Convective Instability and Mass Transport of Diffusion Layers in a Hele-Shaw Geometry

Backhaus, Scott; Turitsyn, Konstantin; Ecke, Robert E.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.104501

Cited by 181 publications

(203 citation statements)

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“…Hewitt et al (2012) showed that N RB asymptotically scales linearly with Ra. Typically, the relationship N RB (Ra) is described as a slightly sub-linear power law for Ra > 10 3 (Otero et al 2004;Neufeld et al 2010;Backhaus et al 2011). However, we find that the numerical measurements of N RB (Ra) for 1300 < Ra < 4 × 10 4 from Hewitt et al (2012) are more accurately fitted by an equation of the form…”

Section: The Functional Form Of the Nusselt Numbermentioning

confidence: 77%

“…In contrast, many experimental analogues of sequestration systems are based on mixtures of glycol and water, and form miscible systems (e.g. Neufeld et al 2010;Backhaus et al 2011).…”

Section: Overview Of Physical Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Slim et al (2013) performed experiments in a Hele-Shaw cell for 100 < Ra < 1700, and categorized the evolution of the system from the onset of convection in detail. Further experimental studies by Neufeld et al (2010) for 5×10 4 < Ra < 6×10 5 in a quasi-twodimensional porous medium, and by Backhaus et al (2011) for 6 × 10 3 < Ra < 9 × 10 4 in a Hele-Shaw cell, provided measurements of the convective flux after the onset of convection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, we find that the dynamical structure of the flow in the shutdown regime exhibits a remarkable similarity to that in an RB cell: the flow is dominated by vertical columnar 'megaplumes' that extend across the height of the domain, and the lateral spacing of these plumes increases as the average concentration increases and the system shuts down, in excellent quantitative agreement with measurements from an RB cell. Motivated by previous experimental systems Backhaus et al 2011) with a nonlinear density curve, we also examine how the rate of shutdown depends on the form of the density ρ * (C * ) by considering a power-law equation of state.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many previous studies of one-sided convective systems have focused on the conditions required for the onset of convection, which presents significant theoretical challenges because the diffusive base state is both time-dependent and nonlinear. Various theoretical studies (Hassanzadeh, Pooladi-Darvish & Keith 2006;Riaz et al 2006;Xu, Chen & Zhang 2006;Slim & Ramakrishnan 2010) have been complemented by direct numerical investigations (Riaz et al 2006;Hassanzadeh, Pooladi-Darvish & Keith 2007) and laboratory experiments (Fernandez et al 2002;Backhaus, Turitsyn & Ecke 2011;Slim et al 2013) that explore the onset of convection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Convective shutdown in a porous medium at high Rayleigh number

2013

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Convection in a closed domain driven by a dense buoyancy source along the upper boundary soon starts to wane owing to the increase of the average interior density. In this paper, theoretical and numerical models are developed of the subsequent long period of shutdown of convection in a two-dimensional porous medium at high Rayleigh number Ra. The aims of this paper are twofold. Firstly, the relationship between this slowly evolving 'one-sided' shutdown system and the statistically steady 'two-sided' Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) cell is investigated. Numerical measurements of the Nusselt number Nu from an RB cell (Hewitt et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 108, 2012, 224503) are very well described by the simple parametrization Nu = 2.75 + 0.0069Ra. This parametrization is used in theoretical box models of the one-sided shutdown system and found to give excellent agreement with high-resolution numerical simulations of this system. The dynamical structure of shutdown can also be accurately predicted by measurements from an RB cell. Results are presented for a general power-law equation of state. Secondly, these ideas are extended to model more complex physical systems, which comprise two fluid layers with an equation of state such that the solution that forms at the (moving) interface is more dense than either layer. The two fluids are either immiscible or miscible. Theoretical box models compare well with numerical simulations in the case of a flat interface between the fluids. Experimental results from a Hele-Shaw cell and numerical simulations both show that interfacial deformation can dramatically enhance the convective flux. The applicability of these results to the convective dissolution of geologically sequestered CO 2 in a saline aquifer is discussed.

