Self-similar solution of the thawing soil problem

A mathematical model of phase transitions in frozen soils containing unfrozen water is proposed. It is shown that phase transitions in frozen soils always occupy an extended zone. The problem of the interaction of frozen rock with a salt solution is solved on the assumption that the interface between the solution and the frozen rock is permeable both for the liquid and for the dissolved impurity. This problem arises, for example, in drilling wells in frozen ground, when the circulating drilling solution is an aqueous salt solution [7]. A series of natural processes is based on the interaction between groundwaters having different, possibly negative, temperatures and different degrees of mineralization and the surrounding frozen rock [8] and on the thawing of the frozen bed of northern seas in contact with saline seawater [9].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 136–142, November–December, 1988.     

Injection of a salt solution into a geothermal reservoir saturated with superheated vapor

The injection of water containing a dissolved admixture into a high-temperature geothermal reservoir saturated with superheated vapor is considered. Behind the evaporation front on which the admixture precipitates a dissolution front separating regions with the initial concentration and with the concentration of the saturated solution coexisting with the solid salt phase is formed. It is found that the self-similar solution of the problem with two moving boundaries is two-valued. With variation of the parameters and the initial and boundary conditions the solutions may approach each other and at certain critical values merge. In the supercritical region the self-similar solution does not exist. The non-existence of a solution can be interpreted as the filling of the pores with precipitated salt and the cessation of the phase motion.     

Regimes of haline convection during the evaporation of groundwater containing a dissolved admixture

The problem of formation of salt concentration profile in high-permeability soil duringwater evaporation and solution upflow is considered. The numerical experiments performed showed that the salt concentration profile may be either stable or unstable. As instability develops, there arises natural haline convection whose different regimes are described and analyzed. If the evaporation intensity is moderate, in soil the curvilinear upward or circulatory flow that fills the entire layer is established. The intense evaporation leads to the formation of a small-scale structure of salt “fingers”. Boundaries between regimes are determined.     

Heated and Salted Below Porous Convection with Generalized Temperature and Solute Boundary Conditions

Transport in Porous Media - We address the problem of initiation of convective motion in the case of a fluid saturated porous layer, containing a salt in solution, which is heated and salted below....     

Response of a spherical cavity in an elastic viscoplastic medium under a variable internal pressure

A closed-form solution is given for the problem of a spherical cavity in an infinite elastoviscoplastic medium with kinematic hardening, when the cavity is subjected to an internal pressure that varies in any prescribed way.Under certain assumptions this problem takes account of the unit weight of the medium, and is particularly applicable to the deep underground storage of natural gas in rock salt.Some typical loading cases are shown.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of sodium sulphate crystallization in porous materials

The experimental setup was constructed to measure the thermal effect of the salt crystallization/dissolution process in building materials containing sodium sulphate. Additional heat was released/consumed during the salt crystallization/dissolution. The mathematical model of salt, moisture and energy transport concerning the salt phase change kinetics was derived and based on it the computer code was developed. To solve the set of partial differential, governing equations the finite element and finite difference methods were used. By solving the inverse problem the parameters of the rate law for brick saturated with the sodium sulphate solution were determined.     

Numerical Modeling of Salt Transport and Precipitation in Non-Isothermal Partially Saturated Porous Media Considering Kinetics of Salt Phase Changes

Water and salts strongly influence the durability of porous materials. One of the most adverse phenomena which is related to the salt and moisture presence in the pore system of building materials is salt crystallization. The process is associated with the supersaturation ratio. The salt phase change kinetics is taken into account during the modeling of coupled moisture, salt, and heat transport. To solve the set of governing, differential equations the finite element and the finite difference methods are used. Three different rate laws are assumed in modeling the salt phase change. The drying, cooling, and warming of the cement mortar sample, during which the salt phase change occurs, have been simulated using the developed software. The changes of salt concentration in the pore solution and the amount of precipitated salt due to variation of boundary conditions are presented and discussed. The results obtained in the numerical simulation assuming the first, second, and fourth order rate low indicate that the higher order of the rate law the longer time delay between the change of boundary conditions and the salt precipitation. Such an analysis might be very useful during the determination of the material parameters by solving the inverse problem.     

Accumulation and Precipitation of Salts during Groundwater Evaporation and Flow

A mathematical model for the precipitation of dissolved salts during groundwater evaporation is proposed. An asymptotic solution of the problem is obtained for a specified flow law. It is shown that there are two different regimes of solute precipitation which are determined by the evaporation front velocity and the groundwater flow rate. The dependence of the precipitated salt mass on the soil surface temperature, the atmospheric humidity, the initial solute concentration and the filtration rate is illustrated.     

