Quantification of Fracture Networks and Tracer Analysis by Topological Data Analysis

Abstract

Development of geological resources requires understanding fluid flow in the underground. It is necessary to characterize fracture networks in the underground that works as flow paths. However, the fracture network structures are complex and difficult to analyze. Therefore, we quantified the fracture structures using persistent homology, which is one of the topological data analysis methods. In this study, we verified whether it is possible to estimate the number of flow paths from the tracer response. The results showed that it is possible to estimate the number of flow paths using tracer responses, but the method still needs to be improved to apply to complex fracture networks.