Flow-Induced Alterations in Porous-Medium Properties and Its Impact on Transport

Scope

As a fluid flows through the void spaces of a porous medium, the fluid and the porous matrix ofen interact. These interactions between the fluid and the matrix often lead to alterations in the properties of the matrix. For example, the matrix can undergo swelling and shrinkage because of hydration or drying. It can be deformed by the forces applied by the flowing fluid. The medium can be altered chemically through solute precipitation or dissolution and creation of new chemical products. These alterations can also result from thermal changes in the system. In short, fluid flow can dynamically alter the properties of the original medium, which in turn can have a significant impact on overall transport.

The flow-induced physical/chemical changes in the porous medium are often coupled to one another, and similar to most porous medium transport applications, understanding these changes and their impact on transport requires investigations at different length scales. In this session, we will focus on latest developments on the following topics

Topics

i. Swelling/shrinking systems (e.g., swelling of clay due to hydration or shrinking resulting from drying of materials)

ii. Transport in deformable porous medium

iii. Reactive chemical or microbial transport with multiple scales of heterogeneities; Coupled processes of heat and moisture transport

iv. Mass transport in packed bed reactors

v. Multiscale approach and high-performance computing

Session Chair

Dr. Sumit Mukhopadhyay

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA

e-mail: Smukhopadhyay@lbl.gov