Hydraulic Conductivity of Joined Rocks

Hydraulic conductivity in jointed rock masses is primarily governed by the geometrical characteristics of discontinuities, including dip and dip direction, spacing, length, aperture, and the degree of interconnectivity between different discontinuity sets. Although analytical methods based on these geometrical properties are relatively simple, they can still provide reasonable approximations of hydraulic conductivity and help illustrate the influence of each discontinuity set on the overall hydraulic behaviour of the rock mass.

Further details of the analytical method are provided in the following document. I have also developed a calculation tool that allows users to input the geometrical characteristics of joints for a given project, with the option to define joint aperture directly or estimate hydraulic aperture for each discontinuity set using in-situ stress data. The tool calculates the 3D hydraulic conductivity tensor, the principal hydraulic conductivity components, and their corresponding trend and plunge. It can be used for either a single discontinuity set or a discontinuity network consisting of up to 10 sets.