Numerical simulation of particle sedimentation in 3D rectangular channel

The 3D lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate particle sedimentation in a rectangular channel. The results of single particle sedimentation indicate that the last position of the particle is along the center line of the channel regardless of the initial position, the particle diameter, and the particle Reynolds number. The wall effect on the terminal velocity is in good agreement with experimental results quantitatively. The drafting, kissing, and tumbling (DKT) process is reproduced and analyzed by simulating two-particle cluster sedimentation. The effects of the diameter ratio, initial position, and wall on the DKT process are investigated. When the two particles have equal diameter sediment in the rectangular channel, a periodical DKT process and the spiraling trajectory are found. The last equilibrium configuration is obtained from the simulation results. The interesting regular sedimentation phenomena are found when 49 particles fall down under gravity.     

A new cross-scaling method to deal with the porous flow problem

The finite volume method (FVM) and the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) are coupled with each other to construct a new cross-scaling method to deal with the porous flow problem. To check the effectiveness of our developed cross-scaling LBM—FVM, the above mentioned problem is also solved by the well known LBM—LBM. Based on the data checking of the published data and the results of LBM—FVM and LBM—LBM, good agreement is observed.     

Transient spherical flow of non-newtonian power-law fluids in porous media

The transient spherical flow behavior of a slightly compressible non-Newtonian, power-law fluids in porous media is studied. A nonlinear partial differential equation of parabolic type is derived. The diffusivity equation for spherical flow is a special case of the new equation. We obtain analytical, asymptotic and approximate solutions by using the methods of Laplace transform and weighted mass conservation. The structures of asymptotic and approximate solutions are similar, which enriches the theory of one-dimensional flow of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media.     

An asymptotically self-similar solution of the problem of three-dimensional gas flow through a porous medium

An exact solution of the Cauchy problem is constructed for the equation describing the three-dimensional molecular diffusion of a gas. The result obtained is a natural generalization of the solution of the analogous Boussinesq problem. Dnepropetrovsk. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 178–180, September–October, 1988.     

Simulation of flow through porous anode in MFC at higher power density

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a novel environmental friendly energy device which has received great attention due to its technology for producing electricity directly from organic or inorganic matter by using bacteria as catalyst. To date, many experiments have been carried out to achieve the maximum power output with advective flow through porous anode to the cathode in the MFC. However, the precise mechanical mechanism of flow through anode and the quantified relationship between electrode spacing and MFC performance are not yet clearly understood. It has been found experimentally that the power output can be increased apparently at certain electrode spacing configuration. Based on these available experimental data, this paper investigates the effect of spacing between electrodes, the Darcy number of porous anode and the Reynolds number on the power production performance of MFC by using lattice Boltzmann method. The numerical simulation results present that the distance between electrodes significantly influences the flow velocity and residence time of the organic matter attached to the anode in the MFC. Moreover, it is found that the Darcy number of porous anode and the Reynolds number can regulate the output efficiency of MFC. These results perform better understanding of the complex phenomena of MFC and will be helpful to optimize MFC design.     

Study on the interaction of sedimenting cylindrical particles in still fluid

The sedimentations of two cylindrical particles in three different initial relative positions are numerically simulated using the lattice Boltzmann method. The movement characteristics and particle interactions during their sedimentation are presented and discussed in detail. The results show that, (i) if the two particles are released parallel but separated horizontally, they push away each other, rotate inwards and separate horizontally as they fall; (ii) if the two particles are released parallel but separated vertically, the sedimentation behavior can be classified into three stages: trailing, tumbling and separating; (iii) if the two particles are released perpendicular but separated vertically, the sedimentation behavior can be characterized as: trailing and rotating, touching and sliding. In order to validate our simulation, experiments were also conducted and the results agree well with the numerical ones. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Distinguished Scholars (19925210)     

Lattice Boltzmann modeling of pore‐scale fluid flow through idealized porous media

