A stream tube model for miscible flow

A simple theoretical model is described for deriving a 1-dimensional equation for the spreading of a tracer in a steady flow at the field scale. The originality of the model is to use a stochastic appoach not in the 3-dimensional space but in the 1-D space of the stream tubes. The simplicity of calculation comes from the local relationship between permeability and velocity in a 1-D flow. The spreading of a tracer front is due to local variations in the cross-sectional area of the stream tubes, which induces randomness in travel time. The derived transport equation is averaged in the main flow direction. It differs from the standard dispersion equation. The roles of time and space variables are exchanged. This result can be explained by using the statistical theory of Continuous Time Random Walk instead of a standard Random Walk. However, the two equations are very close, since their solutions have the same first and second moments. Dispersivity is found to be equal to the product of the correlation length by the variance of the logarithm of permeability, a result similar to Gelhar's macrodispersion.Nomenclature A total cross-section area of the sample - C (resident) concentration of tracer - D,D^* dispersion coefficient - F flux of tracer - G probability distribution function for permeability in the stream-tube segments - I tracer intensity (mass crossing a surface per unit time) - K permeability - L length of the medium - M number of stream tubes in the medium - N number of segments along a stream tube - P pressure - Q total flow rate in the sample - a length of an elementary stream-tube segment - g probability distribution function for permeability in the space - i, j indices, tube numbers - q flow rate in each stream tube - s variable cross-section area of a stream tube - t, t time - u front velocity - x space variable in the flow direction - small local variation in time - , _t longitudinal, transverse dispersivity - porosity of the porous medium - correlation length in the permeability field - viscosity of the fluid - time for filling an elementary stream tube segment - standard deviation of a stochastic variable - probability distribution of arrival times (Gaussian)