Tracer Dispersion in Rough Open Cracks

Tracer dispersion is studied in an open crack where the two rough crack faces have been translated with respect to each other. The different dispersion regimes encountered in rough-wall Hele-Shaw cell are first introduced, and the geometric dispersion regime in the case of self-affine crack surfaces is treated in detail through perturbation analysis. It is shown that a line of tracer is progressively wrinkled into a self-affine curve with an exponent equal to that of the crack surface. This leads to a global dispersion coefficient which depends on the distance from the tracer inlet, but which is still proportional to the mean advection velocity. Besides, the tracer front is subjected to a local dispersion (as could be revealed by point measurements or echo experiments) very different from the global one. The expression of this anomalous local dispersion coefficient is also obtained.     

3D Microscale Flow Simulation of Shear-Thinning Fluids in a Rough Fracture

Transport in Porous Media - The shear-thinning fluid flow in rough fractures is of wide interest in subsurface engineering. Inertial effects due to flow regime, fracture aperture variations as well...     

Instability of an Oscillating Cylinder in a Circulation Flow of Ideal Fluid

The problem of the stability of a circular cylinder in a circulation flow is considered under the condition that the cylinder can perform both free (free cylinder) and forced oscillations (cylinder on a spring). It is shown that this simple system can be unstable in the presence of flow vorticity. Particular cases of vorticity distributions which make it possible to obtain an analytic solution are considered. The case of weak monotonically decreasing vorticity of an arbitrary form is analyzed for an arbitrary relation between the densities of the cylinder and the fluid. It turns out that the instability can develop only for a cylinder whose density is greater than that of the fluid. An approximate method of solving this problem based on consideration of the energy balance in the system is constructed. This makes it possible to obtain an expression for the growth rates and explain the physical mechanism realizing the instability, which is associated with the possibility of energy transfer from perturbations in the critical layer to the cylinder oscillations.     

Unsteady Flow of an Oscillating Porous Disk and a Fluid at Infinity

An exact analytic solution of the unsteady Navier–Stokes equations is obtained for the flow caused by the non-coaxial rotations of a porous disk and a fluid at infinity. The porous disk is executing oscillations in its own plane with superimposed injection or suction. An increasing or decreasing velocity amplitude of the oscillating porous disk is also discussed. Further, it is shown that a combination of suction/injection and decreasing/increasing velocity amplitude is possible as well. In addition, the flow due to porous oscillating disk and a fluid at infinity rotating about an axis parallel to the z-axis is attempted as a second problem. Sommario. Si studia il flusso non stazionario prodotto dall'oscillazione di un disco poroso in un fluido e si fornisce una soluzione analitica delle equazioni di Navier–Stokes. Si discute l'effetto di una suzione/iniezione e di una variazione sull'ampiezza della velocità' di oscillazione. Infine si studia il flusso dovuto alle oscillazioni non coassiali di un disco poroso e di un fluido all'infinito.     

Propagation of Reversible Deformation in a Medium with Accumulated Irreversible Strains

The paper studies the effect of previously accumulated plastic strains on the conditions of existence and propagation of the discontinuity surfaces of elastic strains arising from subsequent shock loading. It is shown that the anisotropy of properties of the medium due to the presence of previous irreversible strains influences the propagation of repeated boundary perturbations in an elastoplastic medium. Plane shock waves propagating in a onedimensional, uniformly deformed medium are considered in detail. Solutions are given of the problem of instantaneous loading and unloading of an elastoplastic halfspace with irreversible strains.     

Sorbing and Non-Sorbing Solute Migration in Rough Fractures with a Multi-Species LGA Model: Dispersion Dependence on Retardation and Roughness

A multi-species Lattice-Gas cellular automaton model was applied to the study of the migration of sorbing and non-sorbing tracers in 2D smooth fractures and in a series of increasing roughness fractures. A tenfold increase of the dispersion of the non-sorbing tracer was calculated in the highest roughness case compared to the smooth fracture. Up to a threefold increase of the dispersion of the sorbing tracers was calculated compared to the non-sorbing tracer. These enhanced dispersions were found to be of a Fickian form and were interpreted in terms of the classical Taylor–Aris dispersion. The effects of roughness and retardation over the increase of dispersion were identified and quantified through a semi-empirical relation. These effects were found additive and independent.     

