Numerical Simulation of Ferrofluid Flow for Subsurface Environmental Engineering Applications

Ferrofluids are suspensions of magnetic particles of diameter approximately 10nm stabilized by surfactants in carrier liquids. The large magnetic susceptibility of ferrofluids allows the mobilization of ferrofluid through permeable rock and soil by the application of strong external magnetic fields. We have developed simulation capabilities for both miscible and immiscible conceptualizations of ferrofluid flow through porous media in response to magnetic forces arising from the magnetic field of a rectangular permanent magnet. The flow of ferrofluid is caused by the magnetization of the particles and their attraction toward a magnet, regardless of the orientation of the magnet. The steps involved in calculating the flow of ferrofluid are (1) calculation of the external magnetic field, (2) calculation of the gradient of the external magnetic field, (3) calculation of the magnetization of the ferrofluid, and (4) assembly of the magnetic body force term and addition of this term to the standard pressure gradient and gravity force terms. We compare numerical simulations to laboratory measurements of the magnetic field, fluid pressures, and the twodimensional flow of ferrofluid to demonstrate the applicability of the methods coded in the numerical simulators. We present an example of the use of the simulator for a fieldscale application of ferrofluids for barrier verification.     

A comparison of the magnetorheology of two ferrofluids with different magnetic field-dependent chaining behavior

The effect of magnetic field-induced particle chaining on the magnetorheology of commercial iron oxide-based ferrofluids was investigated by comparison of a ferrofluid with particles that resist chaining and a ferrofluid with particles that interact when a field is applied, forming chain-like aggregates. This difference between the two ferrofluids was confirmed by optical microscopy and dynamic light scattering in an applied magnetic field. Both fluids had similar magnetic particle fraction, but showed different magnetorheological behavior. Chaining resulted in a stronger magnetic field-dependent viscosity enhancement and the appearance of an elastic modulus. The magnetorheology of these two fluids was described using the Mason number (Mn), resulting in two distinct Mn power law slopes at intermediate and small Mn values for the ferrofluid with magnetic field-induced aggregation. The commonly used magnetic coupling parameter failed to distinguish the behavior of the two ferrofluids.     

Ferrofluid Permeation into Three-Dimensional Random Porous Media: A Numerical Study Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method

Colloidal suspensions containing magnetic nanoparticles placed in appropriate carrier liquids present strong magnetic dipoles. These suspensions, in general, exhibit normal liquid behaviour coupled with super paramagnetic properties. This leads to the possibility of remotely controlling the flow of such liquids with a moderate-strength external magnetic field. In this study, we numerically investigate the viability of controlling and steering a base-fluid with magnetic-sensitive nanoparticles into randomly structured fibrous porous media. Three dimensional flow simulations are performed using the lattice Boltzmann method. The simulation results for the flow front are presented, and the effect of the magnetic field strength on the rate of ferrofluid penetration is discussed. It is shown that the porosity of the porous medium and the size of the fibres have a strong effect on the ferrofluid penetration rate.     

A Lattice Gas Automaton Simulation of the Nonlinear Diffusion Equation: A Model for Moisture Flow in Unsaturated Porous Media

We investigate a two-dimensional lattice gas automaton (LGA) for simulating the nonlinear diffusion equation in a random heterogeneous structure. The utilility of the LGA for computation of nonlinear diffusion arises from the fact that, the diffusion coefficient in the LGA depends on the local density of fluid particles which statistically determines the collision rate and thus, the mean free path of the particles at the microscopic scale. The LGA may therefore be used as a physical analogue to simulate moisture flow in unsaturated porous media. The capability of the LGA to account for unsaturated flow is tested through a set of numerical experiments simulating one-dimensional infiltration in a simplified semi-infinite homogenous isotropic porous material. Different mechanisms of interactions are used between the fluid and the solid phase to simulate various fluid–solid interfaces. The heterogeneous medium, initially at low density is submitted to a steep density gradient by continuously injecting fluid particles at high concentration and zero velocity along one face of the model. The propagation of the infiltration front is visualized at different time steps through concentration profiles parallel to the applied concentration gradient and the infiltration rate is measured continuously until steady-state flow is reached. The numerical results show close agreement with the classical theory of flow in unsaturated porous media. The cumulative absorption exhibits the expected t ^1/2 dependence. The evolution of the effective diffusion coefficient with the particle concentration is estimated from the measured density profiles for the various porous materials. Depending on the applied fluid–solid interactions, the macroscopic effective diffusivity may vary by more than two orders of magnitude with density.     

