Flow Intermittency, Dispersion, and Correlated Continuous Time Random Walks in Porous Media

Journal Article · Wed May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Physical Review Letters, 110(18):Article No. 184502

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.184502· OSTI ID:1177329

de Anna, Pietro; Le Borgne, Tanguy; Dentz, Marco; Tartakovsky, Alexandre M.; Bolster, Diogo; Davy, Philippe

We study the intermittency of fluid velocities in porous media and its relation to anomalous dispersion. Lagrangian velocities measured at equidistant points along streamlines are shown to form a spatial Markov process. As a consequence of this remarkable property, the dispersion of fluid particles can be described by a continuous time random walk with correlated temporal increments. This new dynamical picture of intermittency provides a direct link between the microscale flow, its intermittent properties, and non-Fickian dispersion.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1177329
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-97279; 47585; KJ0401000
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters, 110(18):Article No. 184502, Journal Name: Physical Review Letters, 110(18):Article No. 184502
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

non-fikian dispersion
transport in porous media
random walk
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory