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Sample records for saturated uncharged porous

  1. Studies of non-isothermal flow in saturated and partially saturated porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ho, C.K.; Maki, K.S.; Glass, R.J.

    1993-01-01

    Physical and numerical experiments have been performed to investigate the behavior of nonisothermal flow in two-dimensional saturated and partially saturated porous media. The physical experiments were performed to identify non-isothermal flow fields and temperature distributions in fully saturated, half-saturated, and residually saturated two-dimensional porous media with bottom heating and top cooling. Two counter-rotating liquid-phase convective cells were observed to develop in the saturated regions of all three cases. Gas-phase convection was also evidenced in the unsaturated regions of the partially saturated experiments. TOUGH2 numerical simulations of the saturated case were found to be strongly dependent on the assumed boundary conditions of the physical system. Models including heat losses through the boundaries of the test cell produced temperature and flow fields that were in better agreement with the observed temperature and flow fields than models that assumed insulated boundary conditions. A sensitivity analysis also showed that a reduction of the bulk permeability of the porous media in the numerical simulations depressed the effects of convection, flattening the temperature profiles across the test cell

  2. Electrical conductivity modeling in fractal non-saturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, W.; Cai, J.; Hu, X.; Han, Q.

    2016-12-01

    The variety of electrical conductivity in non-saturated conditions is important to study electric conduction in natural sedimentary rocks. The electrical conductivity in completely saturated porous media is a porosity-function representing the complex connected behavior of single conducting phases (pore fluid). For partially saturated conditions, the electrical conductivity becomes even more complicated since the connectedness of pore. Archie's second law is an empirical electrical conductivity-porosity and -saturation model that has been used to predict the formation factor of non-saturated porous rock. However, the physical interpretation of its parameters, e.g., the cementation exponent m and the saturation exponent n, remains questionable. On basis of our previous work, we combine the pore-solid fractal (PSF) model to build an electrical conductivity model in non-saturated porous media. Our theoretical porosity- and saturation-dependent models contain endmember properties, such as fluid electrical conductivities, pore fractal dimension and tortuosity fractal dimension (representing the complex degree of electrical flowing path). We find the presented model with non-saturation-dependent electrical conductivity datasets indicate excellent match between theory and experiments. This means the value of pore fractal dimension and tortuosity fractal dimension change from medium to medium and depends not only on geometrical properties of pore structure but also characteristics of electrical current flowing in the non-saturated porous media.

  3. A coupled deformation-diffusion theory for fluid-saturated porous solids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henann, David; Kamrin, Ken; Anand, Lallit

    2012-02-01

    Fluid-saturated porous materials are important in several familiar applications, such as the response of soils in geomechanics, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and the biomechanics of living bone tissue. An appropriate constitutive theory describing the coupling of the mechanical behavior of the porous solid with the transport of the fluid is a crucial ingredient towards understanding the material behavior in these varied applications. In this work, we formulate and numerically implement in a finite-element framework a large-deformation theory for coupled deformation-diffusion in isotropic, fluid-saturated porous solids. The theory synthesizes the classical Biot theory of linear poroelasticity and the more-recent Coussy theory of poroplasticity in a large deformation framework. In this talk, we highlight several salient features of our theory and discuss representative examples of the application of our numerical simulation capability to problems of consolidation as well as deformation localization in granular materials.

  4. Numerical Study of Frequency-dependent Seismoelectric Coupling in Partially-saturated Porous Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Djuraev Ulugbek

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The seismoelectric phenomenon associated with propagation of seismic waves in fluid-saturated porous media has been studied for many decades. The method has a great potential to monitor subsurface fluid saturation changes associated with production of hydrocarbons. Frequency of the seismic source has a significant impact on measurement of the seismoelectric effects. In this paper, the effects of seismic wave frequency and water saturation on the seismoelectric response of a partially-saturated porous media is studied numerically. The conversion of seismic wave to electromagnetic wave was modelled by extending the theoretically developed seismoelectric coupling coefficient equation. We assumed constant values of pore radius and zeta-potential of 80 micrometers and 48 microvolts, respectively. Our calculations of the coupling coefficient were conducted at various water saturation values in the frequency range of 10 kHz to 150 kHz. The results show that the seismoelectric coupling is frequency-dependent and decreases exponentially when frequency increases. Similar trend is seen when water saturation is varied at different frequencies. However, when water saturation is less than about 0.6, the effect of frequency is significant. On the other hand, when the water saturation is greater than 0.6, the coupling coefficient shows monotonous trend when water saturation is increased at constant frequency.

  5. Transient response of a cylindrical cavity in viscoelastic saturated porous medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LIU Tao

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The study on dynamic characteristics for fluid-solid coupling system in saturated porous medium is of significant academic value and potential application foreground.In this paper,the transient response of a cylindrical cavity in infinite viscoelastic saturated porous medium with the circular lining is studied,and the corresponding results can be used in the design of foundation engineering,such as the tunnel analyses in saturated soil,the nuclear waste disposal engineering,and the exploitation and utilization of geothermal reservoirs and so on.Firstly,based on the porous media theory,the governing equations of coupled system are presented,and the corresponding boundary conditions,initial conditions as well as the joint conditions are derived.Then,the differential quadrature element method and the second-order backward difference scheme are applied to discretize the governing differential equations of the coupled system on the spatial and temporal domains,respectively.Finally,the Newton-Raphson method is adopted to solve the discretization equations with the initial conditions,the transient responses of the coupled system are analyzed,the effects of the parameters are considered,and the validity of the numerical method is verified.

  6. Freezing heat transfer within water-saturated porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasaki, Akira; Aiba, Shinya; Fukusako, Shoichiro.

    1990-01-01

    In the present study, analytical and experimental investigations were performed so as to clarify the characteristics of freezing heat transfer in porous media saturated with water in a vertical rectangular cavity. In order to establish the momentum equation, the law of conservation of momentum was applied to the fluid in our control volume, and the equation took into account Forchheimer's extension as the resistance to flow in the porous media. Three different sizes of glass, iron and copper beads were used as the porous media in this study. The temperature of the cold wall was kept at -10degC, while that of the hot wall was varied from 2degC to 22 degC. Comparisons between the analytical results and the experimental ones show good agreement with the exception of the copper bead results. (author)

  7. Application of infrared thermography for temperature distributions in fluid-saturated porous media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Imran, Muhammad; Nick, Hamid; Schotting, Ruud J.

    2016-01-01

    is achieved with a combination of invasive sensors which are inserted into the medium and non-invasive thermal sensors in which sensors are not inserted to measure temperatures but it works through the detection of infrared radiation emitted from the surface. Thermocouples of relatively thin diameter are used......Infrared thermography has increasingly gained importance because of environmental and technological advancements of this method and is applied in a variety of disciplines related to non-isothermal flow. However, it has not been used so far for quantitative thermal analysis in saturated porous media....... This article suggests infrared thermographic approach to obtain the entire surface temperature distribution(s) in water-saturated porous media. For this purpose, infrared thermal analysis is applied with in situ calibration for a better understanding of the heat transfer processes in porous media. Calibration...

  8. Bulk elastic wave propagation in partially saturated porous solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, J.G.; Thigpen, L.; Chin, R.C.Y.

    1988-01-01

    The linear equations of motion that describe the behavior of small disturbances in a porous solid containing both liquid and gas are solved for bulk wave propagation. The equations have been simplified by neglecting effects due to changes in capillary pressure. With this simplifying assumption, the equations reduce to two coupled (vector) equations of the form found in Biot's equations (for full saturation) but with more complicated coefficients. As in fully saturated solids, two shear waves with the same speed but different polarizations exist as do two compressional waves with distinct speeds. Attenuation effects can be enhanced in the partially saturated solid, depending on the distribution of gas in the pore space. Two models of the liquid/gas spatial distribution are considered: a segregated-fluids model and a mixed-fluids model. The two models predict comparable attentuation when the gas saturation is low, but the segregated-fluids model predicts a more rapid roll-off of attenuation as the gas saturation increases

  9. Infiltration behaviour of elemental mercury DNAPL in fully and partially water saturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Aniello, Andrea; Hartog, Niels; Sweijen, Thomas; Pianese, Domenico

    2018-02-01

    Mercury is a contaminant of global concern due to its harmful effects on human health and for the detrimental consequences of its release in the environment. Sources of liquid elemental mercury are usually anthropogenic, such as chlor-alkali plants. To date insight into the infiltration behaviour of liquid elemental mercury in the subsurface is lacking, although this is critical for assessing both characterization and remediation approaches for mercury DNAPL contaminated sites. Therefore, in this study the infiltration behaviour of elemental mercury in fully and partially water saturated systems was investigated using column experiments. The properties affecting the constitutive relations governing the infiltration behaviour of liquid Hg0, and PCE for comparison, were determined using Pc(S) experiments with different granular porous media (glass beads and sands) for different two- and three-phase configurations. Results showed that, in water saturated porous media, elemental mercury, as PCE, acted as a non-wetting fluid. The required entry head for elemental mercury was higher (from about 5 to 7 times). However, due to the almost tenfold higher density of mercury, the required NAPL entry heads of 6.19 cm and 12.51 cm for mercury to infiltrate were 37.5% to 20.7% lower than for PCE for the same porous media. Although Leverett scaling was able to reproduce the natural tendency of Hg0 to be more prone than PCE to infiltrate in water saturated porous media, it considerably underestimated Hg0 infiltration capacity in comparison with the experimental results. In the partially water saturated system, in contrast with PCE, elemental mercury also acted as a nonwetting fluid, therefore having to overcome an entry head to infiltrate. The required Hg0 entry heads (10.45 and 15.74 cm) were considerably higher (68.9% and 25.8%) than for the water saturated porous systems. Furthermore, in the partially water saturated systems, experiments showed that elemental mercury displaced

  10. Effective constants for wave propagation through partially saturated porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, J.G.; Thigpen, L.