Steady Flow Generated by a Core Oscillating in a Rotating Spherical Cavity

Steady flow generated by oscillations of an inner solid core in a fluid-filled rotating spherical cavity is experimentally studied. The core with density less than the fluid density is located near the center of the cavity and is acted upon by a centrifugal force. The gravity field directed perpendicular to the rotation axis leads to a stationary displacement of the core from the rotation axis. As a result, in the frame of reference attached to the cavity, the core performs circular oscillation with frequency equal to the rotation frequency, and its center moves along a circular trajectory in the equatorial plane around the center of the cavity. For the differential rotation of the core to be absent, one of the poles of the core is connected to the nearest pole of the cavity with a torsionally elastic, flexible fishing line. It is found that the oscillation of the core generates axisymmetric azimuthal fluid flow in the cavity which has the form of nested liquid columns rotating with different angular velocities. Comparison with the case of a free oscillating core which performs mean differential rotation suggests the existence of two mechanisms of flow generation (due to the differential rotation of the core in the Ekman layer and due to the oscillation of the core in the oscillating boundary layers).     

Evidence of Multi-Process Matrix Diffusion in a Single Fracture from a Field Tracer Test

Compared to values inferred from laboratory tests on matrix cores, many field tracer tests in fractured rock have shown enhanced matrix diffusion coefficient values (obtained using a single-process matrix-diffusion model with a homogeneous matrix diffusion coefficient). To investigate this phenomenon, a conceptual model of multi-process matrix diffusion in a single-fracture system was developed. In this model, three matrix diffusion processes of different diffusion rates were assumed to coexist: (1) diffusion into stagnant water and infilling materials within fractures, (2) diffusion into a degraded matrix zone, and (3) further diffusion into an intact matrix zone. The validity of the conceptual model was then demonstrated by analyzing a unique tracer test conducted using a long-time constant-concentration injection. The tracer-test analysis was conducted using a numerical model capable of tracking the multiple matrix-diffusion processes. The analysis showed that in the degraded zone, a diffusion process with an enhanced diffusion rate controlled the steep rising limb and decay-like falling limb in the observed breakthrough curve, whereas in the intact matrix zone, a process involving a lower diffusion rate affected the long-term middle platform of slowly increasing tracer concentration. The different matrix-diffusion-coefficient values revealed from the field tracer test are consistent with the variability of matrix diffusion coefficient measured for rock cores with different degrees of fracture coating at the same site. By comparing to the matrix diffusion coefficient calibrated using single-process matrix diffusion, we demonstrated that this multi-process matrix diffusion may contribute to the enhanced matrix-diffusion-coefficient values for single-fracture systems at the field scale.     

Non-Newtonian Flow in a Variable Aperture Fracture

The transmissivity of a variable aperture fracture for flow of a non-Newtonian, purely viscous power-law fluid with behavior index n is studied. The natural logarithm of the fracture aperture is considered to be a two-dimensional, spatially homogeneous and correlated Gaussian random field. We derive an equivalent fracture aperture for three flow geometries: (1) flow perpendicular to aperture variation; (2) flow parallel to aperture variation; (3) flow in an isotropic aperture field. Under ergodicity, results are obtained for cases 1 and 2 by discretizing the fracture into elements of equal aperture and assuming that the resistances due to each aperture element are, respectively, in parallel and in series; for case 3, the equivalent aperture is derived as the geometric mean of cases 1 and 2. When n=1 all our expressions for the equivalent aperture reduce to those derived in the past for Newtonian flow and lognormal aperture distribution. As log-aperture variance increases, the equivalent aperture is found to increase for case 1, to decrease for case 2, and to be a function of flow behavior index n for case 3.     

