NDLI: A phase-field method for the direct simulation of two-phase flows in pore-scale media using a non-equilibrium wetting boundary condition

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Alpak, Faruk O. Riviere, Beatrice Frank, Florian
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	Advances in pore-scale imaging (e.g., μ-CT scanning), increasing availability of computational resources, and recent developments in numerical algorithms have started rendering direct pore-scale numerical simulations of multi-phase flow on pore structures feasible. Quasi-static methods, where the viscous and the capillary limit are iterated sequentially, fall short in rigorously capturing crucial flow phenomena at the pore scale. Direct simulation techniques are needed that account for the full coupling between capillary and viscous flow phenomena. Consequently, there is a strong demand for robust and effective numerical methods that can deliver high-accuracy, high-resolution solutions of pore-scale flow in a computationally efficient manner. Direct simulations of pore-scale flow on imaged volumes can yield important insights about physical phenomena taking place during multi-phase, multi-component displacements. Such simulations can be utilized for optimizing various enhanced oil recovery (EOR) schemes and permit the computation of effective properties for Darcy-scale multi-phase flows.We implement a phase-field model for the direct pore-scale simulation of incompressible flow of two immiscible fluids. The model naturally lends itself to the transport of fluids with large density and viscosity ratios. In the phase-field approach, the fluid-phase interfaces are expressed in terms of thin transition regions, the so-called diffuse interfaces, for increased computational efficiency. The conservation law of mass for binary mixtures leads to the advective Cahn–Hilliard equation and the condition that the velocity field is divergence free. Momentum balance, on the other hand, leads to the Navier–Stokes equations for Newtonian fluids modified for two-phase flow and coupled to the advective Cahn–Hilliard equation. Unlike the volume of fluid (VoF) and level-set methods, which rely on regularization techniques to describe the phase interfaces, the phase-field method facilitates a thermodynamic treatment of the phase interfaces, rendering it more physically consistent for the direct simulations of two-phase pore-scale flow. A novel geometric wetting (wall) boundary condition is implemented as part of the phase-field method for the simulation of two-fluid flows with moving contact lines. The geometric boundary condition accurately replicates the prescribed equilibrium contact angle and is extended to account for dynamic (non-equilibrium) effects. The coupled advective Cahn–Hilliard and modified Navier–Stokes (phase-field) system is solved by using a robust and accurate semi-implicit finite volume method. An extension of the momentum balance equations is also implemented for Herschel–Bulkley (non-Newtonian) fluids. Non-equilibrium-induced two-phase flow problems and dynamic two-phase flows in simple two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) geometries are investigated to validate the model and its numerical implementation. Quantitative comparisons are made for cases with analytical solutions. Two-phase flow in an idealized 2-D pore-scale conduit is simulated to demonstrate the viability of the proposed direct numerical simulation approach.
Starting Page	881
Ending Page	908
Page Count	28
File Format	PDF
ISSN	14200597
Journal	Computational Geosciences
Volume Number	20
Issue Number	5
e-ISSN	15731499
Language	English
Publisher	Springer International Publishing
Publisher Date	2016-05-11
Publisher Place	Cham
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Phase-field method Two-phase flow Pore-scale flow simulation CFD Digital rock Finite volume method Thermodynamics Contact line motion Dynamic contact angle Wetting Earth Sciences Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences Hydrogeology Mathematical Modeling and Industrial Mathematics Soil Science & Conservation
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Computers in Earth Sciences Computational Theory and Mathematics Computer Science Applications Computational Mathematics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Direct numerical simulation of fully saturated flow in natural porous media at the pore scale: a comparison of three computational systems

Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media with Slip Boundary Condition

Taxila LBM: a parallel, modular lattice Boltzmann framework for simulating pore-scale flow in porous media

Modeling and simulation of two-phase two-component flow with disappearing nonwetting phase

Numerical Modelling of Sub-pore Scale Events in Two-Phase Flow Through Porous Media

Spatiotemporal adaptive multiphysics simulations of drainage-imbibition cycles

Analysis and numerical approximation of Brinkman regularization of two-phase flows in porous media

Two-Phase Flow Properties Prediction from Small-Scale Data Using Pore-Network Modeling

Efficiency of a two-step upscaling method for permeability evaluation at Darcy and pore scales

A phase-field method for the direct simulation of two-phase flows in pore-scale media using a non-equilibrium wetting boundary condition

Similar Documents

Direct numerical simulation of fully saturated flow in natural porous media at the pore scale: a comparison of three computational systems

Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media with Slip Boundary Condition

Taxila LBM: a parallel, modular lattice Boltzmann framework for simulating pore-scale flow in porous media

Modeling and simulation of two-phase two-component flow with disappearing nonwetting phase

Numerical Modelling of Sub-pore Scale Events in Two-Phase Flow Through Porous Media

Spatiotemporal adaptive multiphysics simulations of drainage-imbibition cycles

Analysis and numerical approximation of Brinkman regularization of two-phase flows in porous media

Two-Phase Flow Properties Prediction from Small-Scale Data Using Pore-Network Modeling

Efficiency of a two-step upscaling method for permeability evaluation at Darcy and pore scales

A phase-field method for the direct simulation of two-phase flows in pore-scale media using a non-equilibrium wetting boundary condition