A Three-Dimensional Level Set Simulation of Coupled Reactive Transport and Precipitation/Dissolution
Direct simulation of reactive transport in porous media is challenging due to the difficulty of tracking the dynamics of evolving solid-fluid interfaces. To meet this challenge, a level set method for capturing interface evolution due to dissolution and/or precipitation has been integrated into the standard grid-based finite-difference approach for simulating flow and transport in complex geometries. Based on the level set description of the interface geometry, Chorin’s projection method was modified to approximately satisfy the nonslip boundary condition at the grain surface, and a sharp interface methodwas developed for calculating the concentration field near the grain surface in the presence of surface reaction. Compared with the pixel representations of the interface used in other methods, the sub-grid representation using level set method offers significantly improved accuracy and efficiency. The advantage of the method is demonstrated in a systematic investigation of precipitation/dissolution in a simple three dimensional pore-throat with varying throat apertures. The simulation was first validated in a grid-refinement study. The effects of flow conditions, reaction rates and three-dimensional geometries are explored both qualitatively and quantitatively. The permeability-porosity relationship calculated from simulations is compared with Carman-Kozeny constitutive models to illustrate the limited capability of these empirical models, which are based on simplified pore-scale geometries and conditions.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - SC
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 975156
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-08-14722
- Journal Information:
- International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Journal Name: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Journal Issue: 13 - 14 Vol. 53; ISSN 0017-9310; ISSN IJHMAK
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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