Influence of a homogeneous axial magnetic field on Taylor–Couette flow of ferrofluids with low particle–particle interaction

Experimental results concerning the stability of Couette flow of ferrofluids under magnetic field influence are presented. The fluid cell of the Taylor–Couette system is subject to a homogeneous axial magnetic field and the axial flow profiles are measured by ultrasound Doppler velocimetry. It has been found that an axial magnetic field stabilizes the Couette flow. This effect decreases with a rotating outer cylinder. Moreover, it could be observed that lower axial wave numbers are more stable at a higher axial magnetic field strength. Since the used ferrofluid shows a negligible particle–particle interaction, the observed effects are considered to be solely based on the hindrance of free particle rotation.     

The Physical Origin of Interfacial Coupling in Two-Phase Flow through Porous Media

Recently developed transport equations for two-phase flow through porous media usually have a second term that has been included to account properly for interfacial coupling between the two flowing phases. The source and magnitude of such coupling is not well understood. In this study, a partition concept has been introduced into Kalaydjian's transport equations to construct modified transport equations that enable a better understanding of the role of interfacial coupling in two-phase flow through natural porous media. Using these equations, it is demonstrated that, in natural porous media, the physical origin of interfacial coupling is the capillarity of the porous medium, and not interfacial momentum transfer, as is usually assumed. The new equations are also used to show that, under conditions of steady-state flow, the magnitude of mobilities measured in a countercurrent flow experiment is the same as that measured in a cocurrent flow experiment, contrary to what has been reported previously. Moreover, the new equations are used to explicate the mechanism by which a saturation front steepens in an unstabilized displacement, and to show that the rate at which a wetting fluid is imbibed into a porous medium is controlled by the capillary coupling parameter, . Finally, it is argued that the capillary coupling parameter, , is dependent, at least in part, on porosity. Because a clear understanding of the role played by interfacial coupling is important to an improved understanding of two-phase flow through porous media, the new transport equations should prove to be effective tools for the study of such flow.     

Static yield stress of ferrofluid-based magnetorheological fluids

In this work, the yield stress of ferrofluid-based magnetorheological fluids (F-MRF) was investigated. The fluids are composed of a ferrofluid as the liquid carrier and micro-sized iron particles as magnetic particles. The physical and magnetorheological properties of the F-MRF have been investigated and compared with a commercial mineral oil-based MR fluid. With the addition of a ferrofluid, the anti-sedimentation property of the commercial MR fluids could be significantly improved. The static yield stress of the F-MRF samples with four different weight fractions (ϕ) of micro-sized iron particles were measured using three different testing modes under various magnetic fields. The effects of weight fraction, magnetic strength, and test mode on the yielding stress have been systematically studied. Finally, a scaling relation, , was proposed for the yield stress modeling of the F-MRF system.     

Subgrid modeling of filtration in porous self‐similar media

Subgrid modeling of a filtration flow of a fluid in an inhomogeneous porous medium is considered. An expression for the effective permeability coefficient for the largescale component of the flow is derived using the scaleinvariance hypothesis. The model obtained is verified by numerical simulation of the complete problem.     

Fluid Flows Through Two-Dimensional Channels of Composite Materials

The present analysis relates to the study of the full two-dimensional Brinkman equation representing the fluid flow through porous medium. The steady, incompressible fluid flow, with a negligible gravitational force, is constrained to flow in an infinitely long channel in which the height assumes a series of piecewise constant values. The control volume method is used to solve the Brinkman equation which involves the parameter, =/Da, where Da is the Darcy number and is the ratio of the fluid viscosity _f to the effective viscosity . An analytical study in the fully developed section of the composite channel is presented when the channel is of constant height and composed of several layers of porous media, each of uniform porosity. In the fully developed flow regime the analytical and numerical solutions are graphically indistinguishable. A geometrical configuration involving several discontinuities of channel height, and where the entry and exit sections are layered, is considered and the effect of different permeabilities is demonstrated. Further, numerical investigations are performed to evaluate the behaviour of fluid flow through regions which mathematically model some geological structures of various sizes, positions and permeability, for example a fault or a fracture, where the outlet channel is offset at different levels. The effect on the overall pressure gradient is also considered.     

