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Academic Journal of Materials & Chemistry, 2026, 7(1); doi: 10.25236/AJMC.2026.070107.

Study on the Solute Dispersion Mechanism under the Coupling Effect of Fracture Geometric Parameters

Author(s)

Wanting Hu1, Chenhao Li1, Jiawen Cai2

Corresponding Author:
Wanting Hu
Affiliation(s)

1College of Science, China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, China

Abstract

Solute dispersion in natural fractures is critical for groundwater contamination prediction. Fracture geometry-particularly pore-throat ratio(R (R=rmax/rmin)), surface roughness(Ra), and average pore radius("r"  ̅)-exerts significant but poorly understood coupled effects on dispersion. Using stochastically generated rough fracture models and COMSOL Multiphysics, this study simulates single fractures with varying R, Ra, and "r"  ̅, and quantifies the longitudinal dispersion coefficient ("D" _"l" ). Increasing R from 1 to 3.28 reduces "D" _"l"  by up to 60% with nonlinear decay. Higher Ra enhances the effect; at Ra = 0.08 mm, the "D" _"l"  decrease is nearly 20% greater than at Ra = 0.04 mm. A multivariate nonlinear regression model captures the synergistic parameter interactions and identifies the Ra·R coupling term as the dominant control. This work provides a theoretical foundation for contaminant transport assessment in fractured media.

Keywords

Solute transport, Fractured media, Dispersion coefficient, Coupling effect

Cite This Paper

Wanting Hu, Chenhao Li, Jiawen Cai. Study on the Solute Dispersion Mechanism under the Coupling Effect of Fracture Geometric Parameters. Academic Journal of Materials & Chemistry (2026), Vol. 7, Issue 1: 41-49. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJMC.2026.070107.

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