The knowledge of flow phenomena in fractured rocks is very important for groundwater resources management in hydrogeological engineering. A critical emerging issue for fractured aquifers is the validity of the Darcian-type "local cubic law", which assumes a linear relationship between flow rate and pressure gradient to accurately describe flow patterns. Experimental data obtained under controlled conditions such as in a laboratory increase our understanding of the fundamental physics of fracture flow and allow us to investigate the presence of non-linear flow inside fractures that generates a substantial deviation from Darcy's law. In this study the presence of non-linear flow in a fractured rock formation has been analyzed at bench scale in laboratory tests. The effects of non-linearity in flow have been investigated by analyzing hydraulic tests on an artificially created fractured rock sample of parallelepiped (0.60 × 0.40 × 0.8 m) shape. The volumes of water passing through different paths across the fractured sample for various hydraulic head differences have been measured, and the results of the experiments have been reported as specific flow rate vs. head gradient. The experimental results closely match the Forchheimer equation and describe a strong inertial regime. The results of the test have been interpreted by means of numerical simulations. For each pair of ports, several steady-state simulations have been carried out varying the hydraulic head difference between the inlet and outlet ports. The estimated linear and non-linear Forchheimer coefficients have been correlated to each other and respectively to the tortuosity of the flow paths. A correlation among the linear and non-linear Forchheimer coefficients is evident. Moreover, a tortuosity factor that influences flow dynamics has been determined.

During a risk assessment procedure as well as when dealing with cleanup and monitoring strategies, accurate predictions of solute propagation in fractured rocks are of particular importance when assessing exposure pathways through which contaminants reach receptors. Experimental data obtained under controlled conditions such as in a laboratory allow to increase the understanding of the fundamental physics of fluid flow and solute transport in fractures. In this study, laboratory hydraulic and tracer tests have been carried out on an artificially created fractured rock sample. The tests regard the analysis of the hydraulic loss and the measurement of breakthrough curves for saline tracer pulse inside a rock sample of parallelepiped shape (0.60 × 0.40 × 0.08 m). The convolution theory has been applied in order to remove the effect of the acquisition apparatus on tracer experiments. The experimental results have shown evidence of a non-Darcy relationship between flow rate and hydraulic loss that is best described by Forchheimer's law. Furthermore, in the flow experiments both inertial and viscous flow terms are not negligible. The observed experimental breakthrough curves of solute transport have been modeled by the classical one-dimensional analytical solution for the advection–dispersion equation (ADE) and the single rate mobile–immobile model (MIM). The former model does not properly fit the first arrival and the tail while the latter, which recognizes the existence of mobile and immobile domains for transport, provides a very decent fit. The carried out experiments show that there exists a pronounced mobile–immobile zone interaction that cannot be neglected and that leads to a non-equilibrium behavior of solute transport. The existence of a non-Darcian flow regime has showed to influence the velocity field in that it gives rise to a delay in solute migration with respect to the predicted value assuming linear flow. Furthermore, the presence of inertial effects enhance non-equilibrium behavior. Instead, the presence of a transitional flow regime seems not to exert influence on the behavior of dispersion. The linear-type relationship found between velocity and dispersion demonstrates that for the range of imposed flow rates and for the selected path the geometrical dispersion dominates the mixing processes along the fracture network.

Low enthalpy geothermal energy is a renewable resource that is still underexploited nowadays in relation to its potential for development in society worldwide. Most of its applications have already been investigated, such as heating and cooling of private and public buildings, road defrosting, cooling of industrial processes, food drying systems or desalination. Geothermal power development is a long, risky and expensive process. It basically consists of successive development stages aimed at locating the resources (exploration), confirming the power generating capacity of the reservoir (confirmation) and building the power plant and associated structures (site development). Different factors intervene in influencing the length, difficulty and materials required for these phases, thereby affecting their cost. One of the major limitations related to the installation of low enthalpy geothermal power plants regards the initial development steps that are risky and the upfront capital costs that are huge. Most of the total cost of geothermal power is related to the reimbursement of invested capital and associated returns. In order to increase the optimal efficiency of installations which use groundwater as a geothermal resource, flow and heat transport dynamics in aquifers need to be well characterized. Especially in fractured rock aquifers these processes represent critical elements that are not well known. Therefore there is a tendency to oversize geothermal plants. In the literature there are very few studies on heat transport, especially on fractured media. This study is aimed at deepening the understanding of this topic through heat transport experiments in fractured networks and their interpretation. Heat transfer tests have been carried out on the experimental apparatus previously employed to perform flow and tracer transport experiments, which has been modified in order to analyze heat transport dynamics in a network of fractures. In order to model the obtained thermal breakthrough curves, the Explicit Network Model (ENM) has been used, which is based on an adaptation of Tang's solution for the transport of the solutes in a semi-infinite single fracture embedded in a porous matrix. Parameter estimation, time moment analysis, tailing character and other dimensionless parameters have permitted a better understanding of the dynamics of heat transport and the efficiency of heat exchange between the fractures and the matrix. The results have been compared with the previous experimental studies on solute transport.

Over the last years the sustainable management of coastal water resources has become strategic, especially in southern Salento Peninsula (Apulia), where mal-performing management strategies adopted, together with the vulnerability of the hydrogeological system, have given rise to the deterioration of groundwater quality due to saltwater intrusion. In the study area there is the presence of multilevel shallow aquifer and a deep aquifer that interact by means of faults. The geological system is highly vulnerable to seawater intrusion so there is the need to adopt management strategies to avoid seawater intrusion phenomena. Nevertheless there is a lack of studies that analyze the methodology for the correct exploitation if the water resource in order to avoid further intrusion phenomena. This paper combines a density-driven, flow numerical model (Seawat v.4) with a fault conceptual and hydrologic model to simulate saltwater intrusion phenomenon in the deep as well as in the shallow aquifer of the Salento area. By means of the individuation of an indicator parameter of groundwater quality, it has been possible to simulate different scenarios of exploitation and therefore to define critical stress scenarios for both aquifers. The results show that the deep aquifer is more vulnerable than the shallow one, which means that in the former, in order not to reach conditions of contamination, a lower density of wells is necessary than in the latter. The reduction of well density coupled with the artificial recharge of freshwater into the aquifer may be proposed as a solution strategy to protect the aquifer. Therefore, future developments of the present study will be represented by the simulation of different scenarios of recharging to inhibit the saltwater intrusion front further inland. The proposed methodology and its future developments can represent an empirical tool to provide preliminary guidelines for long-term groundwater management in coastal aquifers.