Matrix diffusion is an important process affecting solutetransport in fractured rock, and the matrix diffusion coefficient is akey parameter for describing this process. Previous studies haveindicated that the effective matrix-diffusion coefficient values,obtained from a number of field tracer tests, are enhanced in comparisonwith local values and may increase with test scale. In thiscommunication, we develop analytical expressions for the effective matrixdiffusion coefficient for two simple fracture-matrix systems, anddemonstrate that heterogeneities in the rock matrix at different scalescontribute to the scale dependence of the effective matrix diffusioncoefficient.

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CGMD) is a technique developed as a concurrent multiscale model that couples conventional molecular dynamics (MD) to a more coarse-grained description of the periphery. The coarse-grained regions are modeled on a mesh in a formulation that generalizes conventional finite element modeling (FEM) of continuum elasticity. CGMD is derived solely from the MD model, however, and has no continuum parameters. As a result, it provides a coupling that is smooth and provides control of errors that arise at the coupling between the atomistic and coarse-grained regions. In this article, we elaborate on the formulation of CGMD, describing in detail how CGMD is applied to anharmonic solids and finite temperature simulations. As tests of CGMD, we present in detail the calculation of the phonon spectra for solid argon and tantalum in 3D, demonstrating how CGMD provides a better description of the elastic waves than that provided by FEM. We also present elastic wave scattering calculations that show the elastic wave scattering is more benign in CGMD than FEM. We also discuss the dependence of scattering on the properties of the mesh. We introduce a rigid approximation to CGMD that eliminates internal relaxation, similar to the Quasicontinuum technique, and compare …