Effective parameters, effective processes: From porous flow physics to in situ remediation technology

Conference · Thu Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995

OSTI ID:102463

Pruess, K

This paper examines the conceptualization of multiphase flow processes on the macroscale, as needed in field applications. It emphasizes that upscaling from the pore-level will in general not only introduce effective parameters but will also give rise to ``effective processes,`` i.e., the emergence of new physical effects that may not have a microscopic counterpart. ``Phase dispersion`` is discussed as an example of an effective process for the migration and remediation of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) contaminants in heterogeneous media. An approximate space-and-time scaling invariance is derived for gravity-driven liquid flow in unsaturated two-dimensional porous media (fractures). Issues for future experimental and theoretical work are identified.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Swiss National Cooperative for the Storage of Nuclear Waste, Baden (Switzerland)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 102463
• Report Number(s): LBL--37414; CONF-9509216--1; ON: DE95016433
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FLUID FLOW
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
LAND POLLUTION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SOLVENTS
PERMEABILITY
POROUS MATERIALS
REMEDIAL ACTION