Numerical simulation and homogenization of two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

A mathematically rigorous method of homogenization is presented and used to analyze the equivalent behavior of transient flow of two incompressible fluids through heterogeneous media. Asymptotic expansions and H-convergence lead to the definition of a global or effective model of an equivalent homogeneous reservoir. Numerical computations to obtain the homogenized coefficients of the entire reservoir have been carried out via a finite element method. Numerical experiments involving the simulation of incompressible two-phase flow have been performed for each heterogeneous medium and for the homogenized medium as well as for other averaging methods. The results of the simulations are compared in terms of the transient saturation contours, production curves, and pressure distributions. Results obtained from the simulations with the homogenization method presented show good agreement with the heterogeneous simulations.     

Turbulent particle dispersion in arbitrary wall-bounded geometries: A coupled CFD-Langevin-equation based approach

A Lagrangian continuous random walk (CRW) model is developed to predict turbulent particle dispersion in arbitrary wall-bounded flows with prevailing anisotropic, inhomogeneous turbulence. The particle tracking model uses 3D mean flow data obtained from the Fluent CFD code, as well as Eulerian statistics of instantaneous quantities computed from DNS databases. The turbulent fluid velocities at the current time step are related to those of the previous time step through a Markov chain based on the normalized Langevin equation which takes into account turbulence inhomogeneities. The model includes a drift velocity correction that considerably reduces unphysical features common in random walk models. It is shown that the model satisfies the well-mixed criterion such that tracer particles retain approximately uniform concentrations when introduced uniformly in the domain, while their deposition velocity is vanishingly small, as it should be. To handle arbitrary geometries, it is assumed that the velocity rms values in the boundary layer can locally be approximated by the DNS data of fully developed channel flows. Benchmarks of the model are performed against particle deposition data in turbulent pipe flows, 90° bends, as well as more complex 3D flows inside a mouth-throat geometry. Good agreement with the data is obtained across the range of particle inertia.     

FE analysis of stress and strain fields in finite random composite bodies

In this paper the mechanical behaviour of finite random heterogeneous bodies is considered. The analysis of non-local interactions between heterogeneities in microscopically heterogeneous materials is necessary when the spatial variation of the load or the dimensions of the body, relative to the scale of the microstructure, cannot be ignored. Microstructures can be periodic but generically they are random. In the first case, an exact calculation can be performed but in the second case recourse has to be made either to simulation or to some scheme of approximation. One such scheme is based on a stochastic variational principle. The novelty of the present work is that a stochastic variational principle is projected directly onto a finite-element basis so that all subsequent analysis is performed within a finite-element framework. The proposed formulation provides expressions for the local stress and strain fields in any realization of the medium, from which expressions for statistically-averaged quantities can be derived. Then an approximation of Hashin-Shtrikman type is developed, which generates a FE-based numerical procedure able to take account of interactions between random inclusions and boundary layer effects in finite composite structures. Finally, two examples are presented, namely a cylinder with square cross-section subjected to mixed boundary conditions of different types on different faces and a rectangular body containing a centre crack. The results show that in the vicinity of the boundary or close to the crack tip, the strain and the stress in the matrix and in the inclusions differ considerably from those obtained by the formal application of conventional homogenization.     

煤仓内煤散料流动状态与力学行为影响因素

针对煤仓内煤散料流动问题及其力学行为,采用三维颗粒流模拟程序PFC3D建立了某型号煤仓与某种煤散料的离散元模型,简述了其力学模型与求解步骤,模拟分析了煤仓内煤散料卸料流动状态。通过分析水平向侧压力、颗粒速度场和接触力场,重点讨论了煤仓下部锥体内壁面摩擦系数、锥仓倾角和卸料口径等对煤散料颗粒流动状态和力学行为的影响。结果显示,深仓卸料流动为整体流动与中心流动混合状态,煤仓内壁摩擦系数、锥体倾角和卸料孔开口半径均对煤散料流动和水平侧压力有较大影响。     

Velocity–pressure integrated versus penalty finite element methods for high-Reynolds-number flows

