Flow in porous media I: A theoretical derivation of Darcy's law

Stokes flow through a rigid porous medium is analyzed in terms of the method of volume averaging. The traditional averaging procedure leads to an equation of motion and a continuity equation expressed in terms of the volume-averaged pressure and velocity. The equation of motion contains integrals involving spatial deviations of the pressure and velocity, the Brinkman correction, and other lower-order terms. The analysis clearly indicates why the Brinkman correction should not be used to accommodate ano slip condition at an interface between a porous medium and a bounding solid surface.The presence of spatial deviations of the pressure and velocity in the volume-averaged equations of motion gives rise to aclosure problem, and representations for the spatial deviations are derived that lead to Darcy's law. The theoretical development is not restricted to either homogeneous or spatially periodic porous media; however, the problem ofabrupt changes in the structure of a porous medium is not considered.Roman Letters A interfacial area of the - interface contained within the macroscopic system, m² - A _e area of entrances and exits for the -phase contained within the macroscopic system, m² - A interfacial area of the - interface contained within the averaging volume, m² - A ^* interfacial area of the - interface contained within a unit cell, m² - Ae area of entrances and exits for the -phase contained within a unit cell, m² - B second order tensor used to represent the velocity deviation (see Equation (3.30)) - b vector used to represent the pressure deviation (see Equation (3.31)), m^–1 - d distance between two points at which the pressure is measured, m - g gravity vector, m/s² - K Darcy's law permeability tensor, m² - L characteristic length scale for volume averaged quantities, m - characteristic length scale for the -phase (see Figure 2), m - characteristic length scale for the -phase (see Figure 2), m - n unit normal vector pointing from the -phase toward the -phase (n =–n ) - n _e unit normal vector for the entrances and exits of the -phase contained within a unit cell - p pressure in the -phase, N/m² - p intrinsic phase average pressure for the -phase, N/m² - p –p , spatial deviation of the pressure in the -phase, N/m² - r ₀ radius of the averaging volume and radius of a capillary tube, m - v velocity vector for the -phase, m/s - v phase average velocity vector for the -phase, m/s - v intrinsic phase average velocity vector for the -phase, m/s - v –v , spatial deviation of the velocity vector for the -phase, m/s - V averaging volume, m³ - V volume of the -phase contained within the averaging volume, m³ Greek Letters V/V, volume fraction of the -phase - mass density of the -phase, kg/m³ - viscosity of the -phase, Nt/m² - arbitrary function used in the representation of the velocity deviation (see Equations (3.11) and (B1)), m/s - arbitrary function used in the representation of the pressure deviation (see Equations (3.12) and (B2)), s^–1     

On the closure problem of turbulence model theory

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Transport in ordered and disordered porous media III: Closure and comparison between theory and experiment

