| A laboratory apparatus for investigating flow and mass transport through natural and artificial variable fractures was designed and manufactured. An artificial—glass—replica of a fractured slate sample was produced.; Hydraulic and tracer tests were conducted to characterize the glass fracture before and after inoculation of the fracture with a known consortium of microorganisms. The mass transport through the fracture was visualized and recorded.; Biofilm growth reduced the hydraulic conductivity, K, of the fracture by factor of four. The type of the flow regime in the fracture after biofilm development remained the same—linear laminar. Low flow zones and channels of different size characterized the mass transport through the fracture after biofilm growth. |