Effects of magnetic field and variable viscosity on forced non‐darcy flow about a flat plate with variable wall temperature in porous media in the presence of suction and blowing

This paper presents a study of the effect of a magnetic field and variable viscosity on steady twodimensional laminar nonDarcy forced convection flow over a flat plate with variable wall temperature in a porous medium in the presence of blowing (suction). The fluid viscosity is assumed to vary as an inverse linear function of temperature. The derived fundamental equations on the assumption of small magnetic Reynolds number are solved numerically by using the finite difference method. The effects of variable viscosity, magnetic and suction (or injection) parameters on the velocity and temperature profiles as well as on the skinfriction and heattransfer coefficients were studied. It is shown that the magnetic field increases the wall skin friction while the heattransfer rate decreases.     

Effective Rheology of Two-Phase Flow in Three-Dimensional Porous Media: Experiment and Simulation

We present an experimental and numerical study of immiscible two-phase flow of Newtonian fluids in three-dimensional (3D) porous media to find the relationship between the volumetric flow rate (Q) and the total pressure difference (\(\Delta P\)) in the steady state. We show that in the regime where capillary forces compete with the viscous forces, the distribution of capillary barriers at the interfaces effectively creates a yield threshold (\(P_t\)), making the fluids reminiscent of a Bingham viscoplastic fluid in the porous medium. In this regime, Q depends quadratically on an excess pressure drop (\(\Delta P-P_t\)). While increasing the flow rate, there is a transition, beyond which the overall flow is Newtonian and the relationship is linear. In our experiments, we build a model porous medium using a column of glass beads transporting two fluids, deionized water and air. For the numerical study, reconstructed 3D pore networks from real core samples are considered and the transport of wetting and non-wetting fluids through the network is modeled by tracking the fluid interfaces with time. We find agreement between our numerical and experimental results. Our results match with the mean-field results reported earlier.     

The stokes problems for a conducting fluid with a suspension of particles

The Stokes problems of an incompressible, viscous, conducting fluid with embedded small spherical particles over an infinite plate, set into motion in its plane by impulse and by oscillation, in the presence of a transverse magnetic field, are studied. The velocities of the fluid and of the particles and the wall shear stress are obtained. The stress is found to increase due to the particles and the magnetic field, with the effect of the particles diminishing as the field strength is increased.Nomenclature H ₀ strength of the imposed magnetic field - k density ratio of particles to fluid (per unit volume of flow field) - m _e ² H ₀ ² / - t time - y co-ordinate normal to the plate - u fluid velocity - v particle velocity - _e magnetic permeability of the fluid - kinematic viscosity of the fluid - electric conductivity of the fluid - fluid density - particle relaxation time - frequency of oscillation of the plate     

Mechanistic Model of Steady-State Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media Based on Ganglion Dynamics

Recent experimental work has shown that the pore-scale flow mechanism during steady-state two-phase flow in porous media is ganglion dynamics (GD) over a broad and practically significant range of the system parameters. This observation suggests that our conception and theoretical treatment of fractional flow in porous media need careful reconsideration. Here is proposed a mechanistic model of steady-state two-phase flow in those cases where the dominant flow regime is ganglion dynamics. The approach is based on the ganglion population balance equations in combination with a microflow network simulator. The fundamental information on the cooperative flow behavior of the two fluids at the scale of a few hundred pores is expressed through the system factors, which are functions of the system parameters and are calculated using the simulator. These system factors are utilized by the population balance equations to predict the macroscopic behavior of the process. The dependence of the conventional relative permeability coefficients not only on the wetting fluid saturation S_wbut also on the capillary number, Ca, the viscosity ratio the wettability (⁰ a, ⁰ r), the coalescence factor, Co, as well as the porous medium geometry and topology is explained and predicted on a mechanistic basis. Sample calculations have been performed for steady-state fully developed (SSFD) and steady-state nonfully developed (SSnonFD) flow conditions. The number distributions of the moving and the stranded ganglia, the mean ganglion size, the fraction of the nonwetting fluid in the form of mobile ganglia, the ratio of the conventional relative permeability coefficients and the fractional flows are studied as functions of the system parameters and are correlated with the flow phenomena at pore level and the system factors.     

Rayleigh Taylor instability of rotating compressible fluid through porous media

The hydromagnetic instability of a stratified horizontal layer of viscous compressible rotating fluid through porous media in the presence of vertical magnetic field is considered. The solution has been obtained through the use of variational principle. The dispersion relation is derived for a layer having exponential density stratification along the vertical direction. It is found that viscosity has stabilizing influence while permeability of porous medium, magnetic resistivity and coriolis forces have destabilizing influence on the system.     

