STATE-OF-THE-ART OF MODELING 2-PHASE FLOW IN FRACTURED ROCK

Two-phase flow in fractured rock is an important phenomenon for a rang e of practical problems, not the least of which is non-aqueous phase l iquid (NAPL) contamination of groundwater. Although multiphase systems have long been studied in the petroleum field, in the hydrogeological field progress has only just Peaches the point where models are being developed. Scale effect is one of the main issues of concern. Althoug h models presented in this paper have the potential to provide useful predictions, they can only be used to investigate a variety of possibl e scenarios with parameters being specified in the form of distributio n of values. The calibration and validation of all but the simplest of these models poses a formidable task, with great demands on hydrogeol ogists and geophysicists to provide adequate data.