    1985-01-01

    The multipole scattering coefficients for elastic wave scattering from a spherical inhomogeneity in a fluid-saturated porous medium have been calculated. These coefficients may be used to obtain estimates of the effective macroscopic constants for long-wavelength propagation of elastic waves through partially saturated media. If the volume average of the single scattering from spherical bubbles of gas and liquid is required to vanish, the resulting equations determine the effective bulk modulus, density, and viscosity of the multiphase fluid filling the pores. The formula for the effective viscosity during compressional wave excitation is apparently new

  11. Modelling critical degrees of saturation of porous building materials subjected to freezing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Ernst Jan De Place

    1996-01-01

    of SCR based on fracture mechanics and phase geometry of two-phase materials has been developed.The degradation is modelled as being caused by different eigenstrains of the pore phase and the solid phase when freezing, leading to stress concentrations and crack propagation. Simplifications are made......Frost resistance of porous materials can be characterized by the critical degree of saturation, SCR, and the actual degree of saturation, SACT. An experimental determination of SCR is very laborious and therefore only seldom used when testing frost resistance. A theoretical model for prediction...... to describe the development of stresses and the pore structure, because a mathematical description of the physical theories explaining the process of freezing of water in porous materials is lacking.Calculations are based on porosity, modulus of elasticity and tensile strength, and parameters characterizing...

  12. On natural convection in enclosures filled with fluid-saturated porous media including viscous dissipation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Costa, V.A.F. [Departamento de Engenharia Mecanica, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal)

    2006-07-15

    Care needs to be taken when considering the viscous dissipation in the energy conservation formulation of the natural convection problem in fluid-saturated porous media. The unique energy formulation compatible with the First Law of Thermodynamics informs us that if the viscous dissipation term is taken into account, also the work of pressure forces term needs to be taken into account. In integral terms, the work of pressure forces must equal the energy dissipated by viscous effects, and the net energy generation in the overall domain must be zero. If only the (positive) viscous dissipation term is considered in the energy conservation equation, the domain behaves as a heat multiplier, with an heat output greater than the heat input. Only the energy formulation consistent with the First Law of Thermodynamics leads to the correct flow and temperature fields, as well as of the heat transfer parameters characterizing the involved porous device. Attention is given to the natural convection problem in a square enclosure filled with a fluid-saturated porous medium, using the Darcy Law to describe the fluid flow, but the main ideas and conclusions apply equally for any general natural or mixed convection heat transfer problem. It is also analyzed the validity of the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation when applied to natural convection problems in fluid-saturated porous media. (author)

  13. Hydrologic mechanisms governing fluid flow in partially saturated, fractured, porous tuff at Yucca Mountain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, J.S.Y.; Narasimhan, T.N.

    1984-10-01

    In contrast to the saturated zone where fluid moves rapidly along fractures, the fractures (with apertures large relative to the size of matrix pores) will desaturate first during drainage process and the bulk of fluid flow would be through interconnected pores in the matrix. Within a partially drained fracture, the presence of a relatively continuous air phase will produce practically an infinite resistance to liquid flow in the direction parallel to the fracture. The residual liquid will be held by capillary force in regions around fracture contact areas where the apertures are small. Normal to the fracture surfaces, the drained portion of the fractures will reduce the effective area for liquid flow from one matrix block to another matrix block. A general statistical theory is constructed for flow along the fracture and for flow between the matrix blocks to the fractures under partially saturated conditions. Results are obtained from an aperture distribution model for fracture saturation, hydraulic conductivity, and effective matrix-fracture flow areas as functions of pressure. Drainage from a fractured tuff column is simulated. The parameters for the simulations are deduced from fracture surface characteristics, spacings and orientations based on core analyses, and from matrix characteristics curve based on laboratory measurements. From the cases simulated for the fractured, porous column with discrete vertical and horizontal fractures and porous matrix blocks explicitly taken into account, it is observed that the highly transient changes from fully saturated conditions to partially saturated conditions are extremely sensitive to the fracture properties. However, the quasi-steady changes of the fluid flow of a partially saturated, fractured, porous system could be approximately simulated without taking the fractures into account. 22 references, 16 figures

  14. CCC, Heat Flow and Mass Flow in Liquid Saturated Porous Media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mangold, D.C.; Lippmann, M.J.; Bodvarsson, G.S.

    1982-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: The numerical model CCC (conduction-convection-consolidation) solves the heat and mass flow equations for a fully, liquid-saturated, anisotropic porous medium and computes one-dimensional (vertical) consolidation of the simulated systems. The model has been applied to problems in the fields of geothermal reservoir engineering, aquifer thermal energy storage, well testing, radioactive waste isolation, and in situ coal combustion. The code has been validated against analytic solutions for fluid and heat flow, and against a field experiment for underground storage of hot water. 2 - Method of solution: The model employs the Integrated Finite Difference Method (IFDM) in discretizing the saturated porous medium and formulating the governing equations. The sets of equations are sol- ved by an iterative solution technique. The vertical deformation of the medium is calculated using the one-dimensional consolidation theory of Terzaghi. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Maximum of 12 materials. It is assumed that: (a) Darcy's law adequately describes fluid movement through fractured and porous media. (b) The rock and fluid are in thermal equilibrium at any given time. (c) Energy changes due to the fluid compressibility, acceleration and viscous dissipation are neglected. (d) One-dimensional consolidation theory adequately describes the vertical deformation of the medium

  15. Microstructural effects on the overall poroelastic properties of saturated porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bouhlel, M; Jamei, M; Geindreau, C

    2010-01-01

    At the macroscopic scale, the quasi-static deformation of an elastic porous medium saturated by an incompressible Newtonian fluid is described by the well-known Biot's model, which involves four effective parameters. In this work, the three effective poroelastic properties and the permeability of two periodic microstructures of saturated cohesive granular media, i.e. simple cubic (SC) and body-centered cubic (BCC) arrays of overlapping spheres, are computed by solving, over the representative elementary volume, boundary-value problems arising from the homogenization process. The influence of microstructure properties, i.e. solid volume fraction, arrangement of spheres, number of contacts as well as the intrinsic properties of the solid phase on the overall properties, is highlighted. Numerical results are then compared with rigorous bounds, self-consistent estimations, exact expansions and experimental results on ceramics and metals available in the literature. Finally, the capability of the obtained results on such periodic microstructures to describe the poroelastic properties of real porous media is discussed

  16. Modeling of strongly heat-driven flow in partially saturated fractured porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pruess, K.; Tsang, Y.W.; Wang, J.S.Y.

    1985-01-01

    The authors have performed modeling studies on the simultaneous transport of heat, liquid water, vapor, and air in partially saturated fractured porous media, with particular emphasis on strongly heat-driven flow. The presence of fractures makes the transport problem very complex, both in terms of flow geometry and physics. The numerical simulator used for their flow calculations takes into account most of the physical effects which are important in multi-phase fluid and heat flow. It has provisions to handle the extreme non-linearities which arise in phase transitions, component disappearances, and capillary discontinuities at fracture faces. They model a region around an infinite linear string of nuclear waste canisters, taking into account both the discrete fractures and the porous matrix. From an analysis of the results obtained with explicit fractures, they develop equivalent continuum models which can reproduce the temperature, saturation, and pressure variation, and gas and liquid flow rates of the discrete fracture-porous matrix calculations. The equivalent continuum approach makes use of a generalized relative permeability concept to take into account the fracture effects. This results in a substantial simplification of the flow problem which makes larger scale modeling of complicated unsaturated fractured porous systems feasible. Potential applications for regional scale simulations and limitations of the continuum approach are discussed. 27 references, 13 figures, 2 tables

  17. Modeling of strongly heat-driven flow in partially saturated fractured porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pruess, K.; Tsang, Y.W.; Wang, J.S.Y.