In this paper we examine the closure problem associated with the volume averaged form of the Stokes equations presented in Part II. For both ordered and disordered porous media, we make use of a spatially periodic model of a porous medium. Under these circumstances the closure problem, in terms of theclosure variables, is independent of the weighting functions used in the spatial smoothing process. Comparison between theory and experiment suggests that the geometrical characteristics of the unit cell dominate the calculated value of the Darcy's law permeability tensor, whereas the periodic conditions required for thelocal form of the closure problem play only a minor role.Roman Letters A interfacial area of the- interface contained within the macroscopic region, m² - A _e area of entrances and exits for the-phase contained within the macroscopic system, m² - A interfacial area of the- interface associated with the local closure problem, m² - A _p surface area of a particle, m² - b vector used to represent the pressure deviation, m^–1 - B ⁰ B+I, a second order tensor that maps v _m ontov - B second-order tensor used to represent the velocity deviation - d _p 6V _p/A_p, effective particle diameter, m - d a vector related to the pressure, m - D a second-order tensor related to the velocity, m² - g gravity vector, m/s² - I unit tensor - K traditional Darcy's law permeability tensor calculated on the basis of a spatially periodic model, m² - K _m permeability tensor for the weighted average form of Darcy's law, m² - L general characteristic length for volume averaged quantities, m - L _p characteristic length for the volume averaged pressure, m - L characteristic length for the porosity, m - L _v characteristic length for the volume averaged velocity, m - characteristic length (pore scale) for the-phase - _i i=1, 2, 3 lattice vectors, m - weighting function - m(-y) , convolution product weighting function - m _v special convolution product weighting function associated with the traditional averaging volume - m _g general convolution product weighting function - m _V unit cell convolution product weighting function - m _C special convolution product weighting function for ordered media which produces the cellular average - n unit normal vector pointing from the-phase toward the -phase - p pressure in the-phase, N/m² - p _m superficial weighted average pressure, N/m² - p _m intrinsic weighted average pressure, N/m² - p traditional intrinsic volume averaged pressure, N/m² - p – p _m , spatial deviation pressure, N/m² - r ₀ radius of a spherical averaging volume, m - r _m support of the convolution product weighting function - r position vector, m - r position vector locating points in the-phase, m. - V averaging volume, m³ - B volume of the-phase contained in the averaging volume, m³ - V _cell volume of a unit cell, m³ - v velocity vector in the-phase, m/s - v _m superficial weighted average velocity, m/s - v _m intrinsic weighted average velocity, m/s - v traditional superficial volume averaged velocity, m/s - v – v _m , spatial deviation velocity, m/s - x position vector locating the centroid of the averaging volume or the convolution product weighting function, m - y position vector relative to the centroid, m - y position vector locating points in the -phase relative to the centroid, m Greek Letters indicator function for the-phase - Dirac distribution associated with the- interface - V /V, volume average porosity - _m m * , weighted average porosity - mass density of the-phase, kg/m³ - viscosity of the-phase, Ns/m²     

On the developments of Darcy's law to include inertial and slip effects

The empirical Darcy law describing flow in porous media, whose convincing theoretical justification was proposed almost 130 years after its original publication in 1856, has however been extended to account for particular flow conditions. This article reviews historical developments aimed at including inertial and slip effects (respectively, when the Reynolds and Knudsen numbers are not exceedingly small compared to unity). Despite the early empirical extensions to include inertia and slip effects, it is striking to observe that clear formal derivations of physical models to account for these effects were reported only recently.     

Flow of Maxwell fluids in porous media

In this paper we analyze the flow of a Maxwell fluid in a rigid porous medium using the method of volume averaging. We first present the local volume averaged momentum equation which contains Darcy-scale elastic effects and undetermined integrals of the spatial deviations of the pressure and velocity. A closure problem is developed in order to determine the spatial deviations and thus obtain a closed form of the momentum equation that contains a time-dependent permeability tensor. To gain some insight into the effects of elasticity on the dynamics of flow in porous media, the entire problem is transformed to the frequency domain through a temporal Fourier transform. This leads to a dynamic generalization of Darcy's law. Analytical results are provided for the case in which the porous medium is modeled as a bundle of capillary tubes, and a scheme is presented to solve the transformed closure problem for a general microstructure.     

Closure of the governing equations for immiscible,two-phase flow: A research comment

The derivation of the governing equations for immiscible, two-phase flow through porous media by Whitaker (Transport in Porous Media 1, 105–125 (1986)) contains an error which is corrected in the present work. The modified equations contain terms not present in the original equations, but their presence does not cause any fundamental changes from the conclusions reached in the original work. However, these extra terms may be important in computations associated with the closure problem.     

Electrohydrodynamics in Porous Media

In this work we develop the volume averaged form of the frequency-dependent governing equations for electrohydrodynamics in a saturated porous medium. The concept of local electrical equilibrium is identified, and when this condition is valid we obtain a one-equation model describing the coupled transport of momentum and electric charge. When local electrical equilibrium is not valid, separate forms of Maxwell's equations must be developed for both the fluid and solid phases.     

On Darcy's law for growing porous media

The flow of a Newtonian fluid in porous media can be described using Darcy's law when inertial effects and deformations in the solid can be neglected and no mass interchange occur between the solid and the fluid components. Having in mind bio-medical applications, we analyze the correction to be considered when non-negligible mass exchanges between the constituents are present. This is done both on a thermodynamical basis and using a symmetry and frame indifferent argument.     

