Abstract. A method was developed for fabricating transparent glass casts of fractured rock pairs. These glass casts provide reproduction of surface topography and roughness of natural fractures, optical clarity, and representative wettabilities of mineral surfaces. The glass casts are an improved tool for studying flow and transport in fractures compared to previous approaches. The surface of a clean glass fracture has a contact angle near zero, and more importantly, the surface wettability can be intentionally altered with chemical treatment. Glass casts of rock fracture surfaces may be used for visually and quantitatively studying various physical, chemical, and microbial processes occurring in rock fractures, especially when multiple fluid phases are involved. The wax positives can easily change their shape during cooling and result in warping. To minimize warping during casting, the two halves of wax replicas are matched together immediately and put under a flat weight until cooled to room temperature.In step 3, investment molds (negatives) are made from the wax positives. The investment powder used in this study is composed of crystalline silica and gypsum, with particle sizes <10 /xm and 90% finer than 1 /xm. Water is added to the 355
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