DNS of a Laminar Separation Bubble in the Presence of Oscillating External Flow

A three-dimensional Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of a laminar separation bubble in the presence of oscillating flow is performed. The oscillating flow induces a streamwise pressure gradient varying in time. The special shape of the upper boundary of the computational domain, together with the oscillating pressure gradient causes the boundary layer flow to alternately separate and re-attach. When the inflow decelerates, the shear layer starts to separate and rolls up. Simultaneously the flow becomes 3D. After a transient period, the phase-averaged reverse flow inside the separation bubble reaches speeds ranging from 20 up to 150% of the free-stream velocity. During these phases, the flow is absolutely unstable and self-sustained turbulence can exist. When the inflow starts to accelerate, a spanwise roll of turbulent flow is shed from the shear layer. Shortly after this, the remainder of the separation bubble moves downstream and rejoins with the shed turbulent roll. During the flow-acceleration phase, a patch of laminar boundary layer flow is obtained. Along the flat plate, a series of turbulent patches of flow travelling downstream, separated by laminar flow can be observed, reminiscent of boundary layer flow in a turbine cascade with periodically appearing free-stream disturbances.     

Hydrodynamic Dispersion and Lamb Surfaces in Darcy Flow

Transport in Porous Media - Transport processes such as the dispersion and mixing of solutes are governed by the interplay of advection and diffusion, where advection acts to organise fluid...     

Similarities of Patterns in Fluid and Granulated Flow Inside a Horizontally Rotating Cylinder

The formation of flow patterns in liquid and granulated media is studied experimentally. Many phenomena such as segregation of particles different in dimensions, surface properties, and density are observed only in granulated media. However, there exist many effects typical of flows in both liquid and granulated media in a horizontal circular cylinder rotating about its axis. Eight classes of the following similar patterns in fluids and granulated mixtures were studied experimentally: vortex-like patterns, deformation of the trailing and leading edges of a layer, shark-teeth patterns, fish-like patterns, formation of rotating layers, ring-like patterns, and cellular patterns     

Motion of a Pulsating Rigid Body in an Oscillating Viscous Fluid

The motion of a rigid sphere in a viscous fluid due to specified pulsations of the sphere and specified oscillations of the fluid away from the sphere is considered.     

Dynamic Effects Accompanying the Flow Past Oscillating Bodies Mounted with a Narrow Clearance in Pipes

The unsteady and steady flow past a sphere mounted with a very narrow clearance in a cylindrical pipe is experimentally investigated. The unsteady flow is studied for the case of regular transverse self-oscillations of the sphere accompanied by its impact interaction with the pipe wall. In the steady flow regime the center of the sphere is fixed on the pipe axis. The dependence of the local resistance due to the presence of the sphere and of the body drag coefficient on the relevant dimensionless parameters is determined. The dynamic characteristics for the steady and unsteady regimes are compared.     

A Numerical Model of Tracer Transport in a Non-isothermal Two-Phase Flow System for {\text{ CO}}_2 Geological Storage Characterization

For the purpose of characterizing geologically stored $\text{ CO}_{2}Air sparging is an in situ soil/groundwater remediation technology, which involves the injection of pressurized air through air sparging well below the zone of contamination. To investigate the rate-dependent flow properties during multistep air sparging, a rule-based dynamic two-phase flow model was developed and applied to a 3D pore network which is employed to characterize the void structure of porous media. The simulated dynamic two-phase flow at the pore scale or microscale was translated into functional relationships at the continuum-scale of capillary pressure?Csaturation (P ^c?CS) and relative permeability??saturation (K _r?CS) relationships. A significant contribution from the air injection pressure step and duration time of each air injection pressure on both of the above relationships was observed during the multistep air sparging tests. It is observed from the simulation that at a given matric potential, larger amount of water is retained during transient flow than that during steady flow. Shorter the duration of each air injection pressure step, there is higher fraction of retained water. The relative air/water permeability values are also greatly affected by the pressure step. With large air injection pressure step, the air/water relative permeability is much higher than that with a smaller air injection pressure step at the same water saturation level. However, the impact of pressure step on relative permeability is not consistent for flows with different capillary numbers (N _ca). When compared with relative air permeability, relative water permeability has a higher scatter. It was further observed that the dynamic effects on the relative permeability curve are more apparent for networks with larger pore sizes than that with smaller pore sizes. In addition, the effect of pore size on relative water permeability is higher than that on relative air permeability.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Dispersion from Line Sources in a Turbulent Channel Flow