    1984-10-01

    We have performed modeling studies on the simultaneous transport of heat, liquid water, vapor, and air in partially saturated fractured porous media, with particular emphasis on strongly heat-driven flow. The presence of fractures makes the transport problem very complex, both in terms of flow geometry and physics. The numerical simulator used for our flow calculations takes into account most of the physical effects which are important in multi-phase fluid and heat flow. It has provisions to handle the extreme non-linearities which arise in phase transitions, component disappearances, and capillary discontinuities at fracture faces. We model a region around an infinite linear string of nuclear waste canisters, taking into account both the discrete fractures and the porous matrix. From an analysis of the results obtained with explicit fractures, we develop equivalent continuum models which can reproduce the temperature, saturation, and pressure variation, and gas and liquid flow rates of the discrete fracture-porous matrix calculations. The equivalent continuum approach makes use of a generalized relative permeability concept to take into account for fracture effects. This results in a substantial simplification of the flow problem which makes larger scale modeling of complicated unsaturated fractured porous systems feasible. Potential applications for regional scale simulations and limitations of the continuum approach are discussed. 27 references, 13 figures, 2 tables

  18. Analytical solution for the transient response of a fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system subjected to an impulsive line source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shan, Zhendong; Ling, Daosheng; Jing, Liping; Li, Yongqiang

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, transient wave propagation is investigated within a fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system with a planar interface that is subjected to a cylindrical P-wave line source. Assuming the permeability coefficient is sufficiently large, analytical solutions for the transient response of the fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system are developed. Moreover, the analytical solutions are presented in simple closed forms wherein each term represents a transient physical wave, especially the expressions for head waves. The methodology utilised to determine where the head wave can emerge within the system is also given. The wave fields within the fluid and porous medium are first defined considering the behaviour of two compressional waves and one tangential wave in the saturated porous medium and one compressional wave in the fluid. Substituting these wave fields into the interface continuity conditions, the analytical solutions in the Laplace domain are then derived. To transform the solutions into the time domain, a suitable distortion of the contour is provided to change the integration path of the solution, after which the analytical solutions in the Laplace domain are transformed into the time domain by employing Cagniard's method. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate some interesting features of the fluid/saturated porous medium halfspace system. In particular, the interface wave and head waves that propagate along the interface between the fluid and saturated porous medium can be observed.

  19. Natural Convection Heat Transfer in Concentric Horizontal Annuli Containing a Saturated Porous Medi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed F. Alfahaid, R.Y. Sakr

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Natural convection in horizontal annular porous media has become a subject receiving increasing attention due to its practical importance in the problem of insulators, such as ducting system in high temperature gas-cooled reactors, heating systems, thermal energy storage systems, under ground cable systems, etc. This paper presents a numerical study for steady state thermal convection in a fully saturated porous media bounded by two horizontal concentric cylinders, the cylinders are impermeable to fluid motion and maintained at different, uniform temperatures.  The solution scheme is based on two-dimensional model, which is governed by Darcy-Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations. The finite element method using Galerkin technique is developed and employed to solve the present problem. A numerical simulation is carried out to examine the parametric effects of Rayleigh number and radius ratio on the role played by natural convection heat transfer in the porous annuli. The numerical results obtained from the present model were compared with the available published results and good agreement is observed. The average Nusselt number at the heating surface of the inner cylinder is correlated to Rayleigh number and radius ratio.Keywords: Natural convection, numerical investigation, saturated porous media, finite element method, concentric horizontal annuli.

  20. Geometric and Hydrodynamic Characteristics of Three-dimensional Saturated Prefractal Porous Media Determined with Lattice Boltzmann Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fractal and prefractal geometric models have substantial potential of contributing to the analysis of flow and transport in porous media such as soils and reservoir rocks. In this study, geometric and hydrodynamic parameters of saturated 3D mass and pore-solid prefractal porous media were characteri...

  1. Transport of vanadium (V in saturated porous media: effects of pH, ionic-strength and clay mineral

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulu Wang

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Vanadium, a hazardous pollutant, has been frequently detected in soil and groundwater, however, its transport behavior in porous media were not clearly understood. In this study, the effects of solution pH, ionic strength (IS and the effect of clay mineral on the transport of vanadium in saturated porous media were investigated. Laboratory experiments using a series of columns packed with quartz sand were carried out to explore the retention and transport of vanadium with a range of ionic-strength (0.001–0.1 M and pH (4–8 and two different types of clay minerals montmorillonite and kaolinite. Results of the breakthrough experiments showed that vanadium was highly mobile in the saturated porous media. The increase in pH rendered a higher transport of vanadium in saturated porous media. The study also indicated an easier transfer of vanadium with an increase in IS. Montmorillonite enhanced the mobility of vanadium in the column when compared to kaolinite. A mathematical model based on advection-dispersion equation coupled with equilibrium and kinetic reactions was used to describe the retention and transport of vanadium in the columns very well.

  2. A simplified transfer function for estimating saturated hydraulic conductivity of porous drainage filters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Canga, Eriona; Iversen, Bo Vangsø; Kjærgaard, Charlotte

    2013-01-01

    Knowledge of the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) of porous filters used in water treatment technologies is important for optimizing the retention of nutrients and pollutants. This parameter determines the hydraulic capacity, which together with the Chemical properties of the filter media...

  3. Transport of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in saturated porous media under various solution chemistry conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yu; Gao Bin; Morales, Verónica L.; Tian Yuan; Wu Lei; Gao Jie; Bai Wei; Yang Liuyan

    2012-01-01

    Because of its wide applications, nanosized titanium dioxide may become a potential environmental risk to soil and groundwater system. It is therefore important to improve current understanding of the environmental fate and transport of titanium oxides nanoparticles (TONPs). In this work, the effect of solution chemistry (i.e., pH, ionic strength, and natural organic matter (NOM) concentration) on the deposition and transport of TONPs in saturated porous media was examined in detail. Laboratory columns packed with acid-cleaned quartz sand were used in the experiment as porous media. Transport experiments were conducted with various chemistry combinations, including four ionic strengths, three pH levels, and two NOM concentrations. The results showed that TONP mobility increased with increasing solution pH, but decreased with increasing solution ionic strength. It is also found that the presence of NOM in the system enhanced the mobility of TONPs in the saturated porous media. The Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory was used to justify the mobility trends observed in the experimental data. Predictions from the theory agreed excellently with the experimental data.

  4. Thermo-hydric characterization of partially saturated porous media; Caracterisation thermo-hydrique de milieux poreux partiellement satures d'eau

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simon Salager; Frederic Jamin; Moulay Said El Youssoufi; Christian Saix [Laboratoire de Mecanique et Genie Civil, Universite Montpellier II, cc 048, Place Eugene Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier (France)

    2005-07-01

    We present a contribution to the thermo-hydric characterization of partially saturated porous media by water, through the characteristic curve. This curve defines the relation between suction and degree of saturation. Using this curve for a given temperature, a model is used to predict it for other temperatures. An experimental device called pressure cell was made in a thermo-regulated environment. The model was validated by several tests on a ceramic and silty clayey sand, at 20 and 60 C. The results obtained lead to a characteristic surface which can be considered as a generalization of the classical characteristic curve. (authors)

  5. Benchmarking variable-density flow in saturated and unsaturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guevara Morel, Carlos Roberto; Cremer, Clemens; Graf, Thomas

    2015-04-01

    In natural environments, fluid density and viscosity can be affected by spatial and temporal variations of solute concentration and/or temperature. These variations can occur, for example, due to salt water intrusion in coastal aquifers, leachate infiltration from waste disposal sites and upconing of saline water from deep aquifers. As a consequence, potentially unstable situations may exist in which a dense fluid overlies a less dense fluid. This situation can produce instabilities that manifest as dense plume fingers that move vertically downwards counterbalanced by vertical upwards flow of the less dense fluid. Resulting free convection increases solute transport rates over large distances and times relative to constant-density flow. Therefore, the understanding of free convection is relevant for the protection of freshwater aquifer systems. The results from a laboratory experiment of saturated and unsaturated variable-density flow and solute transport (Simmons et al., Transp. Porous Medium, 2002) are used as the physical basis to define a mathematical benchmark. The HydroGeoSphere code coupled with PEST are used to estimate the optimal parameter set capable of reproducing the physical model. A grid convergency analysis (in space and time) is also undertaken in order to obtain the adequate spatial and temporal discretizations. The new mathematical benchmark is useful for model comparison and testing of variable-density variably saturated flow in porous media.

  6. Scaling behavior of microbubbles rising in water-saturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, X.; Ma, Y.; Scheuermann, A.; Bringemeier, D.; Galindo-Torres, S. A.; Saar, M. O.; Li, L.

    2015-12-01

    Gas transport in the form of discrete microbubbles in saturated porous media is of importance in a number of processes relevant to many geo-environmental and engineering systems such as bubbling of greenhouse gases in river and sea beds, hydrocarbon gas migration in coal cleats and rock fractures, and air sparging for remediation of soil contaminated with volatile organic compounds. Under the assumption of no or minor volume expansion during gravity-driven migration, the transport of a single microbubble can be well described using various drag force models. However, not enough attention has been paid to the collective behavior of microbubbles during their ascend as a plume through the saturated porous medium, involving dynamic interactions between individual bubbles, bubbles and the ambient fluid, as well as bubbles and the solid matrix. With our quasi-2D, lab-scale microbubble migration experiments, where bubbles are continuously released from a diffuser at the bottom of a porous bed of hydrated gel beads, we establish a scaling relationship between the gas (bubble) release rate and various characteristic parameters of the bubble plume, such as plume tip velocity, plume width, and breakthrough time of the plume front. We find that the characteristic width of the bubble plume varies as a power of both the gas release rate and the bed thickness, with exponents of 0.2 and 0.4, respectively. Moreover, the characteristic breakthrough time also scales with both the gas release rate and the bed thickness with power-law exponents of -0.4 and 1.2, respectively. The mean pore-water velocity of the circulating ambient water also follows a power-law relationship with the gas release rate being an exponent of 0.6 of the gas release rate. This can be quantitatively proven using a simplified momentum exchange model together with the above power-law exponents for the bubble plume. These analyses on the experimental results are carried out on the basis of non

  7. Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions to the Stochastic Porous Media Equations of Saturated Flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ciotir, Ioana

    2010-01-01

    This paper proves the existence and uniqueness of nonnegative solutions for the stochastic porous media equations with multiplicative noise, infinite jump and discontinuous diffusivity function relevant in description of saturation processes in underground water infiltration in a bounded domain of R 3 .