Velocity–pressure integrated and consistent penalty finite element computations of high-Reynolds-number laminar flows are presented. In both methods the pressure has been interpolated using linear shape functions for a triangular element which is contained inside the biquadratic flow element. It has been shown previously that the pressure interpolation method, when used in conjunction with the velocity-pressure integrated method, yields accurate computational results for high-Reynolds-number flows. It is shown in this paper that use of the same pressure interpolation method in the consistent penalty finite element method yields computational results which are comparable to those of the velocity–pressure integrated method for both the velocity and the pressure fields. Accuracy of the two finite element methods has been demonstrated by comparing the computational results with available experimental data and/or fine grid finite difference computational results. Advantages and disadvantages of the two finite element methods are discussed on the basis of accuracy and convergence nature. Example problems considered include a lid-driven cavity flow of Reynolds number 10 000, a laminar backward-facing step flow and a laminar flow through a nest of cylinders.     

Numerical simulation of a fluid-saturated soil under a dynamically loaded pile

The behaviour of the soil under a dynamically loaded pile toe is studied. The soil is modelled as a fluid saturated porous continuum. The constitutive behaviour of the solid skeleton is described by the elasto-plastic model of Drücker-Prager. The wave propagation is simulated with a dynamical finite-element program.A two-phase model of soil gives useful information about effective stress and pore pressure in the soil. In saturated soil the main wave under the pile toe propagates more downards than in dry soil, due to the higher compressional stiffness in saturated soil. The plastic zone under the pile toe propagates with the velocity of the fast compressional wave. The pore fluid influences the plasticity strongly and can be expected to affect pile driving too.The distribution of effective stress and pore pressure under the pile toe depends on the permeability of the soil and cannot be calculated uniquely from a single-phase calculation. Therefore, a nonlinear soil cannot be modelled correctly as a conventional single-phase material.     

Numerical Analysis of Coupled Stokes/Darcy Flows in Industrial Filtrations

Free flow channel confined by porous walls is a feature of many of the natural and industrial settings. Viscous flows adjacent to saturated porous medium occur in cross-flow and dead-end filtrations employed primarily in pharmaceutical and chemical industries for solid–liquid or gas–solid separations. Various mathematical models have been put forward to describe the conjugate flow dynamics based on theoretical grounds and experimental evidence. Despite this fact, there still exists a wide scope for extensive research in numerical solutions of these coupled models when applied to problems with industrial relevance. The present work aims towards the numerical analysis of coupled free/porous flow dynamics in the context of industrial filtration systems. The free flow dynamics has been expressed by the Stokes equations for the creeping, laminar flow regime whereas the flow behaviour in very low permeability porous media has been represented by the conventional Darcy equation. The combined free/porous fluid dynamical behaviour has been simulated using a mixed finite element formulation based on the standard Galerkin technique. A nodal replacement technique has been developed for the direct linking of Stokes and Darcy flow regimes which alleviates specification of any additional constraint at the free/porous interface. The simulated flow and pressure fields have been found for flow domains with different geometries which represent prototypes of actual industrial filtration equipment. Results have been obtained for varying values of permeability of the porous medium for generalised Newtonian fluids obeying the power law model. A series of numerical experiments has been performed in order to validate the coupled flow model. The developed model has been examined for its flexibility in dealing with complex geometrical domains and found to be generic in delivering convergent, stable and theoretically consistent results. The validity and accuracy of the simulated results has been affirmed by comparing with available experimental data.     

A fast and efficient iterative scheme for viscoelastic flow simulations with the DEVSS finite element method

We present a new fast iterative solution technique for the large sparse-matrix system that is commonly encountered in the mixed finite-element formulation of transient viscoelastic flow simulation: the DEVSS (discrete elastic-viscous stress splitting) method. A block-structured preconditioner for the velocity, pressure and viscous polymer stress has been proposed, based on a block reduction of the discrete system, designed to maintain spectral equivalence with the discrete system. The algebraic multigrid method and the diagonally scaled conjugate gradient method are applied to the preconditioning sub-block systems and a Krylov subspace iterative method (MINRES) is employed as an outer solver. We report the performance of the present solver through example problems in 2D and 3D, in comparison with the corresponding Stokes problems, and demonstrate that the outer iteration, as well as each block preconditioning sub-problem, can be solved within a fixed number of iterations. The required CPU time for the entire problem scales linearly with the number of degrees of freedom, indicating O(N) performance of this solution algorithm.     