Flow in porous media II: The governing equations for immiscible,two-phase flow

The Stokes flow of two immiscible fluids through a rigid porous medium is analyzed using the method of volume averaging. The volume-averaged momentum equations, in terms of averaged quantities and spatial deviations, are identical in form to that obtained for single phase flow; however, the solution of the closure problem gives rise to additional terms not found in the traditional treatment of two-phase flow. Qualitative arguments suggest that the nontraditional terms may be important when / is of order one, and order of magnitude analysis indicates that they may be significant in terms of the motion of a fluid at very low volume fractions. The theory contains features that could give rise to hysteresis effects, but in the present form it is restricted to static contact line phenomena.Roman Letters (, = , , and ) A interfacial area of the- interface contained within the macroscopic system, m² - A _e area of entrances and exits for the -phase contained within the macroscopic system, m² - A interfacial area of the- interface contained within the averaging volume, m² - A ^* interfacial area of the- interface contained within a unit cell, m² - A _e ^* area of entrances and exits for the-phase contained within a unit cell, m² - g gravity vector, m²/s - H mean curvature of the- interface, m^–1 - H area average of the mean curvature, m^–1 - H – H , deviation of the mean curvature, m^–1 - I unit tensor - K Darcy's law permeability tensor, m² - K permeability tensor for the-phase, m² - K viscous drag tensor for the-phase equation of motion - K viscous drag tensor for the-phase equation of motion - L characteristic length scale for volume averaged quantities, m - characteristic length scale for the-phase, m - n unit normal vector pointing from the-phase toward the-phase (n = –n ) - p _c p – P , capillary pressure, N/m² - p pressure in the-phase, N/m² - p intrinsic phase average pressure for the-phase, N/m² - p – p , spatial deviation of the pressure in the-phase, N/m² - r ₀ radius of the averaging volume, m - t time, s - v velocity vector for the-phase, m/s - v phase average velocity vector for the-phase, m/s - v intrinsic phase average velocity vector for the-phase, m/s - v – v , spatial deviation of the velocity vector for the-phase, m/s - V averaging volume, m³ - V volume of the-phase contained within the averaging volume, m³ Greek Letters V /V, volume fraction of the-phase - mass density of the-phase, kg/m³ - viscosity of the-phase, Nt/m² - surface tension of the- interface, N/m - viscous stress tensor for the-phase, N/m² - / kinematic viscosity, m²/s     

Mathematical Treatment of Point Sources in a Flow Through Porous Media Governed by Darcy's Law

We consider stationary air flow in a porous medium caused by extraction wells and governed by Darcy's law. Point sinks are described by Dirac functions. We distinguish two different situations: locally continuous and discontinuous conductivity near the wells. In both cases, well-posedness is proved. We propose a finite-element scheme in the general case and show the convergence of the approximated solution to the exact one.     

An approximate solution of the Riemann problem for a realisable second-moment turbulent closure

Abstract. An approximate solution of the Riemann problem associated with a realisable and objective turbulent second-moment closure, which is valid for compressible flows, is examined. The main features of the continuous model are first recalled. An entropy inequality is exhibited, and the structure of waves associated with the non-conservative hyperbolic convective system is briefly described. Using a linear path to connect states through shocks, approximate jump conditions are derived, and the existence and uniqueness of the one-dimensional Riemann problem solution is then proven. This result enables to construct exact or approximate Riemann-type solvers. An approximate Riemann solver, which is based on Gallou?t's recent proposal is eventually presented. Some computations of shock tube problems are then discussed. Received 2 March 1999 / Accepted 24 August 2000     

Compressible closure models for turbulent multifluid mixing

This paper studies governing equations describing the turbulent fluid mixing behavior effectively. The goal is to propose a closure for compressible multiphase flow models with transport and surface tension, which satisfy the boundary conditions at the mixing zone edges, the conservation requirements, and an entropy inequality constraint. Implicitness of positivity for the entropy of averaging requires entropy inequality as opposed to conservation of entropy for microphysically adiabatic processes.     