  8. Diffusion, Coulombic interactions and multicomponent ionic transport of charged species in saturated porous media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rolle, Massimo; Muniruzzaman, Muhammad

    water are cross-coupled due to the effects of Coulombic interactions. Such effects are illustrated in flow-through experiments in saturated porous media. Simple strong electrolytes (i.e., salts and strong acid solutions) were selected as tracers and their transport was studied under different advection......-dominated conditions in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media [2-3]. The model-based interpretation of the experimental results is challenging since it requires a multicomponent ionic formulation with an accurate description of local hydrodynamic dispersion and explicitly accounting for the cross-coupling...

  9. Effect of flow on bacterial transport and biofilm formation in saturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusconi, R.

    2016-12-01

    Understanding the transport of bacteria in saturated porous media is crucial for many applications ranging from the management of pumping wells subject to bio-clogging to the design of new bioremediation schemes for subsurface contamination. However, little is known about the spatial distribution of bacteria at the pore scale, particularly when small-scale heterogeneities - always present even in seemingly homogeneous aquifers - lead to preferential pathways for groundwater flow. In particular, the coupling of flow and motility has recently been shown to strongly affect bacterial transport1, and this leads us to predict that subsurface flow may strongly affect the dispersal of bacteria and the formation of biofilms in saturated aquifers. I present here microfluidic experiments combined with numerical simulations to show how the topological features of the flow correlate with bacterial concentration and promote the attachment of bacteria to specific regions of the pore network, which will ultimately influence the formations of biofilms. These results highlight the intimate link between small-scale biological processes and transport in porous media.

  10. LLUVIA-II: A program for two-dimensional, transient flow through partially saturated porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eaton, R.R.; Hopkins, P.L.

    1992-08-01

    LLUVIA-II is a program designed for the efficient solution of two- dimensional transient flow of liquid water through partially saturated, porous media. The code solves Richards equation using the method-of-lines procedure. This document describes the solution procedure employed, input data structure, output, and code verification

  11. Radiative properties effects on unsteady natural convection inside a saturated porous medium. Application for porous heat exchangers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdesslem, Jbara; Khalifa, Slimi; Abdelaziz, Nasr; Abdallah, Mhimid

    2013-01-01

    The present article deals with a numerical study of coupled fluid flow and heat transfer by transient natural convection and thermal radiation in a porous bed confined between two-vertical hot plates and saturated by a homogeneous and isotropic fluid phase. The main objective is to study the effects of radiative properties on fluid flow and heat transfer behavior inside the porous material. The numerical results show that the temperature, the axial velocity, the volumetric flow rate and the convective heat flux exchanged at the channel's exit are found to be increased when the particle emissivity (ε) and/or the absorption coefficient (κ) increase or when the scattering coefficient (σ s ) and/or the single scattering albedo (ω) decrease. Furthermore, the amount of heat (Q c ) transferred to fluid and the energetic efficiency E c are found to be increased when there is a raise in the particle emissivity values. In order to improve the performance of heat exchanger, we proposed the model of a porous heat exchanger which includes a porous bed of large spherical particles with high emissivity as a practical application of the current study. - Highlights: • The temperature increases with the particle emissivity ε. • The volumetric flow rate and the convective heat flux exchanged increase with the particle emissivity ε. • The amount of heat transferred to fluid and the energetic efficiency increase with the particle emissivity ε. • A heat exchanger including a porous bed of spherical particles with high emissivity is proposed like a practical application

  12. FEMWASTE: a Finite-Element Model of Waste transport through porous saturated-unsaturated media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeh, G.T.; Ward, D.S.

    1981-04-01

    A two-dimensional transient model for the transport of dissolved constituents through porous media originally developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been expanded and modified. Transport mechanisms include: convection, hydrodynamic dispersion, chemical sorption, and first-order decay. Implementation of quadrilateral iso-parametric finite elements, bilinear spatial interpolation, asymmetric weighting functions, several time-marching techniques, and Gaussian elimination are employed in the numerical formulation. A comparative example is included to demonstrate the difference between the new and original models. Results from 12 alternative numerical schemes of the new model are compared. The waste transport model is compatible with the water flow model developed at ORNL for predicting convective Darcy velocities in porous media which may be partially saturated

  13. A multi-scale computational scheme for anisotropic hydro-mechanical couplings in saturated heterogeneous porous media

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mercatoris, B.C.N.; Massart, T.J.; Sluys, L.J.

    2013-01-01

    This contribution discusses a coupled two-scale framework for hydro-mechanical problems in saturated heterogeneous porous geomaterials. The heterogeneous nature of such materials can lead to an anisotropy of the hydro-mechanical couplings and non-linear effects. Based on an assumed model of the

  14. Graphene Oxide Affects Mobility and Antibacterial Ability of Levofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin in Saturated and Unsaturated Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaixuan, S.

    2017-12-01

    Understand the fate and impact of fluoroquinolone antibiotics (FQs) in soil and groundwater systems is critical to the safety of ecosystem and public health. In this work, laboratory batch sorption, column transport, and bacterial growth experiments were conducted to improve current understanding of the interactions between two typical FQs (levofloxacin (LEV) and ciprofloxacin (CIP)) and graphene oxide (GO) in quartz sand media under various conditions. Studies showed that both GO and quartz sand adsorbed LEV and CIP in aqueous solutions and sand was capable to compete with GO for the antibiotics. While GO showed much larger sorption capacity, the sand had stronger sorption affinity to the two antibiotics. As a result, neither LEV nor CIP showed any signs of breakthrough in saturated or unsaturated porous media. When the two antibiotics were premixed with GO, their mobility in porous media increased for both saturate and unsaturated conditions and the amount of LEV or CIP in the effluents increased with the increasing of initial GO concentration. During their transport in saturated porous media, some of the GO-bound antibiotics, especially those sorbed via relatively weak interactions, transferred from GO to the quartz sand. Under unsaturated conditions, GO-bound LEV might also transfer from GO to the air-water interface due to the strong affiliation between LEV and air-water interface. Sorption onto GO reduced the antibacterial ability of LEV and CIP, however, the GO-bound antibiotics still effectively inhibited the growth of E coli. Findings from this work indicated that mobile GO affected not only the mobility but also the ecotoxicity of LEV and CIP in porous media.

  15. An agent-based method for simulating porous fluid-saturated structures with indistinguishable components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashani, Jamal; Pettet, Graeme John; Gu, YuanTong; Zhang, Lihai; Oloyede, Adekunle

    2017-10-01

    Single-phase porous materials contain multiple components that intermingle up to the ultramicroscopic level. Although the structures of the porous materials have been simulated with agent-based methods, the results of the available methods continue to provide patterns of distinguishable solid and fluid agents which do not represent materials with indistinguishable phases. This paper introduces a new agent (hybrid agent) and category of rules (intra-agent rule) that can be used to create emergent structures that would more accurately represent single-phase structures and materials. The novel hybrid agent carries the characteristics of system's elements and it is capable of changing within itself, while also responding to its neighbours as they also change. As an example, the hybrid agent under one-dimensional cellular automata formalism in a two-dimensional domain is used to generate patterns that demonstrate the striking morphological and characteristic similarities with the porous saturated single-phase structures where each agent of the ;structure; carries semi-permeability property and consists of both fluid and solid in space and at all times. We conclude that the ability of the hybrid agent to change locally provides an enhanced protocol to simulate complex porous structures such as biological tissues which could facilitate models for agent-based techniques and numerical methods.

  16. Analytical solution to the diffusion, sorption and decay chain equation in a saturated porous medium between two reservoirs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guzman, Juan; Maximov, Serguei; Escarela-Perez, Rafael; López-García, Irvin; Moranchel, Mario

    2015-01-01

    The diffusion and distribution coefficients are important parameters in the design of barrier systems used in radioactive repositories. These coefficients can be determined using a two-reservoir configuration, where a saturated porous medium is allocated between two reservoirs filled by stagnant water. One of the reservoirs contains a high concentration of radioisotopes. The goal of this work is to obtain an analytical solution for the concentration of all radioisotopes in the decay chain of a two-reservoir configuration. The analytical solution must be obtained by taking into account the diffusion and sorption processes. Concepts such as overvalued concentration, diffusion and decay factors are employed to this end. It is analytically proven that a factor of the solution is identical for all chains (considering a time scaling factor), if certain parameters do not change. In addition, it is proven that the concentration sensitivity, due to the distribution coefficient variation, depends of the porous medium thickness, which is practically insensitive for small porous medium thicknesses. The analytical solution for the radioisotope concentration is compared with experimental and numerical results available in literature. - Highlights: • Saturated porous media allocated between two reservoirs. • Analytical solution of the isotope transport equation. • Transport considers diffusion, sorption and decay chain

  17. On the importance of aqueous diffusion and electrostatic interactions in advection-dominated transport in saturated porous media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rolle, Massimo

    2015-01-01

    to multicomponent ionic dispersion: the dispersive fluxes of the different ions are cross-coupled due to the effects of Coulombic interactions. Such effects are illustrated in flow-through experiments in saturated porous media. Simple strong electrolytes were selected as tracers and their transport was studied...... under different advection-dominated conditions and in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media. The interpretation of the experimental results requires a multicomponent modeling approach with an accurate description of local hydrodynamic dispersion and explicitly accounting for the cross-coupling...