Graded piezoelectric cylinders subjected to high electric fields and comparison of their frequency response with piezoelectric plates

In this paper we investigated a radially polarized piezoceramic cylinder with graded piezoelectric properties, and used a nonlinear model for piezoceramics subjected to high electric fields. We investigated the nonlinear behavior of this material by examining changes in its electric-field-dependent dielectric and piezoelectric coefficients caused by domain wall motion. The Galerkin finite-element method was used to solve the governing equations of the axisymmetrically loaded heterogeneous piezoceramic medium subjected to harmonic electrical loading. Stress, displacement, resonance, and frequency responses were compared for homogeneous and graded cylinders; additionally, we compared the results of linear and nonlinear studies. We showed that the effective stress was higher within the graded cylinder than within the homogeneous cylinder, and that the nonlinearity caused by domain wall motion was less pronounced for the graded cylinder than for the homogeneous cylinder. The frequency responses of homogeneous and heterogeneous piezocylinders were also compared with those of piezoelectric plates. We concluded that—unlike for graded plates, which have a more desirable frequency response than homogeneous plates—graded cylinders are not superior to homogeneous cylinders. The finite-element solution in this paper is verified by simulations using COMSOL Multiphysics software.     

A least-squares finite element method for incompressible Navier-Stokes problems

A least-squares finite element method based on the velocity–pressure–vorticity formulation was proposed for solving steady incompressible Navier-Stokes problems. This method leads to a minimization problem rather than to the saddle point problem of the classic mixed method and can thus accommodate equal-order interpolations. The method has no parameter to tune. The associated algebraic system is symmetric and positive definite. In order to show the validity of the method for high-Reynolds-number problems, this paper provides numerical results for cavity flow at Reynolds number up to 10 000 and backward-facing step flow at Reynolds number up to 900.     

Experiments and homogeneous turbulence model of boiling flowin narrow channels

The boiling heat transfer experiments have been carried out in vertical narrow annular channels with pure water. A two-dimensional homogeneous turbulence model of boiling flow has been developed and solved numerically to yield pressure gradient, and velocity, thermal and turbulence fields, together with local heat transfer coefficient along the length of the tube. Predictions are compared with the data of experiments and agreed well with it. The model results show that the heat transfer coefficient increases as the gap size decreases in annular channels. This model can be used to predict heat transfer of boiling flow in narrow channels.     

复杂边界非均质渗流场流线分布研究

建立了考虑源(汇)影响的含有不渗透区域复杂边界条件下非均质油藏稳定渗流的数学模型。利用扰动边界元方法求解数学模型,获得了地层中任意一点的压力公式.在此基础上,提出了流线场的生成方法。绘制了考虑非均质性、复杂边界和不渗透区域影响的流线分布图,并分析了流线分布的特征。通过分析表明,渗流场的非均质性和不渗透区域的存在都对流线分布存在较大的影响。利用本文方法产生的流线分布图能够较为直观地反映出油藏流体在注采井间的运动轨迹,为优化井网和注入方案提供了重要依据。     

A finite element analysis of laminar unsteady flow of viscoelastic fluids through channels with non-uniform cross-sections

The effects of non-Newtonian behaviour of a fluid and unsteadiness on flow in a channel with non-uniform cross-section have been investigated. The rheological behaviour of the fluid is assumed to be described by the constitutive equation of a viscoelastic fluid obeying the Oldroyd-B model. The finite element method is used to analyse the flow. The novel features of the present method are the adoption of the velocity correction technique for the momentum equations and of the two-step explicit scheme for the extra stress equations. This approach makes the computational scheme simple in algorithmic structure, which therefore implies that the present technique is capable of handling large-scale problems. The scheme is completed by the introduction of balancing tensor diffusivity (wherever necessary) in the momentum equations. It is important to mention that the proper boundary condition for pressure (at the outlet) has been developed to solve the pressure Poisson equation, and then the results for velocity, pressure and extra stress fields have been computed for different values of the Weissenberg number, viscosity due to elasticity, etc. Finally, it is pertinent to point out that the present numerical scheme, along with the proper boundary condition for pressure developed here, demonstrates its versatility and suitability for analysing the unsteady flow of viscoelastic fluid through a channel with non-uniform cross-section.     