A Direct Method for the Identification of the Permeability Field Based on Flux Assimilation by a Discrete Analog of Darcy's Law

Inverse models to determine the permeability are generally based on existing forward models for the pressure. The permeabilities are adapted in such a way that the calculated pressures match the specified pressures in a number of points. To assimilate a priori knowledge about the flux, we introduce the flux assimilation method, which is based on the vector potential–pressure formulation of Darcy's law. Thanks to an unconventional discretization technique – the edge-based face element method – not only the specified pressures, but also specified information about the flux density can easily be assimilated. A relatively simple, but insightful analytical example illustrates the potential of this method.     

On the quadrilateral Q2–P1 element for the Stokes problem

The Q₂ – P₁ approximation is one of the most popular Stokes elements. Two possible choices are given for the definition of the pressure space: one can either use a global pressure approximation (that is on each quadrilateral the finite element space is spanned by 1 and by the global co‐ordinates x and y) or a local approach (consisting in generating the local space by means of the constants and the local curvilinear co‐ordinates on each quadrilateral ξ and η). The former choice is known to provide optimal error estimates on general meshes. This has been shown, as it is standard, by proving a discrete inf–sup condition. In the present paper we check that the latter approach satisfies the inf–sup condition as well. However, recent results on quadrilateral finite elements bring to light a lack in the approximation properties for the space coming out from the local pressure approach. Numerical results actually show that the second choice (local or mapped pressure approximation) is suboptimally convergent. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the boundary conditions at the macroscopic level

We study the problem of the boundary conditions specified at the boundary of a porous domain in order to solve the macroscopic transfer equations obtained by means of the volume-averaging method. The analysis is limited to the case of conductive transport but the method can be extended to other cases. A numerical study enables us to illustrate the theoretical results in the case of a model porous medium. Roman Letters _sf interfacial area of the s-f interface contained within the macroscopic system m² - A _sf interfacial area of the s-f interface contained within the averaging volume m² - C _p mass fraction weighted heat capacity, kcal/kg/K - d _s , d _f microscopic characteristic length m - g vector that maps to _s, m - h vector that maps to _f , m - K _eff effective thermal conductivity tensor, kcal/m s K - l REV characteristic length, m - L macroscopic characteristic length, m - n _fs outwardly directed unit normal vector for the f-phase at the f-s interface - n _e outwardly directed unit normal vector at the dividing surface - T ^* macroscopic temperature field obtained by solving the macroscopic equation (3), K - V averaging volume, m³ - V _s , V _f volume of the considered phase within the averaging volume, m³ - volume of the macroscopic system, m³ - _s , _f volume of the considered phase within the volume of the macroscopic system, m³ - dividing surface, m² Greek Letters _s , _f volume fraction - ratio of thermal conductivities - _s , _f thermal conductivities, kcal/m s K - spatial average density, kg/m³ - microscopic temperature, K - ^* microscopic temperature corresponding to T ^* , K - spatial deviation temperature K - error on the temperature due to the macroscopic boundary conditions, K - spatial average - ^s , ^f intrinsic phase average     