Salt precipitation during solution evaporation in low-permeability rocks

The effect of admixture diffusion on the process of precipitation during solution evaporation in high-temperature low-permeability rocks is investigated. It is found that at permeabilities lower than 0.01 mD the two-valued solution is restructured becoming single-valued. As a result, during salt precipitation in low-permeability rocks where admixture diffusion is important, a solution exists for any flow regime and the channels in the porous medium are not blocked by solid-phase salt.     

Infiltration of Salt Solute in Homogeneous and Saturated Porous Media – An Analytical Solution Evaluated by Numerical Simulations

In many cases various land disposal activities (e.g. infiltration, injection wells) constitute an important potential source of groundwater contamination. Using a 2D physical model, the behaviour of the infiltration of a salt solute, locally injected in a homogeneous and saturated porous medium, has been analysed. Under various experimental conditions (density effects, injection flow rate) the salt solute penetrates the porous media and leads to a steady-state regime inside the mixing zone. By using experimental observations, the basic equations describing the flow and transport phenomena can be simplified and an analytical solution obtained. Its validity is subject to numerical verification. The numerical model, based on the development of the mass balance equation expressed by its conservative form, uses a combination of the mixed hybrid finite element (MHFE) and discontinuous finite element (DFE) methods. The efficiency of this numerical model was previously verified on standard benchmarks, for example Elder's problem and Henry's problem. In the first step, the qualitative good agreement between the experimental and numerical results enabled us to use the numerical model in order to verify some hypotheses resulting from visual observations. Thus, the numerical results reveal the existence of a steady-state regime inside the mixing zones. Nevertheless, both its vertical and longitudinal extensions are less than those observed in the physical model. In the second step, the numerical results enable to establish the validity domain as well as the accuracy of the proposed analytical solution.     

Numerical Simulations for Saltwater Intrusion by the Mixed Hybrid Finite Element Method and Discontinuous Finite Element Method

The proposed numerical code simulates the displacement of two miscible fluids through a saturated porous medium (2D configuration). Coupling between flow and transport is carried out by an equation of state. In the mixing zone, the density is assumed to vary as a function of concentration. The model uses a combination of the mixed hybrid finite element method and the discontinuous finite element method.Applied in its classical development, the mixed hybrid finite element method leads to a non-conservative formulation of the mass balance equation. However, one of the main reasons for using this technique is the ability to conserve mass cell-by-cell. Consequently, a new formulation that makes it possible to hold the conservative form of the continuity equation and so preserve the mass cell-wise is proposed. Although the pertinence of these approaches could have also been tested on other standard benchmarks, e.g., Elder's problem or salt dome problem, we have voluntarily limited ourselves to Henry's problem (1964). This choice was dictated by the possibility of a comparison with a semi-analytical solution. Contrary to previous numerical results, the comparison is made for the whole mixing zone. The very good agreement between our results and the semi-analytical solution shows the robustness and the efficiency of this approach for the seawater intrusion problems.     

Drag reduction effectiveness of dilute and entangled xanthan in turbulent pipe flow

The ability to reduce the frictional drag in turbulent flow in pipes and channels by addition of a small amount of a high molecular weight polymer has application in myriad industries and processes. Here, the drag reduction properties of the polyelectrolyte xanthan are explored in differing solvent environments (salt free versus salt solution) and delivery configurations (homogeneous versus stock solution dilution). Drag reduction effectiveness increases when an entangled xanthan solution is diluted compared to solutions prepared in the dilute regime. Based on dynamic rheological measurements of the elastic modulus, residual entanglements and network structure are hypothesized to account for the observed change in drag reduction effectiveness. Drag reduction effectiveness is unchanged by the presence of salt when the stock solution concentration is sufficiently above the critical concentration c_D. Finally, the drag reduction effectiveness decreases with time when diluted from an entangled stock solution but remains greater than the homogeneous case after more than 24 h.     

Determination of Salt Diffusion Coefficient in Brick: Analytical Methods

This paper presents an investigation into salt diffusion in new, fully saturated brick under isothermal conditions. A commonly used experiment methodology, diffusion cell method, is adopted. The analytical and numerical solutions are obtained. The analytical solution is simple and straightforward, which determines temporally salt concentrations in the monitored chamber. It enables us to estimate salt diffusion coefficients in a fast and accurate way.     

Fresh water injection into a geothermal reservoir which contains superheated vapor and solid phase salt

A mathematical model is proposed for the process with two unknown phase transition interfaces. At the leading interface, evaporation occurs and a salt precipitates. The interface that moves at a lower velocity is a dissolution surface. In the isothermal approximation the self-similar solution is obtained. It is shown that fresh water injection may lead to solid precipitate transfer from one region to another, substantially increasing the precipitate content behind the evaporation front. This significantly decreases permeability and, hence, the flow velocity through permeable rocks. With approaching the critical parameter region the branches of the obtained two-valued self-similar solution also approach and at critical values merge, which corresponds to the disappearance of the solution. The non-existence of the self-similar solution can be interpreted as the filling of the pores with salt precipitate and the flow arrest in the geothermal reservoir.     

