Spatial Fluctuations of Fluid Velocities in Flow through a Three-Dimensional Porous Medium

Datta, Sujit S.; Chiang, Harry; Ramakrishnan, T.S.; Weitz, David A.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.111.064501

Cited by 154 publications

(175 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…As observed in the micromodel experiments of Zhang et al, 7 the steady state specific interfacial length and S nw can be well correlated by a linear relationship for either favorable (M ≥ 1) or unfavorable (M < 1) displacement, and the slope for the unfavorable displacement is slightly higher than that for the favorable displacement. A recent pore-scale experimental study 51 quantified the strong velocity variations in singleand multiphase flows within a three-dimensional porous media. Although the pore space is highly disordered and complex, it was found that the velocity magnitudes and the velocity components both along and transverse to the imposed flow direction are exponentially distributed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of immiscible fluid displacement in porous media: Homogeneous versus heterogeneous pore network

2015

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Injection of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into geological formations is a promising approach to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Predicting the amount of CO 2 that can be captured and its long-term storage stability in subsurface requires a fundamental understanding of multiphase displacement phenomena at the pore scale. In this paper, the lattice Boltzmann method is employed to simulate the immiscible displacement of a wetting fluid by a non-wetting one in two microfluidic flow cells, one with a homogeneous pore network and the other with a randomly heterogeneous pore network. We have identified three different displacement patterns, namely, stable displacement, capillary fingering, and viscous fingering, all of which are strongly dependent upon the capillary number (Ca), viscosity ratio (M), and the media heterogeneity. The non-wetting fluid saturation (S nw ) is found to increase nearly linearly with log Ca for each constant M. Increasing M (viscosity ratio of non-wetting fluid to wetting fluid) or decreasing the media heterogeneity can enhance the stability of the displacement process, resulting in an increase in S nw . In either pore networks, the specific interfacial length is linearly proportional to S nw during drainage with equal proportionality constant for all cases excluding those revealing considerable viscous fingering. Our numerical results confirm the previous experimental finding that the steady state specific interfacial length exhibits a linear dependence on S nw for either favorable (M ≥ 1) or unfavorable (M < 1) displacement, and the slope is slightly higher for the unfavorable displacement. C 2015 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. [http://dx

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of immiscible fluid displacement in porous media: Homogeneous versus heterogeneous pore network

2015

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“…However, recent studies based on the analysis of Lagrangian particle trajectories demonstrates conclusively that particle velocities in mass-conservative flow fields exhibit correlation along their trajectory [9,40,45,[50][51][52][53]. Mass conservation induces correlation in the Eulerian velocity field because fluxes must satisfy the divergence-free constraint at each intersection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anomalous transport on regular fracture networks: Impact of conductivity heterogeneity and mixing at fracture intersections

et al. 2015

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We investigate transport on regular fracture networks that are characterized by heterogeneity in hydraulic conductivity. We discuss the impact of conductivity heterogeneity and mixing within fracture intersections on particle spreading. We show the emergence of non-Fickian transport due to the interplay between the network conductivity heterogeneity and the degree of mixing at nodes. Specifically, lack of mixing at fracture intersections leads to subdiffusive scaling of transverse spreading but has negligible impact on longitudinal spreading. An increase in network conductivity heterogeneity enhances both longitudinal and transverse spreading and leads to non-Fickian transport in longitudinal direction. Based on the observed Lagrangian velocity statistics, we develop an effective stochastic model that incorporates the interplay between Lagrangian velocity correlation and velocity distribution. The model is parameterized with a few physical parameters and is able to capture the full particle transition dynamics.

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“…More detailed experimental investigations focusing on resolved flow fields in upscaled media, e.g., bead packs, were conducted by Moroni and Cushman [6] and Moroni et al [7] at the beginning of this century. Only quite recently, corresponding micro-scale experiments were documented [8,9]. The more recent studies [6][7][8][9] focus on three-dimensional configurations to inspect transport or dispersion in both mean-flow parallel, i.e., longitudinal, and transverse directions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only quite recently, corresponding micro-scale experiments were documented [8,9]. The more recent studies [6][7][8][9] focus on three-dimensional configurations to inspect transport or dispersion in both mean-flow parallel, i.e., longitudinal, and transverse directions. Moreover, they point out the need for devising an efficient macroscopic representation of the microscopic pore-scale dynamics, which is the main goal of our work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pore-scale dispersion: Bridging the gap between microscopic pore structure and the emerging macroscopic transport behavior

Meyer

Bijeljic

2016

Phys. Rev. E

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We devise an efficient methodology to provide a universal statistical description of advectiondominated dispersion (Péclet → ∞) in natural porous media including carbonates. Firstly, we investigate the dispersion of tracer particles by direct numerical simulation (DNS). The transverse dispersion is found to be essentially determined by the tortuosity and it approaches a Fickian limit within a dozen characteristic scales. Longitudinal dispersion was found to be Fickian in the limit for bead packs and superdiffusive for all other natural media inspected. We demonstrate that the Lagrangian velocity correlation length is a quantity that characterizes the spatial variability for transport. Finally, a statistical transport model is presented that sheds light on the connection between pore-scale characteristics and the resulting macroscopic transport behavior. Our computationally efficient model accurately reproduces the transport behavior in longitudinal direction and approaches the Fickian limit in transverse direction. *

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Spatial Fluctuations of Fluid Velocities in Flow through a Three-Dimensional Porous Medium

Cited by 154 publications

References 54 publications

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of immiscible fluid displacement in porous media: Homogeneous versus heterogeneous pore network

Lattice Boltzmann simulation of immiscible fluid displacement in porous media: Homogeneous versus heterogeneous pore network

Anomalous transport on regular fracture networks: Impact of conductivity heterogeneity and mixing at fracture intersections

Pore-scale dispersion: Bridging the gap between microscopic pore structure and the emerging macroscopic transport behavior

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