Fully saturated fluid flow through a jointed rock mass

Fluid-flow analysis plays a major role in various geotechnical applications (e.g., mining and petroleum industry and nuclear waste storage plants), and the understanding of flow mechanisms is essential for the development of a hydromechanical flow model suitable for underground excavations in rock. Accurate prediction of mine water inflow to a tunnel is one of the essential tasks of underground works during the design and construction stages. Under the current increased environmental and regulatory controls, the evaluation of the quantity and quality of total inflow to excavations and the procedures for discharging polluted mine water are significant factors in the development and operational stages of underground mining. Moreover, in nuclear wastage storage plants, special attention should be given to prevent any radioactive contamination of groundwater. The accurate prediction of inflow volumes is expected to minimise most environmental hazards, damage to mine equipment and to reduce the time delay associated with dewatering.