Reiterated Homogenization and the Double-Porosity Model

We consider the effects of a hierarchical, multiple layered system of fractures on the flow of a single-phase, slightly compressible fluid through a porous medium. A microscopic flow model is first defined which describes precisely the physics of the flow and the geometry of the fracture system and porous matrix, all of which depends on a positive parameter that determines the scale of the various fracture-level thicknesses. We then show by a rigorous mathematical argument that the unique solution of this microscopic problem converges as 0 to the solution of a double-porosity model of the global macroscopic flow. Our techniques make use of the concept of reiterated homogenization and essentially consist of an adaptation of the methods of extension and dilation operators to the reiterated-homogenization context. We show how the porosities and permeability tensor of the porous medium are determined in a precise way by certain physical and geometric features of the microscopic fracture domain, the microscopic matrix blocks, and the interface between them.     

Experimental analysis of particle and fluid motion in ac electrokinetics

An ac electric field is applied to induce particle and fluid motion in a wedge-shaped microchannel. Micron-resolution particle image velocimetry (-PIV) is used to determine spatially resolved particle velocity and fluid velocity fields. Under steady-state conditions, the particles experience a balance between dielectrophoretic forces induced by the nonuniform electric field and Stokes drag forces due to viscous interactions with the fluid. The particle velocity is therefore different from the fluid velocity because of dielectrophoresis. A variant of -PIV, two-color -PIV, is developed and used to uniquely determine the fluid velocity from the observation of particles without a priori knowledge of the electrical properties. This technique is used to explore ac electrokinetically generated fluid motion. A series of voltage levels at fixed frequency are applied to the wedge-shaped electrodes. The dependency of fluid velocity on applied voltage at different regions in the flow is obtained by fitting power-law curves. This is used to determine the underlying physical phenomena associated with ac electrokinetics. We found that both electrothermal effects and ac electroosmosis are important for the current experimental conditions. However, the electrothermal effect is dominant in the bulk fluid.     

Linear shear flow past a porous particle

Linear shear flow past a porous spherical particle is studied using a generalized boundary condition proposed by Jones. The torque on a porous sphere rotating in a quiescent fluid is calculated. Streamlines patterns are illustrated for the case of a particle freely suspended in a simple shear flow. These patterns are shown to differ significantly from those associated with an impermeable rigid sphere. Finally, an expression for the effective viscosity of a dilute suspension of porous spherical particles is obtained.Nomenclature A, B dimensionless flow parameter - a radius of the porous sphere - C, E, F constants of integration - d shear strength - d constant rate of deformation of ambient field - e rate of strain tensor - f, g functions of distance - k permeability of the porous medium - n unit normal vector - p pressure - p unit vector - Q coefficient of spherical harmonic - q filter velocity within the porous medium - r polar spherical coordinate - S _p surface of porous particle - S, T, T* coefficients of spherical harmonics - T torque exerted on the particle - u fluid velocity vector - x cartesian coordinates - dimensionless constant - , polar spherical coordinates - dimensionless flow parameter - viscosity of the fluid - stress tensor - rotational velocity of the particle - rotational velocity of the ambient field.     

Generation of Realistic Porous Media by Grains Sedimentation

In a recent paper, Tacher and coworkers proposed an interesting numerical technique to generate granular porous media. In this contribution, we present a similar procedure based on a sedimentation algorithm, that is able to overcome some of the difficulties present in the former technique. These are: (a) the impossibility to choose a priori a grading curve for the generated medium while retaining a realistic stacking where each grain is connected to at least three of its neighbours, and, (b) he random pattern of the grains in the porous medium, arising from their location inside the remaining void space of a box according to an arbitrary space filling criterion. We propose to generate threedimensional granular media by simulating the deposition of spherical grains in a viscous fluid. We argue that the resulting chaotic grain pattern, by reflecting the actual generation process of sedimentary aggregates more closely, provides a better image of the complex topology of natural granular porous media. Although the generated medium is made up of spheres, it can be transformed, by changing the geometry of the grains through suitable domain mappings. The resulting threedimensional porous media provide a realistic boundary for the numerical solution of linearized Navier–Stokes equations.     

Foam Drainage in Porous Media

In this paper we present a simple analysis of liquid drainage in foams confined in porous media. First we derive the equation for the evolution of the liquid saturation using general mass and momentum conservation arguments and phenomenological relations between the transport parameters and liquid saturation. We find an unusual foam drainage equation in which the determinant terms express the competition between the external force field, represented here by the gravity field, and capillary pressure gradient. We present analytical solutions of the drainage equation in three cases: (a) gravity forces are dominant over capillary forces, (b) capillary forces are dominant over gravity forces, and (c) capillary and gravity forces are comparable in order of magnitude.