In order to capture the hydro‐mechanical impacts on the solid skeleton imposed by the fluid flowing through porous media at the pore‐scale, the flow in the pore space has to be modeled at a resolution finer than the pores, and the no‐slip condition needs to be enforced at the grain–fluid interface. In this paper, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), a mesoscopic Navier–Stokes solver, is shown to be an appropriate pore‐scale fluid flow model. The accuracy and lattice sensitivity of LBM as a fluid dynamics solver is demonstrated in the Poiseuille channel flow problem (2‐D) and duct flow problem (3‐D). Well‐studied problems of fluid creeping through idealized 2‐D and 3‐D porous media (J. Fluid Mech. 1959; 5 (2):317–328, J. Fluid Mech. 1982; 115 :13–26, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 1982; 8 (4):343–360, Phys. Fluids A 1989; 1 (1):38–46, Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 1999; 23 :881–904, Int. J. Numer. Anal. Meth. Geomech. 2010; DOI: 10.1002/nag.898, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 1982; 8 (3):193–206) are then simulated using LBM to measure the friction coefficient for various pore throats. The simulation results agree well with the data reported in the literature. The lattice sensitivity of the frictional coefficient is also investigated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Models for flow of non-Newtonian and complex fluids through porous media

This article first provides a brief and simple account of continuum models for transport in porous media, and of the role of length scales in passing from pore-scale phenomena to “Darcy” continuum scale representations using averaged variables. It then examines the influence of non-Newtonian rheology on the single- and multi-phase transport parameters, i.e. Darcy viscosity, dispersion lengths and relative permeabilities. The aim is to deduce functional forms and values for these parameters given the rheological properties of the fluid or fluids in question, and the porosity, permeability, dispersion lengths and relative permeabilities (based on Newtonian fluids and equivalent capillary pressures) of the porous medium. It is concluded that micro-models, typically composed of capillary networks, applied at a sub-Darcy-scale, parameterised using data for flows of a well-characterised set of non-Newtonian fluids, are likely to provide the most reliable means.     

LBM simulation of fluid flow in fractured porous media with permeable matrix

To analyze and depict complicated fluid behaviors in fractured porous media with variably permeable matrix, an integrated discrete computational algorithm is proposed based on lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). This paper combines with the external force model and statistical material physics to effectively describe the feature changes while the fluid passes through the fractures within the permeable matrix. As an application example, a two dimensional rock sample is reconstructed using the digital image and characterized with different feature values at each LBM grid to distinguish pores, impermeable and permeable matrix by stating its local physical property. Compared with the conventional LBM, the results demonstrate the advantages of proposed algorithm in modeling fluid flow phenomenon in fractured porous media with variably permeable matrix.     

New studying of Lattice Boltzmann method for two-phase driven in porous media

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Upscaling the flow of generalised Newtonian fluids through anisotropic porous media

The homogenisation method with multiple scale expansions is used to investigate the slow and isothermal flow of generalised Newtonian fluids through anisotropic porous media. From this upscaling it is shown that the first-order macroscopic pressure gradient can be defined as the gradient of a macroscopic viscous dissipation potential, with respect to the first-order volume averaged fluid velocity. The macroscopic dissipation potential is the volume-averaged of local dissipation potential. Using this property, guidelines are proposed to build macroscopic tensorial permeation laws within the framework defined by the theory of anisotropic tensor functions and by using macroscopic isodissipation surfaces. A quantitative numerical study is then performed on a 3D fibrous medium and with a Carreau–Yasuda fluid in order to illustrate the theoretical results deduced from the upscaling.     

Pertubation solution of non-newtonian fluid axial laminar flow through eccentric annuli

Using the perturbation method, the axial laminar flow of Non-Newtonian fluid through an eccentric annulus is studied in the present paper. The relative eccentricity ε is taken as a perturbation parameter, and the first order perturbation solutions of the problem, such as velocity field, limit velocity and pressure gradient, are all obtained.     

On the Riemann-Hilbert's boundary value problem, for flow through porous inhomogeneous media

The present paper is an extension of other results concerning Emile Picard's Great Theorem [2], [3] used for the study of plane, stationary flow with free and seepage surfaces in porous inhomogeneous media of second type.     

Exact solution of unsteady axisymmetrical two-dimensional flow through triple porous media

This paper seeks for the line source and cylindrical plane source solutions of unsteady axisymmetrical two-dimensional flow through infinite and finite reservoirs with triple porosity. They not only reveal the essential characteristics of fractured reservoirs but also generalize and develop the existing primal results of homogeneous and porous media. Ref. [1] gives the line source solution of unsteady axisymmetrical two-dimensional flow in infinite reservoir with double porosity; in this paper we study the problem of flow through triple porous media.     

