Pore-scale simulation of coupled reactive transport and dissolution in fractures and porous media using the level set interface tracking method
A level set simulation methodology developed for modeling coupled reactive transport and structure evolution has been applied to dissolution in fracture apertures and porous media. The coupled processes such as fluid flow, reactant transport and dissolution at the solid-liquid interfaces are handled simultaneously. The reaction-induced evolution of solid-liquid interfaces is captured using the level set method, with the advantage of representing the interface with sub-grid scale resolution. The coupled processes are simulated for several geometric models of fractures and porous media under various flow conditions and reaction rates. Quantitative relationships between permeability and porosity are obtained from some of the simulation results and compared with analytical constitutive relations (i.e., the conventional cubic law and the Carman-Kozeny law) based on simplified pore space geometries and reaction induced geometric evolutions. The drastic deviation of the simulation results from these analytical theories is explained by the development of large local concentration gradients of reactants within fracture apertures and individual pores observed in the simulation results and consequently the complex geometric evolution patterns of fracture apertures and pores due to mineral dissolution. The simulation results support the argument that traditional constitutive relations based on simplified geometries and conditions have limited applicability in predicting field scale reactive transport and that incorporation of micro-scale physics is necessary.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1048897
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-11-21306; TRN: US201217%%199
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Nanjing University (Natural Sciences), Vol. 47, Issue 3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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