  18. Thermosolutal convection in saturated porous enclosure with concentrated energy and solute sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Di; Zhao, Fu-Yun; Tang, Guang-Fa [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)

    2008-01-15

    Double diffusive natural convection within a vertical porous enclosure with localized heating and salting from one side is numerically studied by the finite element based finite volume method. In the formulation of the problem, use is made of the Darcy model, which allows the slip boundary condition on a solid wall to be satisfied. Comparisons with benchmark solutions for natural convection in fluid saturated porous enclosures are first presented to validate the code. Following that, an extensive series of numerical simulations is conducted in the range of -55 {<=} N {<=} + 55 and 0.125 {<=} L {<=} 0.875, where N and L are the buoyancy ratio and the element location, respectively. Streamlines, heatlines, masslines, isotherms and iso-concentrations in the system are produced to illustrate the flow structure transition from solutal dominated opposing to thermal dominated and solutal dominated aiding flows, respectively. The computed average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers provide guidance for locating the heating and salting element. (author)

  19. Thermosolutal convection in saturated porous enclosure with concentrated energy and solute sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Di [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)], E-mail: liudi66@163.com; Zhao Fuyun [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)], E-mail: zfycfdnet@163.com; Tang Guangfa [College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha (China)], E-mail: gftangcfd@163.com

    2008-01-15

    Double diffusive natural convection within a vertical porous enclosure with localized heating and salting from one side is numerically studied by the finite element based finite volume method. In the formulation of the problem, use is made of the Darcy model, which allows the slip boundary condition on a solid wall to be satisfied. Comparisons with benchmark solutions for natural convection in fluid saturated porous enclosures are first presented to validate the code. Following that, an extensive series of numerical simulations is conducted in the range of -55 {<=} N {<=} + 55 and 0.125 {<=} L {<=} 0.875, where N and L are the buoyancy ratio and the element location, respectively. Streamlines, heatlines, masslines, isotherms and iso-concentrations in the system are produced to illustrate the flow structure transition from solutal dominated opposing to thermal dominated and solutal dominated aiding flows, respectively. The computed average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers provide guidance for locating the heating and salting element.

  20. Graphene oxide-facilitated transport of levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in saturated and unsaturated porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Kaixuan; Dong, Shunan; Sun, Yuanyuan; Gao, Bin; Du, Wenchao; Xu, Hongxia; Wu, Jichun

    2018-04-15

    In this work, effects of graphene oxide (GO) on the co-transport of the two typical Fluoroquinolones (FQs) - levofloxacin (LEV) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) in saturated and unsaturated quartz sand media were studied. The adsorption isotherms showed that GO had much larger sorption capacities to LEV and CIP than sand with the largest Langmuir adsorption capacity of 409 mg g -1 (CIP-GO); while the sorption affinity of the two FQs onto the two adsorbents might follow the order of CIP-sand > LEV-sand > LEV-GO > CIP-GO. GO promoted the mobility of the two FQs in both saturated and unsaturated porous media due to its strong mobility and sorption capacity. The GO-bound LEV/CIP was responsible for the LEV/CIP transport in the porous media, and transport of GO-bound FQs increased with the increasing of initial GO concentration. Under unsaturated conditions, moisture showed little effect on the transport of GO-bound CIP; however, the mobility of GO-bound LEV reduced with the decreasing of moisture content, suggesting the transport of adsorbed LEV from GO to air-water interface. GO sorption reduced the antibacterial ability of the two FQs, but they were still effective in inhibiting E. coli growth. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Transport of water and ions in partially water-saturated porous media. Part 2. Filtration effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Revil, A.

    2017-05-01

    A new set of constitutive equations describing the transport of the ions and water through charged porous media and considering the effect of ion filtration is applied to the problem of reverse osmosis and diffusion of a salt. Starting with the constitutive equations derived in Paper 1, I first determine specific formula for the osmotic coefficient and effective diffusion coefficient of a binary symmetric 1:1 salt (such as KCl or NaCl) as a function of a dimensionless number Θ corresponding to the ratio between the cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the salinity. The modeling is first carried with the Donnan model used to describe the concentrations of the charge carriers in the pore water phase. Then a new model is developed in the thin double layer approximation to determine these concentrations. These models provide explicit relationships between the concentration of the ionic species in the pore space and those in a neutral reservoir in local equilibrium with the pore space and the CEC. The case of reverse osmosis and diffusion coefficient are analyzed in details for the case of saturated and partially saturated porous materials. Comparisons are done with experimental data from the literature obtained on bentonite. The model predicts correctly the influence of salinity (including membrane behavior at high salinities), porosity, cation type (K+ versus Na+), and water saturation on the osmotic coefficient. It also correctly predicts the dependence of the diffusion coefficient of the salt with the salinity.

  2. Full-field dye concentration measurement within saturated/unsaturated thin slabs of porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norton, D.L.; Glass, R.J.

    1993-01-01

    This paper presents a full-field dye concentration measurement technique that extends our experimental capabilities to the measurement of transient dye concentration fields within steady state flow fields under unsaturated or saturated conditions. Simple light absorption theory provides a basis for translating images into high resolution dye concentration fields. A series of dye pulse experiments that demonstrate the combined use of the full-field saturation and dye concentration techniques was conducted at four different degrees of saturation. Each of these experimental sequences was evaluated with respect to mass balance, the results being within 5% of the known dye mass input. An image windowing technique allowed us to see increased dispersion due to decreasing moisture content, tailing of concentration at the rear of the dye pulse and slight velocity changes of the dispersive front due to changes in moisture content. The exceptional resolution of dye concentration in space and time provided by this laboratory technique allows systematic experimentation for examining basic processes affecting solute transport within saturated/unsaturated porous media. Future challenges for this work will be to use these techniques to analyze more complex systems involving heterogeneities, scaling laws, and detailed investigations of the relationship between transverse and longitudinal dispersion in unsaturated media

  3. Estimation of the temperature dependent interaction between uncharged point defects in Si

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamiyama, Eiji [Department of Communication Engineering, Okayama Prefectural University, 111 Kuboki, Soja-shi, Okayama-ken 719-1197 (Japan); GlobalWafers Japan Co., Ltd., 30 Soya, Hadano, Kanagawa, 257-8566 (Japan); Vanhellemont, Jan [Department of Solid State Sciences, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S1, Ghent B-9000 (Belgium); Sueoka, Koji [Department of Communication Engineering, Okayama Prefectural University, 111 Kuboki, Soja-shi, Okayama-ken 719-1197 (Japan)

    2015-01-15

    A method is described to estimate the temperature dependent interaction between two uncharged point defects in Si based on DFT calculations. As an illustration, the formation of the uncharged di-vacancy V{sub 2} is discussed, based on the temperature dependent attractive field between both vacancies. For that purpose, all irreducible configurations of two uncharged vacancies are determined, each with their weight given by the number of equivalent configurations. Using a standard 216-atoms supercell, nineteen irreducible configurations of two vacancies are obtained. The binding energies of all these configurations are calculated. Each vacancy is surrounded by several attractive sites for another vacancy. The obtained temperature dependent of total volume of these attractive sites has a radius that is closely related with the capture radius for the formation of a di-vacancy that is used in continuum theory. The presented methodology can in principle also be applied to estimate the capture radius for pair formation of any type of point defects.

  4. Modelling and simulation of a natural convection flow in a saturated porous cavity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Costa, M.L.M.; Sampaio, R.; Gama, R.M.S. da.

    1991-09-01

    The natural convection flow in a two-dimensional fluid-saturated porous cavity is modelled by means of a Theory of Mixtures viewpoint in which fluid and porous medium are regarded as continuous constituents of a binary mixture, coexisting superposed. A local description, that allows distinct temperature profiles for both fluid and solid constituents is obtained. The model, simplified by the Boussinesq approximation, is simulated with the help of the Control Volumes Method. The effect of some usual parameters like Rayleigh, Darcy and Prandtl numbers and of a new dimensionless number, relating coefficients associated to the heat exchange between fluid and solid constituents (due to its temperature difference) and coefficients of heat conduction for each constituent, is considered. Stream lines for the fluid constituent and isotherms for both fluid and solid constituents are presented for some cases. Qualitative agreement with results using the classical approach (Darcy's law and additional terms to account for boundary and inertia effects, used as momentum equation) was obtained. (author)

  5. Dispersion of extensional waves in fluid-saturated porous cylinders at ultrasonic frequencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, J.G.

