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

Zhang, Min; Prodanović, Maša; Mirabolghasemi, Maryam; Zhao, Jianlin

doi:10.1007/s11242-019-01243-9

Cited by 37 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…T is commonly defined as the ratio between the average length of the actual fluid flow path through the porous matrix, L e , and the apparent length of the porous medium, L. In the absence of recirculation zones during the flow of an incompressible fluid, the surface average of L e /L weighted by the local flux over a reference surface perpendicular to the main flow direction is equivalent to the ratio between the surface average of the velocity magnitude field u j j À and the surface average of the component of velocity in the main flow direction u x À [46]. By taking the previous observation into account, T was calculated from the velocity maps obtained in the current simulations by using the following expression [14,46,47,48]:…”

Section: Calculation Of the Average Hydraulic Tortuositymentioning

confidence: 99%

A pore network modelling approach to investigate the interplay between local and Darcy viscosities during the flow of shear-thinning fluids in porous media

Castro

Goyeau

2021

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

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Section: Calculation Of the Average Hydraulic Tortuositymentioning

confidence: 99%

A pore network modelling approach to investigate the interplay between local and Darcy viscosities during the flow of shear-thinning fluids in porous media

Castro

Goyeau

2021

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

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“…These authors showed that the 2-D model was capable of predicting the location of the fluids in non-mixing flows. Also, for the first time, Zhang et al (2019) carried out 3D numerical simulations of the flow of shear-thinning fluids without yield stress through a roughwalled rock fracture, by extracting the input geometry from a computed microtomography image.…”

Section: The Procedures For Numerical Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of the aperture distribution of rough-walled rock fractures with the non-toxic Yield Stress fluids porosimetry method

Castro

Ahmadi-Sénichault

Omari

2020

Advances in Water Resources

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Fractures in geological formations constitute high-conductivity conduits which potentially act as preferential paths during fluid injection in soil remediation and reservoir engineering operations. Recently, the measurement of the pressure drop under different flow rates during the flow of yield stress fluids in porous media has been proposed as the basis for an environmentally friendly method to characterize the Pore Size Distribution. However, the Yield Stress fluids porosimetry Method (YSM) has still not been extended to the characterization of the hydraulic aperture distribution of rough-walled rock fractures. The potential interest of such an extension is intense, considering that the distinct characteristics of rock fractures vs the matrix represent a burden to other traditional porosimetry techniques. In the particular case of X-ray microtomography, time-consuming calibration is often needed, and serious difficulties arise due to beam hardening and reconstruction artifacts. The specific objective of the present investigation is to adapt YSM to the characterization of rough-walled rock fractures. For this purpose, the results of laboratory experiments in which a yield stress fluid was injected through two natural rock fractures were exploited, and the YSM model and algorithm was adapted to the particular topological and geometrical features of flows in fractures. Moreover, numerical experiments were performed at the scale of a single 2D channel with variable aperture to identify the dimension characterized by YSM and decipher the yielding behaviour of the fluids. The present findings show that YSM can be successfully used to characterize the distribution of hydraulic apertures of the flow channels in rough-walled rock fractures. Furthermore, the numerical results revealed that the plug of stagnant fluid is located in the central part of these flow channels and breaks close to the constrictions, forming islands of unyielded fluid.

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“…It is typically assumed that macroscale models that were derived for Newtonian fluids can be used to model non-Newtonian flows using simple ad hoc extensions such as effective viscosities. This misunderstanding carries widespread implications, as non-Newtonian fluids appear regularly in biofluidics [1][2][3][4][5], geophysics [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], and subsurface processes such as hydraulic fracturing and enhanced oil recovery [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current state of the science for non-Newtonian flow modeling in porous media is highly empirical, requiring experimentation or modeling results for every non-Newtonian fluid of interest, flowing within every geometry of interest over a wide range of flow rates to produce statistically fit parameters to be predictive [17,[31][32][33]. Models used are based on Darcy's law, assuming that the hydraulic conductivity of the system can be broken apart into a geometric intrinsic permeability term and a viscosity term, which in the case of non-Newtonian fluid flow is called the effective viscosity [17,20,31,32,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. Due to the ad hoc nature of the effective viscosity assumption, there is confusion as to what such a parameter means physically, with some suggesting that it represents the viscosity at the fluid-solid interface [34,35], that it is the average viscosity throughout the fluid [20,29,41], that it is a "fictitious" viscosity [17,31,38], and that it is a "macroscopic" viscosity [32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Non-Newtonian fluid flow in porous media

Bowers,

Miller

2019

Preprint

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Single-fluid-phase porous medium systems are typically modeled at an averaged length scale termed the macroscale, and Darcy's law is typically relied upon as an approximation of the momentum equation under laminar flow conditions. Standard approaches for modeling macroscale single-fluid-phase flow of non-Newtonian fluids extend the standard Newtonian model based upon Darcy's law using an effective viscosity and assuming that the intrinsic permeability is invariant with respect to fluid properties. This approach results in a need to determine the effective viscosity for every fluid composition and flow rate. We use the thermodynamically constrained averaging theory (TCAT) to examine the formulation and closure of a macroscale model for non-Netwonian flow that is consistent with microscale conservation principles and the second law of thermodynamics. A direct connection between microscale and macroscale quantities is used to formulate an expression for interphase momentum transfer for non-Newtonian flow in porous medium systems. Darcy's law is shown to approximate momentum transfer from the fluid phase to the solid phase. This momentum transfer is found to depend on the viscosity at the solid surface, which is only invariant for Newtonian flow. As a consequence of the derived equation for momentum transfer, the commonly called intrinsic permeability is not invariant for non-Newtonian flow, which is an assumption that underlies standard effective viscosity approaches for modeling non-Newtonian flow. TCAT is used to derive a macroscale equation relating the flow rate and the pressure gradient and dependent upon fluid properties. Non-Newtonian flow can be modeled using this equation along with characterization of the fluid properties and medium characterization under a single flow condition, breaking the need to investigate all flow and composition conditions that are hallmarks of extant approaches. This new approach is validated for model systems and used to interpret results from the literature, including an evaluation of conditions under which a transition occurs away from strictly laminar flow conditions. The results from this work form a basis for more rigorous and realistic modeling of non-Newtonian flow in porous medium systems.

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

Cited by 37 publications

References 69 publications

A pore network modelling approach to investigate the interplay between local and Darcy viscosities during the flow of shear-thinning fluids in porous media

A pore network modelling approach to investigate the interplay between local and Darcy viscosities during the flow of shear-thinning fluids in porous media

Determination of the aperture distribution of rough-walled rock fractures with the non-toxic Yield Stress fluids porosimetry method

Non-Newtonian fluid flow in porous media

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