Non-gaussian diffusion modeling in composite porous media by homogenization: Tail effect

In the paper anomalous diffusion appearing in a porous medium composed of two porous components of considerably different diffusion characteristics is examined. The differences in diffusivities are supposed to result either from two medium types being present or from variations in pore size (double porosity media). The long-tail effect is predicted using the homogenization approach based on the application of multiple scale asymptotic developments. It is shown that, if the ratio of effective diffusion coefficients of two porous media is of the order of magnitude smaller or equal O(²), where is a homogenization parameter, then the macroscopic behaviour of the composite may be affected by the presence of tail-effect. The results of the theoretical analysis were applied to a problem of diffusion in a bilaminate composite. Analytical calculations were performed to show the presence of the long-tail effect in two particular cases.Notations c_i the concentration of chemical species in water within the medium i - D_i the effective diffusion coefficient for the medium i - D_ij^eff the macroscopic (or effective) diffusion tensor in the composite - ERV the elementary representative volume - h the thickness of the period - l a chracteristic length of the ERV or the periodic cell - L a characteristic macroscopic length - n the volumetric fraction of the material 2 - 1–n the volumetric fraction of the material 1 - N the unit vector normal to - t the time variable - x the macroscopic (or slow) space variable - y the microscopic (or fast) space variable - c_1c,C_2c,D_1c,D_2c the characteristic quantities - T,T_1L,T_2L,T_1l,T_2l the characteristic times - c₁^*,c₂^*,D₁^*,D₂^*,t^* the non-dimensional variables - the homogenization parameter - ₁ the domain occupied by the material 1 - ₂ the domain occupied by the material 2 - the interface between the domains 1 and 2 - the total volume of the periodic cell - /x_i the gradient operator - the gradient operator