    1983-01-01

    Ultrasonic dispersion of extensional waves in fluid-saturated porous cylinders is studied by analyzing generalized Pochhammer equations derived using Biot's theory. Cases with open-pore surface and closed-pore surface boundary conditions are considered. For both cases, the dispersion of the fast extensional wave does not differ much qualitatively from the dispersion expected for extensional waves in isotropic elastic cylinders. A slow extensional wave propagates in the case with a closed-pore surface but not in the case with an open-pore surface. The propagating slow wave has very weak dispersion and its speed is always lower than, but close to, the bulk slow wave speed

  6. Concurrent freezing and sublimation of a liquid-saturated porous slab

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaidyanathan, N.; Shamsundar, N.

    1991-01-01

    In this paper analytical models are formulated for describing heat and mass transport during concurrent freezing and sublimation of a one-dimensional liquid-saturated porous slab. The models are based on transient heat transfer in the frozen and wet regions, and quasi-steady heat and mass transfer in the dried region. The enthalpy method in conjunction with a fully implicit finite-difference scheme is employed to obtain the solution in the frozen and wet regions. A quasi-steady solution is used in the dried region. The governing equations are nondimensionalized and parametric studies are performed. The results indicate that the Luikov number, the ambient vapor pressure, and the heat transfer Biot number are important parameters. The results also confirm that the sublimation interface temperature may show significant variations, in contrast to earlier studies in which it was assumed constant

  7. Transport and fate of Herbaspirillum chlorophenolicum FA1 in saturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, X.; Xu, H.; Wu, J.

    2016-12-01

    For the bioremediation of contaminated groundwater, sufficient dispersal of functional microorganisms is one of the most important factors that determine the remediation efficiency. There are extensive studies on the transport of microbes in porous media, while most of them focus on pathogenic bacteria and little attention has been given toward functional bacteria that being used in bioremediation process. Therefore, accurate knowledge of the mechanisms that govern the transport and distribution of such bacteria in groundwater is needed to develop efficient treatment techniques. Herbaspirillum chlorophenolicum FA1, a pure bacterial strain capable of absorbing heavy metals and degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), was selected as the representative functional bacterium in this study. A series of batch and column experiments were conducted to investigate the transport and deposition behavior of strain FA1 in saturated porous media. The effects of physical (grain size), chemical (ionic strength, humic acid), and biological factors (living/dead cells) were studied in detail. In addition, numerical simulations of breakthrough curve (BTC) data were also performed for information gathering. Results of this study could advance our understanding of functional bacteria transport and help to develop successful bioremediation strategies. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China -Xinjiang Project (U1503282), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41030746, 41102148), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20151385). Keywords: Herbaspirillum chlorophenolicum FA1, bacteria, porous media, transport, modeling

  8. Saturated poroelastic actuators generated by topology optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Casper Schousboe; Sigmund, Ole

    2011-01-01

    the coupling of internal fluid pressure and elastic shear stresses a slab of the optimized porous material deflects/deforms when a pressure is imposed and an actuator is created. Several phenomenologically based constraints are imposed in order to get a stable force transmitting actuator.......In this paper the fluid-structure interaction problem of a saturated porous media is considered. The pressure coupling properties of porous saturated materials change with the microstructure and this is utilized in the design of an actuator using a topology optimized porous material. By maximizing...

  9. Uncharged positive electrode composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaun, Thomas D.; Vissers, Donald R.; Shimotake, Hiroshi

    1977-03-08

    An uncharged positive-electrode composition contains particulate lithium sulfide, another alkali metal or alkaline earth metal compound other than sulfide, e.g., lithium carbide, and a transition metal powder. The composition along with a binder, such as electrolytic salt or a thermosetting resin is applied onto an electrically conductive substrate to form a plaque. The plaque is assembled as a positive electrode within an electrochemical cell opposite to a negative electrode containing a material such as aluminum or silicon for alloying with lithium. During charging, lithium alloy is formed within the negative electrode and transition metal sulfide such as iron sulfide is produced within the positive electrode. Excess negative electrode capacity over that from the transition metal sulfide is provided due to the electrochemical reaction of the other than sulfide alkali metal or alkaline earth metal compound.

  10. Uniqueness of specific interfacial area-capillary pressure-saturation relationship under non-equilibrium conditions in two-phase porous media flow

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Joekar-Niasar, V.; Hassanizadeh, S.M.

    2012-01-01

    The capillary pressure–saturation (P c–S w) relationship is one of the central constitutive relationships used in two-phase flow simulations. There are two major concerns regarding this relation. These concerns are partially studied in a hypothetical porous medium using a dynamic pore-network model

  11. Standing torsional waves in a fully saturated, porous, circular cylinder

    CERN Document Server

    Solorza, S; 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02198.x

    2004-01-01

    For dynamic measurement of the elastic moduli of a porous material saturated with viscous fluid using the resonance-bar technique, one also observes attenuation. In this article we have carried out the solution of the boundary-value problem associated with standing torsional oscillations of a finite, poroelastic, circular cylinder cast in the framework of volume-averaged theory of poroelasticity. Analysing this solution by eigenvalue perturbation approach we are able to develop expressions for torsional resonance and temporal attenuation frequencies in which the dependence upon the material properties are transparent. It shows how the attenuation is controlled by the permeability and the fluid properties, and how the resonance frequency drops over its value for the dry solid-frame due to the drag effect of fluid mass. Based upon this work we have a firm basis to determine solid-frame shear modulus, permeability, and tortuosity factor from torsional oscillation experiments.

  12. The evaporation of the charged and uncharged water drops ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    The evaporation of the charged and uncharged water drops suspended in a wind tunnel. Rohini V Bhalwankar, A B Sathe and A K Kamra∗. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India. ∗e-mail: kamra@tropmet.res.in. A laboratory experiment has been performed to study the effect of ventilation on the rate of evap-.

  13. Borehole guided waves in a non-Newtonian (Maxwell) fluid-saturated porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhi-Wen, Cui; Jin-Xia, Liu; Ke-Xie, Wang; Gui-Jin, Yao

    2010-01-01

    The property of acoustic guided waves generated in a fluid-filled borehole surrounded by a non-Newtonian (Maxwell) fluid-saturated porous formation with a permeable wall is investigated. The influence of non-Newtonian effects on acoustic guided waves such as Stoneley waves, pseudo-Rayleigh waves, flexural waves, and screw waves propagations in a fluid-filled borehole is demonstrated based on the generalized Biot–Tsiklauri model by calculating their velocity dispersion and attenuation coefficients. The corresponding acoustic waveforms illustrate their properties in time domain. The results are also compared with those based on generalized Biot's theory. The results show that the influence of non-Newtonian effect on acoustic guided wave, especially on the attenuation coefficient of guided wave propagation in borehole is noticeable. (classical areas of phenomenology)

  14. Propagation des ondes acoustiques dans les milieux poreux saturés Propagation of Acoustic Waves in Saturated Porous Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Coussy O.

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Ce travail comporte deux parties. La première partie concerne la théorie de la propagation des ondes acoustiques dans les milieux poreux saturés. Une revue des différentes méthodes existantes est faite et un développement critique de la théorie de Biot est exposé en détail. On examine en particulier les différents résultats auxquels cette théorie conduit et on regarde, dans quelles conditions et sur quels problèmes géophysiques, les phénomènes physiques mis en évidence peuvent jouer de manière notable. Dans la deuxième partie, on présente une vérification expérimentale due à Plona (1980 de la théorie de Biot. Après une introduction qualitative de l'expérience mise en place, on expose les résultats obtenus pour un grand nombre de matériaux de porosités différentes. La notion de tortuosité d'un milieu poreux est introduite théoriquement et discutée expérimentalement. This article is in two parts. The first part has to do with the theory of acoustic wave propagation in saturated porous media. Different existing methods are reviewed, and Biot's theory is critically developed in detail. In particular, the different results to which this theory leads are examined, and the conditions and geophysical problems on which the physical phenomena involved may have an appreciable effect are considered. The second part is devoted to the experimental check made by Plona (1980 of Biot's theory. After a qualitative introduction of the experimental procedure, the results obtained for many materials of different porosities are described. The concept of the tortuosity of a porous medium is introduced theoretically and discussed experimentally.

  15. Scattering by a spherical inhomogeneity in a fluid-saturated porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, J.G.

