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Title: Simulation of Flow in Multi-Scale Porous Media Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method on Quadtree Grids

Journal Article · · Communications in Computational Physics
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Abstract The unified lattice Boltzmann model is extended to the quadtree grids for simulation of fluid flow through porous media. The unified lattice Boltzmann model is capable of simulating flow in porous media at various scales or in systems where multiple length scales coexist. The quadtree grid is able to provide a high-resolution approximation to complex geometries, with great flexibility to control local grid density. The combination of the unified lattice Boltzmann model and the quadtree grids results in an efficient numerical model for calculating permeability of multi-scale porous media. The model is used for permeability calculation for three systems, including a fractured system used in a previous study, a Voronoi tessellation system, and a computationally-generated pore structure of fractured shale. The results are compared with those obtained using the conventional lattice Boltzmann model or the unified lattice Boltzmann model on rectangular or uniform square grid. It is shown that the proposed model is an accurate and efficient tool for flow simulation in multi-scale porous media. In addition, for the fractured shale, the contribution of flow in matrix and fractures to the overall permeability of the fractured shale is studied systematically.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1477684
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-17-27941; applab
Journal Information:
Communications in Computational Physics, Vol. 19, Issue 04; ISSN 1815-2406
Publisher:
Global Science Press
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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