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Section: The Functional Form Of the Nusselt Numbermentioning

confidence: 77%

“…In contrast, many experimental analogues of sequestration systems are based on mixtures of glycol and water, and form miscible systems (e.g. Neufeld et al 2010;Backhaus et al 2011).…”

Section: Overview Of Physical Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Convective shutdown in a porous medium at high Rayleigh number

2013

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The study of heterogeneous two‐phase flow around small‐scale heterogeneity in porous sandstone by measured elastic wave velocities and lattice Boltzmann method simulation

et al. 2014

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Two-phase fluid flow is strongly controlled by small-scale (subcore-scale) heterogeneity of porous sandstone. We monitor the heterogeneous/anisotropic two-phase flow (CO 2 and water) in porous sandstone and conduct multichannel V P and V P anisotropy measurements under super critical CO 2 conditions during CO 2 injection (drainage) and water reinjection (imbibition) processes. In drainage, V P shows large reduction (~10%) in all sections of the core sample and changes from the bottom inlet side to upper outlet side. It is considered that V P reduction reflects the CO 2 movement in the specimen. The V P anisotropy of the upper two planes indicates clear increase. The results of this experiment indicate the heterogeneous CO 2 flow around laminae in porous sandstone and characteristic behavior of these laminae as a barrier for CO 2 . On the other hand, flow of water is not affected by this barrier. This characteristic CO 2 water flow around laminae is observed in the numerical simulation results. This simulation study also indicates that the capillary number is not directly affected on two-phase fluid flow around small-scale heterogeneity in porous sandstone. These results suggest that the small-scale heterogeneity behaves as a CO 2 gate and strongly controls CO 2 behavior in porous sandstone.It is well known that fluid flow in porous sandstone is strongly affected by small-scale heterogeneity of sedimentary structures (millimeter to centimeter scale). In the case of multiphase fluid flow (e.g., N 2 , CO 2 , and brine), the nonwetting phase fluid (N 2 and CO 2 ) can show complex behavior. Recent studies have successfully KITAMURA ET AL. Key Points: • The gate effect of small-scale heterogeneity on CO 2 flow in porous sandstone • Monitoring of anisotropic CO 2 flow around lamina by V P and V P anisotropy • Water and CO 2 flow simulation by LBM in heterogeneous sandstone

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Experimental study on effects of geologic heterogeneity in enhancing dissolution trapping of supercritical CO₂

Agartan

Trevisan

Cihan

et al. 2015

Water Resources Research

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Dissolution trapping is one of the primary mechanisms that enhance the storage security of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) in saline geologic formations. When scCO 2 dissolves in formation brine produces an aqueous solution that is denser than formation brine, which leads to convective mixing driven by gravitational instabilities. Convective mixing can enhance the dissolution of CO 2 and thus it can contribute to stable trapping of dissolved CO 2 . However, in the presence of geologic heterogeneities, diffusive mixing may also contribute to dissolution trapping. The effects of heterogeneity on mixing and its contribution to stable trapping are not well understood. The goal of this experimental study is to investigate the effects of geologic heterogeneity on mixing and stable trapping of dissolved CO 2 . Homogeneous and heterogeneous media experiments were conducted in a two-dimensional test tank with various packing configurations using surrogates for scCO 2 (water) and brine (propylene glycol) under ambient pressure and temperature conditions. The results show that the density-driven flow in heterogeneous formations may not always cause significant convective mixing especially in layered systems containing low-permeability zones. In homogeneous formations, density-driven fingering enhances both storage in the deeper parts of the formation and contact between the host rock and dissolved CO 2 for the potential mineralization. On the other hand, for layered systems, dissolved CO 2 becomes immobilized in low-permeability zones with lowdiffusion rates, which reduces the risk of leakage through any fault or fracture. Both cases contribute to the permanence of the dissolved plume in the formation.

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Convective Instability and Mass Transport of Diffusion Layers in a Hele-Shaw Geometry

Cited by 181 publications

References 16 publications

Convective shutdown in a porous medium at high Rayleigh number

Convective shutdown in a porous medium at high Rayleigh number

The study of heterogeneous two‐phase flow around small‐scale heterogeneity in porous sandstone by measured elastic wave velocities and lattice Boltzmann method simulation

Experimental study on effects of geologic heterogeneity in enhancing dissolution trapping of supercritical CO₂

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Convective Instability and Mass Transport of Diffusion Layers in a Hele-Shaw Geometry

Cited by 181 publications

References 16 publications

Convective shutdown in a porous medium at high Rayleigh number

Convective shutdown in a porous medium at high Rayleigh number

The study of heterogeneous two‐phase flow around small‐scale heterogeneity in porous sandstone by measured elastic wave velocities and lattice Boltzmann method simulation

Experimental study on effects of geologic heterogeneity in enhancing dissolution trapping of supercritical CO2

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Experimental study on effects of geologic heterogeneity in enhancing dissolution trapping of supercritical CO₂