Flow in porous media III: Deformable media

Stokes flow in a deformable medium is considered in terms of an isotropic, linearly elastic solid matrix. The analysis is restricted to steady forms of the momentum equations and small deformation of the solid phase. Darcy's law can be used to determine the motion of the fluid phase; however, the determination of the Darcy's law permeability tensor represents part of the closure problem in which the position of the fluid-solid interface must be determined.Roman Letters A interfacial area of the- interface contained within the macroscopic system, m² - A interfacial area of the- interface contained within the averaging volume, m² - A _e area of entrances and exits for the-phase contained within the macroscopic system, m² - A ^* interfacial area of the- interface contained within a unit cell, m² - A _e ^* area of entrances and exits for the-phase contained within a unit cell, m² - E Young's modulus for the-phase, N/m² - e i unit base vectors (i = 1, 2, 3) - g gravity vector, m²/s - H height of elastic, porous bed, m - k unit base vector (=e ₃) - characteristic length scale for the-phase, m - L characteristic length scale for volume-averaged quantities, m - n unit normal vector pointing from the-phase toward the-phase (n = -n ) - p pressure in the-phase, N/m² - P p – g·r, N/m² - r ₀ radius of the averaging volume, m - r position vector, m - t time, s - T total stress tensor in the-phase, N/m² - T ⁰ hydrostatic stress tensor for the-phase, N/m² - u displacement vector for the-phase, m - V averaging volume, m₃ - V volume of the-phase contained within the averaging volume, m³ - v velocity vector for the-phase, m/s Greek Letters V /V, volume fraction of the-phase - mass density of the-phase, kg/m³ - shear coefficient of viscosity for the-phase, Nt/m² - first Lamé coefficient for the-phase, N/m² - second Lamé coefficient for the-phase, N/m² - bulk coefficient of viscosity for the-phase, Nt/m² - T –T ⁰ , a deviatoric stress tensor for the-phase, N/m²     

Measurement of the relaxation time in Darcy flow

The inertia of a liquid flowing through a porous medium is normally ignored, but if the acceleration is great, it may be important. The relaxation time, defined so that it alone accounts for the inertia, has been determined experimentally with a simple oscillator. A U-Tube is provided with a porous plug and filled with a liquid. During pendulation of the liquid, the frequency and the damping define the relaxation time. The measured value of the relaxation time is about 10 times the theoretical estimate derived from Navier-Stokes equation.Symbols E modulus of elasticity - E _D dissipated energy - E _k kinetic energy - g acceleration of gravity - G pressure gradient - h height - K ₀ permeability - L length of porous plug - n porosity - P dissipated power - pressure - R half the tube length - R _c radius of the tube bend - r radial coordinate - r _o radius of the tube - s coordinate along a streamline in the tube - t time - v flux per unit area - it relaxation time - , auxiliary variables - , v dynamic and kinematic viscosity - , velocity potential for inviscid flow and gravity potential - dissipation function - displacement of the liquid - , _o frequency of damped and undamped oscillations     

Stokes' first problem for the fourth order fluid in a porous half

In this study, the flow of a fourth order fluid in a porous half space is modeled. By using the modified Darcy's law, the flow over a suddenly moving flat plate is studied numerically. The influence of various parameters of interest on the velocity profile is revealed.     

Parameter identification in a soil with constant diffusivity

We consider infiltration into a soil that is assumed to have hydraulic conductivity of the form K = K = K_se^h and water content of the form = K – _r. Here h denotes capillary pressure head while K_s, , and _r represent soil specific parameters. These assumptions linearize the flow equation and permit a closed form solution that displays the roles of all the parameters appearing in the hydraulic function K and . We assume K_s and _r to be known. A measurement of diffusivity fixes the product of and resulting in a parameter identification problem for one parameter. We show that this parameter identification problem, in some cases, has a unique solution. We also show that, in some cases, this parameter identification problem can have multiple solutions, or no solution. In addition it is shown that solutions to the parameter identification problem can be very sensitive to small changes in the problem data.     

Influence of Nonlinear Local Properties on Effective Transport

The assumption of constant local coefficients is one of the first restrictions in most of the smoothing theories for transport in porous media. In this paper we present a formal analysis of the effects produced by nonconstant local transport coefficients on the nonlinear behavior of the effective transport properties. In particular, we use the volume averaging method to study heat transport in a two-component system considering the local thermal conductivities as analytical functions of the temperature. Within this approach we obtain a general expression for the effective nonlinear thermal conductivity dependence on the averaged temperature gradient. The important result is that the effective conductivity is obtained by a linearly bounded problem (the closure problem), just as if the conductivities were constants, by replacing the constant conductivities by the actual temperature dependent ones. As an example, we model the porous medium as cylindrical inclusions in a periodic array and solve the closure problem for the case of the one-equation model. We analyze the values of the second derivative of the thermal conductivity with respect to the temperature to establish the range where the nonlinear corrections must be considered to correctly describe the effective transport.