    1985-01-01

    A fast compressional wave incident on an inhomogeneity in a fluid-saturated porous medium will produce three scattered elastic waves: a fast compressional wave, a slow compressional wave, and a shear wave. This problem is formulated as a multipole expansion using Biot's equations of poroelasticity. The solution for the first term (n = 0) in the multipole series involves a 4 x 4 system which is solved analytically in the long-wavelength limit. All higher-order terms (n > or = 1) require the solution of a 6 x 6 system. A procedure for solving these equations by splitting the problem into a 4 x 4 system and a 2 x 2 system and then iterating is introduced. The first iterate is just the solution of the elastic wave scattering problem in the absence of fluid effects. Higher iterates include the successive perturbation effects of fluid/solid interaction

  16. Transport of Escherichia coli phage through saturated porous media considering managed aquifer recharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenjing; Li, Shuo; Wang, Shuang; Lei, Liancheng; Yu, Xipeng; Ma, Tianyi

    2018-03-01

    Virus is one of the most potentially harmful microorganisms in groundwater. In this paper, the effects of hydrodynamic and hydrogeochemical conditions on the transportation of the colloidal virus considering managed aquifer recharge were systematically investigated. Escherichia coli phage, vB_EcoM-ep3, has a broad host range and was able to lyse pathogenic Escherichia coli. Bacteriophage with low risk to infect human has been found extensively in the groundwater environment, so it is considered as a representative model of groundwater viruses. Laboratory studies were carried out to analyze the transport of the Escherichia coli phage under varying conditions of pH, ionic strength, cation valence, flow rate, porous media, and phosphate buffer concentration. The results indicated that decreasing the pH will increase the adsorption of Escherichia coli phage. Increasing the ionic strength, either Na + or Ca 2+ , will form negative condition for the migration of Escherichia coli phage. A comparison of different cation valence tests indicated that changes in transport and deposition were more pronounced with divalent Ca 2+ than monovalent Na + . As the flow rate increases, the release of Escherichia coli phage increases and the retention of Escherichia coli phage in the aquifer medium reduces. Changes in porous media had a significant effect on Escherichia coli phage migration. With increase of phosphate buffer concentration, the suspension stability and migration ability of Escherichia coli phage are both increased. Based on laboratory-scale column experiments, a one-dimensional transport model was established to quantitatively describe the virus transport in saturated porous medium.

  17. Determination of saturation functions and wettability for chalk based on measured fluid saturations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olsen, D.; Bech, N.; Moeller Nielsen, C.

    1998-08-01

    The end effect of displacement experiments on low permeable porous media is used for determination of relative permeability functions and capillary pressure functions. Saturation functions for a drainage process are determined from a primary drainage experiment. A reversal of the flooding direction creates an intrinsic imbibition process in the sample, which enables determination if imbibition saturation functions. The saturation functions are determined by a parameter estimation technique. Scanning effects are modelled by the method of Killough. Saturation profiles are determined by NMR. (au)

  18. The transport behaviour of elemental mercury DNAPL in saturated porous media: analysis of field observations and two-phase flow modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweijen, Thomas; Hartog, Niels; Marsman, Annemieke; Keijzer, Thomas J S

    2014-06-01

    Mercury is a contaminant of global concern. The use of elemental mercury in various (former) industrial processes, such as chlorine production at chlor-alkali plants, is known to have resulted in soil and groundwater contaminations worldwide. However, the subsurface transport behaviour of elemental mercury as an immiscible dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) in porous media has received minimal attention to date. Even though, such insight would aid in the remediation effort of mercury contaminated sites. Therefore, in this study a detailed field characterization of elemental mercury DNAPL distribution with depth was performed together with two-phase flow modelling, using STOMP. This is to evaluate the dynamics of mercury DNAPL migration and the controls on its distribution in saturated porous media. Using a CPT-probe mounted with a digital camera, in-situ mercury DNAPL depth distribution was obtained at a former chlor-alkali-plant, down to 9 m below ground surface. Images revealing the presence of silvery mercury DNAPL droplets were used to quantify its distribution, characteristics and saturation, using an image analysis method. These field-observations with depth were compared with results from a one-dimensional two-phase flow model simulation for the same transect. Considering the limitations of this approach, simulations reasonably reflected the variability and range of the mercury DNAPL distribution. To further explore the impact of mercury's physical properties in comparison with more common DNAPLs, the migration of mercury and PCE DNAPL in several typical hydrological scenarios was simulated. Comparison of the simulations suggest that mercury's higher density is the overall controlling factor in controlling its penetration in saturated porous media, despite its higher resistance to flow due to its higher viscosity. Based on these results the hazard of spilled mercury DNAPL to cause deep contamination of groundwater systems seems larger than for any other

  19. Film condensation on a porous vertical surface in a porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ebinuma, C.D.; Liu, C.Y.; Ismail, K.A.R.

    1983-01-01

    The problem of dry saturated steam film condensation by natural convection on a porous surface in a porous medium is presented. Through the classical Darcy law for flow in porous medium and the approximations considered in the Boundary layer theory, it is shown that the analytical solution exists only when the normal velocity to the porous wall is inversly proportional to the square root of the distance along the plate. (E.G.) [pt

  20. HAM solutions on MHD squeezing axisymmetric flow of water nanofluid through saturated porous medium between two parallel disks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, B. Siva Kumar; Rao, K. V. Surya Narayana; Vijaya, R. Bhuvana

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, we have considered the unsteady magnetohydrodynamic squeezing axi-symmetric flow of water-nanofluid through saturated porous medium between two parallel disks. The equations for the governing flow are solved by Galerkin optimal Homotopy asymptotic method. The effects of non-dimensional parameters on velocity, temperature and concentration have been discussed with the help of graphs. Also we obtained local Nusselt number and computationally discussed with reference to flow parameters.

  1. Fluid dynamics and mass transfer in variably saturated porous media: formulation and applications of a mathematical model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, D.

    1982-01-01

    This paper presents the formulation and applications of a mathematical model designed to predict the fluid dynamics and associated mass transfers in variably saturated porous media. Novelties in the formulation are emphasized and demonstrated to provide several computational advantages. The numerical procedure employed is of the integrated finite-difference variety which employs a hybrid differencing scheme. This procedure, while solving the coupled governing equations in conservative form, permits accommodation of substantial heterogeneities and anisotropies in material properties of the porous media. Accordingly, it is capable of making reliable predictions of steeply varying moisture and chemical-specie concentration fronts. The paper provides several examples of application of the model to the solution of practical problems. It is demonstrated that economical solutions to highly non-linear problems associated with solid and liquid waste disposal practices can be obtained

  2. Dynamic characterization of partially saturated engineered porous media and gas diffusion layers using hydraulic admittance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Perry; Fairweather, Joseph D.; Schwartz, Daniel T.

    2012-09-01

    Simple laboratory methods for determining liquid water distribution in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers (GDLs) are needed to engineer better GDL materials. Capillary pressure vs. liquid saturation measurements are attractive, but lack the ability to probe the hydraulic interconnectivity and distribution within the pore structure. Hydraulic admittance measurements of simple capillary bundles have recently been shown to nicely measure characteristics of the free-interfaces and hydraulic path. Here we examine the use of hydraulic admittance with a succession of increasingly complex porous media, starting with a laser-drilled sample with 154 asymmetric pores and progress to the behavior of Toray TGP-H090 carbon papers. The asymmetric laser-drilled sample clearly shows hydraulic admittance measurements are sensitive to sample orientation, especially when examined as a function of saturation state. Finite element modeling of the hydraulic admittance is consistent with experimental measurements. The hydraulic admittance spectra from GDL samples are complex, so we examine trends in the spectra as a function of wet proofing (0% and 40% Teflon loadings) as well as saturation state of the GDL. The presence of clear peaks in the admittance spectra for both GDL samples suggests a few pore types are largely responsible for transporting liquid water.

  3. Theoretical and experimental investigation of thermohydrologic processes in a partially saturated, fractured porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, R.T.; Manteufel, R.D.; Dodge, F.T.; Svedeman, S.J.

    1993-07-01

    The performance of a geologic repository for high-level nuclear waste will be influenced to a large degree by thermohydrologic phenomena created by the emplacement of heat-generating radioactive waste. The importance of these phenomena is manifest in that they can greatly affect the movement of moisture and the resulting transport of radionuclides from the repository. Thus, these phenomena must be well understood prior to a definitive assessment of a potential repository site. An investigation has been undertaken along three separate avenues of analysis: (i) laboratory experiments, (ii) mathematical models, and (iii) similitude analysis. A summary of accomplishments to date is as follows. (1) A review of the literature on the theory of heat and mass transfer in partially saturated porous medium. (2) A development of the governing conservation and constitutive equations. (3) A development of a dimensionless form of the governing equations. (4) A numerical study of the importance and sensitivity of flow to a set of dimensionless groups. (5) A survey and evaluation of experimental measurement techniques. (6) Execution of laboratory experiments of nonisothermal flow in a porous medium with a simulated fracture

  4. Transient heat characteristics of water-saturated porous media with freezing; Toketsu wo tomonau gansui takoshitsu sonai no hiteijo netsu tokusei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sasaki, A [Akita National College of Technology, Akita (Japan)

    1998-02-25

    Analytical and experimental investigations were performed to examine the transient heat characteristics of water-saturated porous media with freezing. As a physical model, a two-dimensional vertical cavity was considered. One vertical wall was abruptly cooled below the fusion temperature. Other three walls were thermally insulated. Three different sizes of glass, and iron, alumina and copper beads were used as the porous media in this study. The cold energy stored up in the porous media and the average thickness of frozen layer were measured in the experiments. Comparisons of the analytical results with the experimental ones were made, and the effects of Darcy number, Stefan number and modified Prandtl number on the transient heat characteristics were discussed. The dimensionless equations for predicting the averaged frozen layer thickness and the stored cold energy were obtained as a function of various dimensionless parameters. 8 refs., 16 figs., 1 tab.

