Péclet-Number-Controlled Solute Transport Regimes in Idealized Rough Rock Fractures: Implications for Groundwater Contamination

Abstract

Abstract

Solute transport in rock fractures is strongly influenced by hydrodynamic conditions, and clarifying the Péclet-number-controlled transition of transport regimes is important for understanding contaminant migration in fractured aquifers. Based on three-dimensional numerical simulations, this study investigates conservative solute transport in idealized rough fractures with perfectly mated walls and uniform aperture under a wide range of Péclet numbers (Pe). The evolution of concentration fields, breakthrough curves (BTCs), and diffusive and advective fluxes was analyzed to identify the dominant transport regimes. The results show that, as Pe increases, solute transport changes from a diffusion-dominated regime (Pe 1000). Correspondingly, the concentration field evolves from rapid diffusion-driven spreading to a sharper advective front, while the BTCs change from early diffusion-breakthrough curves to step-like breakthrough behavior. Fracture aperture promotes solute spreading and broadens the mixing zone, especially under low-to-intermediate Pe conditions. In contrast, under the perfectly mated and uniform-aperture fracture conditions considered here, increasing roughness mainly induces local tortuosity of the concentration front and has limited influence on the overall BTCs. Flux decomposition further confirms that diffusive flux dominates at low Pe, whereas advective flux becomes increasingly dominant as Pe increases. These findings provide a mechanistic basis for interpreting Pe-controlled solute transport in idealized fracture channels and offer fracture-scale insights for classified groundwater contamination risk assessment. The implications should be interpreted within the assumptions of conservative transport without matrix diffusion, adsorption, or reactive processes.