: Self-organized dynamics of burial dolomitization and associated mineralization (2011) · cites this paper as Szymczak and Ladd, 2006
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Merino, E., & Canals, A. (2011) · American Journal of Science · doi:10.2475/07.2011.01 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
- Authors
- Szymczak, P., & Ladd, A. J. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Warsaw (PL)
- University of Florida (US)
- Venue
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Publisher
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)
- Published
- 2006-03
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 5
- ISSN
- 0094-8276 (ISSN-L)
- 1944-8007
- OpenAlex
- W2169224128
- Cited by
- 75
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 2.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Geophysical Research Letters (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › CO2 Sequestration and Geologic Interactions
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Karst Systems and Hydrogeology
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Groundwater flow and contamination studies
- Keywords
- fracture dissolution, channel competition, wormhole formation, resistor network model, scale invariance, porous rocks, pore-scale modeling
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