Simulating Rainfall Infiltration on Fractured Rock Slopes: Physical model created to quantify rainfall infiltration in rock masses

The aim of this work is to study the behavior of rainfall infiltration on fractured rocky slopes, through the development of experiments carried out on a small physical model. The area of application of this study is the Rocio Basin, located in the Piabanha River Basin, in the mountainous region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. The physical model used consists of a real fracture modeled in resin, a rock plate with real roughness and porosity, as well as an iron structure that makes it possible to vary and characterize the flow through the fractures, so that the conditions imposed can come close to the real conditions that occur in nature, and thus contribute to the study and quantification of rainfall infiltration on fractured rocky slopes. In the field of Hydrogeology, it is possible to calculate the recharge levels of a watershed in terrain where there is infiltration in fractured crystalline rocks. In the field of Engineering Geology, quantifying the volumes of water that percolate and penetrate discontinuities helps to assess the geomechanical behavior of a massif.