Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Model of Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid Flow and Dissolution

Generalized network modeling of capillary-dominated two-phase flow

We present a generalized network model for simulating capillary-dominated two-phase flow through porous media at the pore scale. Three-dimensional images of the pore space are discretized using a generalized network-described in a companion paper [A. Q. Raeini, B. Bijeljic, and M. J. Blunt, Phys. Rev. E 96, 013312 (2017)2470-004510.1103/PhysRevE.96.013312]-which comprises pores that are divided into smaller elements called half-throats and subsequently into corners. Half-throats define the connectivity of the network at the coarsest level, connecting each pore to half-throats of its neighboring pores from their narrower ends, while corners define the connectivity of pore crevices. The corners are discretized at different levels for accurate calculation of entry pressures, fluid volumes, and flow conductivities that are obtained using direct simulation of flow on the underlying image. This paper discusses the two-phase flow model that is used to compute the averaged flow properties of the generalized network, including relative permeability and capillary pressure. We validate the model using direct finite-volume two-phase flow simulations on synthetic geometries, and then present a comparison of the model predictions with a conventional pore-network model and experimental measurements of relative permeability in the literature.

Smoothed dissipative particle dynamics model for mesoscopic multiphase flows in the presence of thermal fluctuations

Thermal fluctuations cause perturbations of fluid-fluid interfaces and highly nonlinear hydrodynamics in multiphase flows. In this work, we develop a multiphase smoothed dissipative particle dynamics (SDPD) model. This model accounts for both bulk hydrodynamics and interfacial fluctuations. Interfacial surface tension is modeled by imposing a pairwise force between SDPD particles. We show that the relationship between the model parameters and surface tension, previously derived under the assumption of zero thermal fluctuation, is accurate for fluid systems at low temperature but overestimates the surface tension for intermediate and large thermal fluctuations. To analyze the effect of thermal fluctuations on surface tension, we construct a coarse-grained Euler lattice model based on the mean field theory and derive a semianalytical formula to directly relate the surface tension to model parameters for a wide range of temperatures and model resolutions. We demonstrate that the present method correctly models dynamic processes, such as bubble coalescence and capillary spectra across the interface.

Smoothed particle hydrodynamics: Applications to migration of radionuclides in confined aqueous systems

A smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model is presented for simulating the decay chain transport of radionuclides in confined aqueous solutions. The SPH formulation is based on the open-source parallel code DualSPHysics extended to solve the advective-diffusion equation for the evolution of the concentration field coupled to the fluid-dynamic equations, including the effects of radioactive decay of the tracer contaminants. The performance of the method is demonstrated for environmental engineering problems dealing with the transport of contaminants in still and flowing water. The results from a series of benchmark test calculations are described in two- and three-space dimensions, where the advection, diffusion, and radioactive decay modes are tested separately and in combined form. The accuracy of the present SPH transport model is shown by direct comparison with the analytical solutions and results from other SPH approaches. For a given problem, convergence of the SPH solution is seen to increase with decreasing particle size and spacing.