(1. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China; 2. Key Laboratory of Rock Mechanics in Hydraulic Structural Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan,
Hubei 430072, China; 3. School of Infrastructure Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330031, China)
Abstract：Fracture dissolution in rock masses is a critical process in engineering applications such as solution mining of salt caverns, geological CO? sequestration, and ensuring long-term seepage safety of high dams. Rock fractures act as primary flow pathways, where dissolution occurs with particular intensity. However, conventional experiments are unable to achieve real-time dynamic characterization of this dissolution process, which limits our understanding of morphological evolution and its effects on dissolution rates. In this study, high-fidelity fracture samples of two typical soluble rocks—homogeneous salt rock and heterogeneous limestone—were fabricated using microfluidic chips embedded with real rock fractures. A flow-dissolution visualization experimental technique was subsequently developed to enable high-precision dynamic observation of dissolution morphology at various flow rates. Furthermore, an image-processing method was devised to dynamically quantify dissolution rates, allowing for the determination of dissolution rates for both rock types across different flow-rate conditions. The results indicate that the dissolution rate initially increases with flow rate and then stabilizes, suggesting that a flow-induced transition in dissolution patterns is the underlying mechanism driving the evolution of the dissolution rate. Finally, a theoretical model was developed to identify the critical threshold for the dissolution pattern transition through advection-diffusion time scale analysis under single-phase flow conditions and force balance analysis under multiphase flow conditions. This model elucidates the governing mechanisms of dissolution morphology on the evolution of dissolution rates. The study advances dynamic characterization techniques for fracture dissolution in soluble rocks, provides an effective method for quantifying dissolution rates, and enhances the mechanistic understanding of fracture dissolution in soluble rock masses.
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2025, Vol. 44 