Modeling Variable Density Flow and Solute Transport in Porous Medium: 2. Re‐Evaluation of the Salt Dome Flow Problem

Case 5, Level 1 of the international HYDROCOIN groundwater flow modeling project is an example of idealized flow over a salt dome. The groundwater flow is strongly coupled to solute transport since density variations in this example are large (20%).Several independent teams simulated this problem using different models. Results obtained by different codes can be contradictory. We develop a new numerical model based on the mixed hybrid finite elements approximation for flow, which provides a good approximation of the velocity, and the discontinuous finite elements approximation to solve the advection equation, which gives a good approximation of concentration even when the dispersion tensor is very small. We use the new numerical model to simulate the salt dome flow problem.In this paper we study the effect of molecular diffusion and we compare linear and nonlinear dispersion equations. We show the importance of the discretization of the boundary condition on the extent of recirculation and the final salt distribution. We study also the salt dome flow problem with a more realistic dispersion (very small dispersion tensor). Our results are different to prior works with regard to the magnitude of recirculation and the final concentration distribution. In all cases, we obtain recirculation in the lower part of the domain, even for only dispersive fluxes at the boundary. When the dispersion tensor becomes very small, the magnitude of recirculation is small. Swept forward displacement could be reproduced by using finite difference method to compute the dispersive fluxes instead of mixed hybrid finite elements.     

On the long-time limit of the Garvin–Alterman–Loewenthal solution for a buried blast load

The Garvin–Alterman–Loewenthal solution refers to the problem of a line blast load suddenly applied in the interior of an elastic half-space. It is expected that the long-time asymptotic limit of this solution should be equal to the solution of a related static problem. This expectation is justified here. First, the solution of the static problem is constructed. Then, the asymptotic limit of the transient problem is found, correcting previously published results.     

Influence of NaClO3 on the rheological behaviour of a micellar solution of CPCl

It is now well know that a small addition of salt to a micellar solution often increases the zero-shear viscosity η₀ of the solution, the understanding of the behaviour at high salt content is more questionable. In this situation, addition of more salt induces a decrease of η₀. In this experimental work we investigate the linear and non-linear rheological behaviour of a new micellar system: CPCl (surfactant)/NaClO₃ (salt). Studies of the evolution of η₀ as well as G₀ (the elastic modulus) or τ_R (the relaxation time) are in agreement with the hypothesis of a diminution of the mean micellar length when, after the maximum η₀, the salt content increases. In the non-linear behaviour (non-Newtonian viscosity) the evolution of γ˙ _c, (which defines the occurrence of the shear thinning) with salt concentration C_S is also in agreement with such a hypothesis. Received: 29 March 1999/Accepted: 20 March 2000     

An investigation of matched index of refraction technique and its application in optical measurements of fluid flow

Optical distortions caused by non-uniformities of the refractive index within the measurement volume is a major impediment for all laser diagnostic imaging techniques applied in experimental fluid dynamic studies. Matching the refractive indices of the working fluid and the test section walls and interfaces provides an effective solution to this problem. The experimental set-ups designed to be used along with laser imaging techniques are typically constructed of transparent solid materials. In this investigation, different types of aqueous salt solutions and various organic fluids are studied for refractive index matching with acrylic and fused quartz, which are commonly used in construction of the test sections. One aqueous CaCl₂·2H₂O solution (63 % by weight) and two organic fluids, Dibutyl Phthalate and P-Cymene, are suggested for refractive index matching with fused quartz and acrylic, respectively. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the refractive indices of these fluids is investigated, and the Thermooptic Constant is calculated for each fluid. Finally, the fluid viscosity for different shear rates is measured as a function of temperature and is applied to characterize the physical behavior of the proposed fluids.     

Ice sublimation from frozen salt solutions

The sublimation method of drying is finding ever wider application in scientific and technical fields. For example, one of the newest fields employing this method is cryochemical synthesis of inorganic materials, with sublimation dehydration as the basis of the process. Sublimation of ice from rapidly frozen salt solutions produces powders with a component distribution close to that existing in the solution. We will consider the problem of ice sublimation from salt solutions frozen in the form of a plate, cylinder, and sphere in a flow of noncondensing gas at a pressure of 0.01 P 1.02 bars. The noncondensing gas contains vapors of the subliming material at a partial pressure of p_f. Comparison of theoretical and experimental data reveals completely satisfactory agreement. The mass output coefficient, which is usually determined experimentally for mass-exchange processes with phase transitions, can be found in a manner analogous to the heat-liberation coefficient for a volume content of noncondensing gas between 25 and 100%.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 3, pp. 122–129, May–June, 1976.