On the flow of fluids through inhomogeneous porous media due to high pressure gradients

Most porous solids are inhomogeneous and anisotropic, and the flows of fluids taking place through such porous solids may show features very different from that of flow through a porous medium with constant porosity and permeability. In this short paper we allow for the possibility that the medium is inhomogeneous and that the viscosity and drag are dependent on the pressure (there is considerable experimental evidence to support the fact that the viscosity of a fluid depends on the pressure). We then investigate the flow through a rectangular slab for two different permeability distributions, considering both the generalized Darcy and Brinkman models. We observe that the solutions using the Darcy and Brinkman models could be drastically different or practically identical, depending on the inhomogeneity, that is, the permeability and hence the Darcy number.     

Self-similar solutions for displacement of non-Newtonian fluids through porous media

This paper presents a class of self-similar solutions describing piston-like displacement (single-phase flow is included as a special case) of one slightly compressible non-Newtonian, power-law, dilatant fluid by another through a homogeneous, isotropic porous medium. These solutions can be used to evaluate the validity and accuracy of existing approximate solutions, such as the assumption of constant flow rate at each radial distance that Ikoku and Ramey use to linearize the partial differential equation for the flow of non-Newtonian, power-law fluid through a porous medium.Nomenclature a parameter, defined by (A8) - A cross-section area of linear reservoir - B constant - c fluid compressibility - c _f formation compressibility - c _t system compressibility - c t dimensionless system compressibility, defined by (24) - C constant of integration - D _I dimensionless coefficient, directly proportional to injection rate, for linear displacement case, defined by (22). - D ₂ dimensionless coefficient, directly proportional to injection rate, for radial displacement case, defined by (55) - erf(x) error function - ercf(x) complementary error function - Ei(x) exponential integral - f dimensionless pressure, defined by (10) - h formation thickness - k permeability - l linear location of moving boundary between the displacing and displaced fluids - n flow behavior parameter - p pressure - p _i injection pressure - p ₀ initial pressure; reference pressure - p ₀ dimensionless initial pressure, defined by (19) - q injection rate - r radial distance - R radial location of moving boundary between the displacing and displaced fluids - t time - u superficial velocity - U substitution of variable - x linear distance - _e effective viscosity - _e dimensionless effective viscosity, defined by (24) - dimensionless variable, defined by (9) or (45) - _i0 value of corresponding to the location of the moving boundary between the displacing and displaced fluids - density - ₀ value of density at reference pressure - porosity - ₀ value of porosity at reference pressure - 1 displacing fluid - 2 displaced fluid     

NUMERICAL METHOD FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL NONLINEAR CONVECTION-DOMINATED PROBLEM OF DYNAMICS OF FLUIDS IN POROUS MEDIA

For the three-dimensional convection-dominated problem of dynamics of fluids in porous media, the second order upwind finite difference fractional steps schemes applicable to parallel arithmetic are put forward. Fractional steps techniques are needed to convert a multi-dimensional problem into a series of successive one-dimensional problems. Some techniques, such as calculus of variations, energy method, multiplicative commutation rule of difference operators, decomposition of high order difference operators, and the theory of prior estimates are adopted. Optimal order estimates are derived to determine the error in the second order approximate solution. These methods have already been applied to the numerical simulation of migration-accumulation of oil resources and predicting the consequences of seawater intrusion and protection projects.     

Lattice Boltzmann simulations for flow and heat/mass transfer problems in a three‐dimensional porous structure

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) for a binary miscible fluid mixture is applied to problems of transport phenomena in a three‐dimensional porous structure. Boundary conditions for the particle distribution function of a diffusing component are described in detail. Flow characteristics and concentration profiles of diffusing species at a pore scale in the structure are obtained at various Reynolds numbers. At high Reynolds numbers, the concentration profiles are highly affected by the flow convection and become completely different from those at low Reynolds numbers. The Sherwood numbers are calculated and compared in good agreement with available experimental data. The results indicate that the present method is useful for the investigation of transport phenomena in porous structures. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of permeability in fibrous porous media using the lattice Boltzmann method with application to PEM fuel cells

The lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is used to simulate the flow through an idealized proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) porous transport layer (PTL) geometry generated using a Monte Carlo method. Using the calculated flow field, Darcy's law is applied and the permeability is calculated. This process is applied in both through‐ and in‐plane directions of the paper as both of these permeability values are important in computational fluid dynamics models of PEMFCs. It is shown that the LBM can be used to determine permeability in a random porous media by solving the flow in the microstructure of the material. The permeability in the through‐ and in‐plane directions is shown to be different and the anisotropic nature of the geometry creates anisotropic permeability. It is also found that fiber arrangement plays a large role in the permeability of the PTL. New correlations are presented for in‐ and though‐plane permeabilities of fibrous porous media with (0.6<ε<0.8). Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.