The competition between gravity and flow focusing in two-layered porous media

Journal of Fluid Mechanics - Tập 720 - Trang 5-14 - 2013
Herbert E. Huppert1,2, Jerome A. Neufeld3,4,2, Charlotte Strandkvist5
1Department of Mathematics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
2Institute of Theoretical Geophysics, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, CMS, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, UK
3BP Institute, University of Cambridge, Bullard Laboratories, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK
4Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Bullard Laboratories, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0EZ, UK
5Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK

Tóm tắt

AbstractThe gravitationally driven flow of a dense fluid within a two-layered porous media is examined experimentally and theoretically. We find that in systems with two horizontal layers of differing permeability a competition between gravity driven flow and flow focusing along high-permeability routes can lead to two distinct flow regimes. When the lower layer is more permeable than the upper layer, gravity acts along high-permeability pathways and the flow is enhanced in the lower layer. Alternatively, when the upper layer is more permeable than the lower layer, we find that for a sufficiently small input flux the flow is confined to the lower layer. However, above a critical flux fluid preferentially spreads horizontally within the upper layer before ultimately draining back down into the lower layer. This later regime, in which the fluid overrides the low-permeability lower layer, is important because it enhances the mixing of the two fluids. We show that the critical flux which separates these two regimes can be characterized by a simple power law. Finally, we briefly discuss the relevance of this work to the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide and other industrial and natural flows in porous media.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

10.1063/1.1600733

10.1017/S002211200600930X

Bear, 1972, Dynamics of Fluids in Porous Media

10.1017/S0022112005006713

10.1017/S0022112095001431

Cinar, 2006, An experimental and numerical investigation of crossflow effects in two-phase displacements, Soc. Petrol. Engng J., 90568, 216

10.1017/CBO9781107050242

10.1017/CBO9780511807473

10.1017/S0022112001004700

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Journal of Fluid Mechanics

Tập 720

5-14

Thông tin tác giả