Large-eddy simulations of the dispersion from scalar line sources at various locations within a fully developed turbulent channel flow at Re = uh/ν = 10,400 are presented. Both mean and fluctuating scalar quantities are compared with those from the single available set of experimental data (Lavertu and Mydlarski, J Fluid Mech 528:135–172, 2005) and differences are highlighted and discussed. The results are also discussed in the context of scalar dispersion in other kinds of turbulent flows, e.g. homogeneous shear-flow. Initial computations at a much lower Reynolds number are also reported and compared with the two available direct numerical simulation data sets.     

Gravity Affected Lateral Dispersion and Diffusion in a Stationary Horizontal Porous Medium Shear Flow

Transport of dissolved species by a carrier fluid in a porous medium comprises advection and diffusion/dispersion processes. Hydrodynamic dispersion is commonly characterized by an empirical relationship, in which the dispersion mechanism is described by contributions of molecular diffusion and mechanical dispersion expressed as a function of the molecular Peclét number. Mathematically these two phenomena are modeled by a constant diffusion coefficient and by velocity dependent dispersion coefficients, respectively. Here, the commonly utilized Bear--Scheidegger dispersion model of linear proportionality between mechanical dispersion and velocity, and the more complicated Bear--Bachmat model derived on a streamtube array model porous medium and better describing observed dispersion coefficients in the moderate molecular Peclét number range, will be considered. Analyzing the mixing flow of two parallelly flowing confluent fluids with different concentrations of a dissolved species within the frames of boundary layer theory one has to deal with transverse mixing only. With the Boussinesq approximation being adopted approximate analytical solutions of the corresponding boundary layer system of equations show that there is no effect of density coupling on concentration distributions across the mixing layer in the pure molecular diffusion regime case. With the Peclét number of the oncoming flow growing beyond unity, density coupling has an increasing influence on the mixing zone. When the Peclét number grows further this influence is successively reduced until its disappearance in the pure mechanical dispersion regime.     

Modeling Transverse Dispersion and Variable Density Flow in Porous Media

A two-dimensional numerical model is used to study the nonlinear behavior of density gradients on transverse dispersion. Numerical simulations are conducted using d ³ f, a computer code for simulation of density-dependent flow in porous media. Considering a density-stratified horizontal flow in a heterogeneous porous media, a series of simulations is carried out to examine the effect of the density gradient on macro-scale transverse dispersivity. Changing salt concentration significantly affects fluid properties. This physical behavior of the fluid involves a non-linearity in modeling the interaction between salt and fresh water. It is concluded that the large-scale transport properties for high density flow deviate significantly from the tracer case due to the spatial variation of permeability, described by statistical parameters, at the local-scale. Indeed, the presence of vertical flow velocities induced by permeability variations is responsible for the reduction of the mixing zone width in the steady state in the case of a high density gradient. Uncertainties in the model simulations are studied in terms of discretization errors, boundary conditions, and convergence of ensemble averaging. With respect to the results, the gravity number appears to be the controlling parameter for dispersive flux. In addition, the applicability and limitations of the nonlinear model of Hassanizadeh (1990) and Hassanizadeh and Leijnse (1995) (Adv Water Resour 18(4):203–215, 1995) in heterogeneous porous media are investigated. We found that the main cause of the nonlinear behavior of dispersion, which is the interaction between density contrast and vertical velocity, needs to be explicitly accounted for in a macro-scale model.