On the numerical stability of mixed finite-element methods for viscoelastic flows governed by differential constitutive equations

Mixed finite-element methods for computation of viscoelastic flows governed by differential constitutive equations vary by the polynomial approximations used for the velocity, pressure, and stress fields, and by the weighted residual methods used to discretize the momentum, continuity, and constitutive equations. This paper focuses on computation of the linear stability of the planar Couette flow as a test of the numerical stability for solution of the upper-convected Maxwell model. Previous theoretical results prove this inertialess flow to be always stable, but that accurate calculation is difficult at high De because eigenvalues with fine spatial structure and high temporal frequency approach neutral stability. Computations with the much used biquadratic finite-element approximations for velocity and deviatoric stress and bilinear interpolation for pressure demonstrate numerical instability beyond a critical value of De for either the explicitly elliptic momentum equation (EEME) or elastic-viscous split-stress (EVSS) formulations, applying Galerkin's method for solution of the momentum and continuity equations, and using streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) method for solution of the hyperbolic constitutive equation. The disturbance that causes the instability is concentrated near the stationary streamline of the base flow. The removal of this instability in a slightly modified form of the EEME formulation suggests that the instability results from coupling the approximations to the variables. A new mixed finite-element method, EVSS-G, is presented that includes smooth interpolation of the velocity gradients in the constitutive equation that is compatible with bilinear interpolation of the stress field. This formulation is tested with SUPG, streamline upwinding (SU), and Galerkin least squares (GLS) discretization of the constitutive equation. The EVSS-G/SUPG and EVSS-G/SU do not have the numerical instability described above; linear stability calculations for planar Couette flow are stable to values of De in excess of 50 and converge with mesh and time step. Calculations for the steady-state flow and its linear stability for a sphere falling in a tube demonstrate the appearance of linear instability to a time-periodic instability simultaneously with the apparent loss of existence of the steady-state solution. The instability appears as finely structured secondary cells that move from the front to the back of the sphere.Financial support for this research was given by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and the Defense Research Projects Agency. Computational resources were supplied by a grant from the Pittsburgh National Supercomputer Center and by the MIT Supercomputer Facility.     

Effects of nanoparticles mean diameter on the particle migration and thermo-hydraulic behavior of laminar mixed convection of a nanofluid in an inclined tube

Laminar mixed convection of a nanofluid consisting of Al₂O₃ and water through an inclined tube has been investigated numerically. As mathematical model two-phase mixture model has been adopted, thus three dimensional elliptical governing equations have been solved to understand the flow behavior at different Re–Gr combinations. Control volume technique is used for discretization of the governing equations. For the convective and diffusive terms the second order upwind method was used while the SIMPLEC procedure was adopted for the velocity–pressure coupling. For different nanoparticle mean diameters and tube inclinations thermo-fluid parameters such as secondary flow, axial velocity profiles, nanoparticles distribution at the tube cross section, axial evolution of peripheral average convective heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop along the tube, have been presented and discussed. Maximum enhancement on the heat transfer coefficient is seen at tube inclination of 45°.     

缝洞型油藏三维离散缝洞数值试井模型

缝洞型碳酸盐岩油藏发育着大尺度的溶洞和裂缝,非均质性极强,缝洞型碳酸盐岩油藏问题的研究成为了世界级难题之一.由于大尺度溶洞和裂缝对储层的流体流动起主导作用,因此,基于连续介质理论的双重介质或三重介质模型已不适合其中流体流动的描述.根据大型缝洞分布地质特征,探索性地提出了一种板块组合的复合架构离散缝洞模型描述该类油藏中的流体流动,将三维空间大裂缝用板块描述,溶洞用高渗透率和高孔隙度不规则多面体团块描述.将裂缝面用二维三角形单元离散, 溶洞和基质用三维四面体离散, 利用三维混合单元有限元法对建立的不定常渗流模型进行求解,得到了三维渗流条件下的试井理论曲线及压力场分布.通过对试井理论曲线特征的分析, 获得了各敏感参数对试井曲线的影响规律.通过对1口井的实际测试资料解释结果的分析,并与实际地震反射资料及生产实际资料的对比,发现本文所建立的模型可以较好地反映裂缝和溶洞的地质动态状况,并与实际生产状况具有较好的一致性.这一结果说明了所建模型的正确性以及测试资料分析结果的可靠性.      

