Laboratory scale experiments and numerical modelling were employed in this study to investigate saltwater intrusion in fractured aquifers. Saline intrusion was initiated in one homogeneous and six fractured experimental aquifers containing individual discontinuities of varying length and orientation. Automated image processing enabled high precision quantification of three intrusion variables, the toe length of the saline wedge, the width of the mixing zone and the aquifer fraction occupied by saltwater. A discrete fracture matrix model was successfully utilized to recreate the experimental data and expand the study's findings through rigorous sensitivity analysis. The presence of fractures significantly impacted all three intrusion variables under consideration. The length of intrusion was negatively correlated to the horizontal fracture's distance from the systems’ seaward boundary. It was demonstrated that for the same fractured aquifer, the presence of a discontinuity can either limit or augment saline intrusion, depending on the applied hydraulic gradient. For gradients steeper than a critical head difference, at which the toe length was the same for both the fractured and the equivalent homogeneous aquifer, intrusion was suppressed further seaward, while for milder ones it intensified. The distance of horizontal fracture from the aquifer's base determined the extend of intrusion in the vertical direction. In general, the longer the discontinuities were, the more significant their impact on groundwater dynamics. In the case of vertical factures, whenever the saline wedges reached their position, the discontinuities contributed significantly in the widening of the mixing zone, while having limited effect on the other two intrusion characteristics. In aquifers with discontinuities adjacent to their side boundaries, a distinct distribution of saltwater concentration was identified, distinguishing them from the rest of the aquifers.

这项研究采用实验室规模的实验和数值模拟来研究裂隙含水层中的盐水入侵。在一个均质的和六个破裂的实验含水层中开始咸水入侵，其中含水层的长度和方向各不相同。自动化的图像处理可对三个入侵变量进行精确定量，盐水楔的趾长，混合区的宽度以及盐水所占的含水层比例。通过严格的敏感性分析，成功地利用离散裂缝矩阵模型来重建实验数据并扩展研究结果。裂缝的存在显着影响了所考虑的所有三个侵入变量。侵入长度与水平裂缝呈负相关。与系统向海边界的距离。结果表明，对于相同的裂缝含水层，不连续的存在会限制或增加盐水的侵入，具体取决于所施加的水力梯度。对于比临界水头差陡的坡度（在该坡度上，裂隙水和等效均质含水层的趾长都相同），侵入被进一步抑制了向海，而对于温和的则加剧了。距含水层底部水平裂缝的距离决定了侵入在垂直方向上的延伸。通常，间断时间越长，其对地下水动力学的影响就越大。对于垂直骨折，每当盐楔到达其位置时，不连续性在混合区域的扩展中起了重要作用，同时对其他两个侵入特征的影响有限。在邻近其边界的不连续的含水层中，发现了盐水浓度的明显分布，从而将它们与其余含水层区分开来。