An implicit three‐dimensional numerical model to simulate transport processes in coastal water bodies

A three‐dimensional baroclinic numerical model has been developed to compute water levels and water particle velocity distributions in coastal waters. The numerical model consists of hydrodynamic, transport and turbulence model components. In the hydrodynamic model component, the Navier–Stokes equations are solved with the hydrostatic pressure distribution assumption and the Boussinesq approximation. The transport model component consists of the pollutant transport model and the water temperature and salinity transport models. In this component, the three‐dimensional convective diffusion equations are solved for each of the three quantities. In the turbulence model, a two‐equation k–ϵ formulation is solved to calculate the kinetic energy of the turbulence and its rate of dissipation, which provides the variable vertical turbulent eddy viscosity. Horizontal eddy viscosities can be simulated by the Smagorinsky algebraic sub grid scale turbulence model. The solution method is a composite finite difference–finite element method. In the horizontal plane, finite difference approximations, and in the vertical plane, finite element shape functions are used. The governing equations are solved implicitly in the Cartesian co‐ordinate system. The horizontal mesh sizes can be variable. To increase the vertical resolution, grid clustering can be applied. In the treatment of coastal land boundaries, the flooding and drying processes can be considered. The developed numerical model predictions are compared with the analytical solutions of the steady wind driven circulatory flow in a closed basin and of the uni‐nodal standing oscillation. Furthermore, model predictions are verified by the experiments performed on the wind driven turbulent flow of an homogeneous fluid and by the hydraulic model studies conducted on the forced flushing of marinas in enclosed seas. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of diameter on two-phase pressure drop in narrow tubes

The effect of tube diameter on two-phase frictional pressure drop was investigated in circular tubes with inner diameters of 0.6, 1.2, 1.7, 2.6 and 3.4 mm using air and water. The gas and liquid superficial velocity ranges were 0.01-50 m/s and 0.01-3 m/s, respectively. The gas and liquid flow rates were measured and the two-phase flow pattern images were recorded using high-speed CMOS camera. Unique flow patterns were observed for smaller tube diameters. Pressure drop was measured and compared with various existing models such as homogeneous model and Lockhart-Martinelli model. It appears that the dominant effect of surface tension shrinking the flow stratification in the annular regime is important. It was found that existing models are inadequate in predicting the pressure drop for all the flow regimes visualized. Based on the analysis of present experimental frictional pressure drop data a correlation is proposed for predicting Chisholm parameter “C” in slug annular flow pattern. For all other flow regimes Chisholm’s original correlation appears to be adequate except the bubbly flow regime where homogeneous model works well. The modification results in overall mean deviation of pressure drop within 25% for all tube diameters considered. This approach of flow regime based modification of liquid gas interaction parameter appears to be the key to pressure drop prediction in narrow tubes.     

考虑诱导缝多段压裂水平井非均质改造压力动态模型研究

为了准确模拟致密油藏水平井大规模压裂形成复杂裂缝网络系统和非均质储层井底压力变化,建立考虑诱导缝矩形非均质储层多段压裂水平井不稳定渗流数学模型,耦合裂缝模型与储层模型得到有限导流裂缝拉普拉斯空间井底压力解,对两种非均质储层模型分别利用数值解、边界元和已有模型验证其准确性.基于压力导数曲线特征进行流动阶段划分和参数敏感性分析,得到以下结果:和常规压裂水平井井底压力导数曲线相比较,理想模式下,考虑诱导缝影响时特有的流动阶段是综合线性流阶段、诱导缝向压裂裂缝“补充”阶段、储层线性流动阶段和拟边界控制流阶段.诱导缝条数的增加加剧了综合线性流阶段的持续时间,降低了流体渗流阻力,早期阶段压力曲线越低;当诱导缝与压裂裂缝导流能力一定时,裂缝导流能力越大,线性流持续时间越长;当所有压裂裂缝不在一个区域时,沿井筒方向两端区域低渗透率弱化了低渗区域诱导缝流体向压裂裂缝“补充”阶段,因此,沿井筒方向两端区域渗透率越低,早期阶段压力曲线越高;当所有压裂裂缝在一个区域时,渗透率变化只影响径向流阶段之后压力曲线形态,外区渗透率越低,早期径向流阶段之后压力曲线越高.通过实例验证,表明该模型和方法的实用性和准确性.