  5. Gravity modulation of thermal instability in a viscoelastic fluid saturated anisotropic porous medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhadauria, Beer S. [Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Univ., Lucknow (India). Dept. of Applied Mathematics and Statistics; Banaras Hindu Univ., Varanasi (India). Dept. of Mathematics; Srivastava, Atul K. [Banaras Hindu Univ., Varanasi (India). Dept. of Mathematics; Sacheti, Nirmal C.; Chandran, Pallath [Sultan Qaboos Univ., Muscat (Oman). Dept. of Mathematics

    2012-01-15

    The present paper deals with a thermal instability problem in a viscoelastic fluid saturating an anisotropic porous medium under gravity modulation. To find the gravity modulation effect, the gravity field is considered in two parts: a constant part and an externally imposed time-dependent periodic part. The time-dependent part of the gravity field, which can be realized by shaking the fluid, has been represented by a sinusoidal function. Using Hill's equation and the Floquet theory, the convective threshold has been obtained. It is found that gravity modulation can significantly affect the stability limits of the system. Further, we find that there is a competition between the synchronous and subharmonic modes of convection at the onset of instability. Effects of various parameters on the onset of instability have also been discussed. (orig.)

  6. VS2DRTI: Simulating Heat and Reactive Solute Transport in Variably Saturated Porous Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Healy, Richard W; Haile, Sosina S; Parkhurst, David L; Charlton, Scott R

    2018-01-29

    Variably saturated groundwater flow, heat transport, and solute transport are important processes in environmental phenomena, such as the natural evolution of water chemistry of aquifers and streams, the storage of radioactive waste in a geologic repository, the contamination of water resources from acid-rock drainage, and the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide. Up to now, our ability to simulate these processes simultaneously with fully coupled reactive transport models has been limited to complex and often difficult-to-use models. To address the need for a simple and easy-to-use model, the VS2DRTI software package has been developed for simulating water flow, heat transport, and reactive solute transport through variably saturated porous media. The underlying numerical model, VS2DRT, was created by coupling the flow and transport capabilities of the VS2DT and VS2DH models with the equilibrium and kinetic reaction capabilities of PhreeqcRM. Flow capabilities include two-dimensional, constant-density, variably saturated flow; transport capabilities include both heat and multicomponent solute transport; and the reaction capabilities are a complete implementation of geochemical reactions of PHREEQC. The graphical user interface includes a preprocessor for building simulations and a postprocessor for visual display of simulation results. To demonstrate the simulation of multiple processes, the model is applied to a hypothetical example of injection of heated waste water to an aquifer with temperature-dependent cation exchange. VS2DRTI is freely available public domain software. © 2018, National Ground Water Association.

  7. Influence of pH on the Transport of Silver Nanoparticles in Saturated Porous Media: Laboratory Experiments and Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    the potential toxic effects of AgNPs (USEPA 2010). Recent in vitro and in vivo studies using various cell lines, algae , zooplankton, fish, rats and... TiO2 in Saturated Porous Media: Effects of pH, Surfactants and Flow Velocity.” Water Research, 45(2), 839-851. He, F., Zhang, M., Qian, T., and Zhao...of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), the largest and fastest growing category of nanomaterials, and their potential for toxic effects to both humans

  8. Capillary pressure-saturation relationships for porous granular materials: Pore morphology method vs. pore unit assembly method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweijen, Thomas; Aslannejad, Hamed; Hassanizadeh, S. Majid

    2017-09-01

    In studies of two-phase flow in complex porous media it is often desirable to have an estimation of the capillary pressure-saturation curve prior to measurements. Therefore, we compare in this research the capability of three pore-scale approaches in reproducing experimentally measured capillary pressure-saturation curves. To do so, we have generated 12 packings of spheres that are representative of four different glass-bead packings and eight different sand packings, for which we have found experimental data on the capillary pressure-saturation curve in the literature. In generating the packings, we matched the particle size distributions and porosity values of the granular materials. We have used three different pore-scale approaches for generating the capillary pressure-saturation curves of each packing: i) the Pore Unit Assembly (PUA) method in combination with the Mayer and Stowe-Princen (MS-P) approximation for estimating the entry pressures of pore throats, ii) the PUA method in combination with the hemisphere approximation, and iii) the Pore Morphology Method (PMM) in combination with the hemisphere approximation. The three approaches were also used to produce capillary pressure-saturation curves for the coating layer of paper, used in inkjet printing. Curves for such layers are extremely difficult to determine experimentally, due to their very small thickness and the presence of extremely small pores (less than one micrometer in size). Results indicate that the PMM and PUA-hemisphere method give similar capillary pressure-saturation curves, because both methods rely on a hemisphere to represent the air-water interface. The ability of the hemisphere approximation and the MS-P approximation to reproduce correct capillary pressure seems to depend on the type of particle size distribution, with the hemisphere approximation working well for narrowly distributed granular materials.

  9. Numerical simulation of flow boiling for organic fluid with high saturation temperature in vertical porous coated tube

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang Dong, E-mail: dyang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi Province 710049 (China); Pan Jie; Wu Yanhua; Chen Tingkuan [State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an, Shaanxi Province 710049 (China); Zhou, Chenn Q. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, IN 46323 (United States)

    2011-08-15

    Highlights: > A model is developed for the prediction of flow boiling in vertical porous tubes. > The model assumes that the nucleate boiling plays an important role. > The present model can predict most of the experimental values within {+-}20%. > The results indicate the nucleate boiling contribution decreases from 50% to 15%. - Abstract: A semi-analytical model is developed for the prediction of flow boiling heat transfer inside vertical porous coated tubes. The model assumes that the forced convection and nucleate boiling coexist together in the annular flow regime. Conservations of mass, momentum, and energy are used to solve for the liquid film thickness and temperature. The heat flux due to nucleate boiling consists of those inside and outside micro-tunnels. To close the equations, a detailed analysis of various forces acting on the bubble is presented to predict its mean departure diameter. The active nucleation site density of porous layer is determined from the pool boiling correlation by introducing suppression factor. The flow boiling heat transfer coefficients of organic fluid (cumene) with high saturation temperature in a vertical flame-spraying porous coated tube are studied numerically. It is shown that the present model can predict most of the experimental values within {+-}20%. The numerical results also indicate that the nucleate boiling contribution to the overall heat transfer coefficient decreases from 50% to 15% with vapor quality increasing from 0.1 to 0.5.

  10. Quantitative tomography of hydrogen precharged and uncharged Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy after tensile fracture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, C., E-mail: joy_gupta71@yahoo.co.in [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8150 (Japan); Toda, H.; Fujioka, T.; Kobayashi, M. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8150 (Japan); Hoshino, H. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8150 (Japan); Japan Synchrotron Radiation Institute, Sayo-Gun, Hyogo (Japan); Uesugi, K.; Takeuchi, A.; Suzuki, Y. [Japan Synchrotron Radiation Institute, Sayo-Gun, Hyogo (Japan)

    2016-07-18

    Quantitative tomography is carried out on datasets derived from tensile fracture sample of electrochemically precharged Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy in the underaged condition and its uncharged counterpart. It is shown that precharging which induces a transition of tensile fracture mode from ductile to brittle, results in a significant increase in micro-damage content in the regions near the fracture surfaces. Using quantitative tomography analysis based on spatial mapping of morphologically segmented micro-damage content of the datasets it is found that the precharged sample contains an inhomogenous distribution of micro-pores near grain boundaries. It is also shown that the spatial architecture of micro-pores in the dataset is not influenced by the plastic zone of the intergranular cracks lying along the grain boundaries. Contrastingly the micro-pores in the tomographic dataset of the uncharged sample are shown to be present near intermetallic particles. It is therefore rationalized that the spatial architecture of micro-pores in the datasets from uncharged sample originate from particle cracking during ductile fracture, and from the tendency for damage enhancement by the synergism of hydrogen exposure near grain boundaries and localization of deformation in the precharged sample dataset.

  11. Observation of a new surface mode on a fluid-saturated permeable solid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagy, P.B.

    1992-01-01

    Almost ten years ago, S. Feng and D. L. Johnson predicted the presence of a new surface mode on a fluid/fluid-saturated porous solid interface with closed surface pores [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 74, 906 (1983)]. We found that, due to surface tension, practically closed-pore boundary conditions can prevail at an interface between a nonwetting fluid (e.g., air) and a porous solid saturated with a wetting fluid (e.g., water or alcohol). Surface wave velocity and attenuation measurements were made on alcohol-saturated porous sintered glass at 100 kHz. The experimental results show clear evidence of the new ''slow'' surface mode predicted by Feng and Johnson

  12. Transport of Silica Colloid through Saturated Porous Media under Different Hydrogeochemical and Hydrodynamic Conditions Considering Managed Aquifer Recharge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhuo Wang

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Colloids may have an important role in regulating the structure and function of groundwater ecosystems, and may influence the migration of low solubility contaminants in groundwater. There is, however, a degree of uncertainty about how colloids behave under the variable hydrogeochemical and hydrodynamic conditions that occur during managed aquifer recharge. We used an online monitoring system to monitor the transport of silica colloid in saturated porous media under different hydrogeochemical conditions, including a range of pH values (5, 7, and 9, ionic strengths (<0.0005, 0.02, and 0.05 M, cation valences (Na+, Ca2+, flow rates (0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mL/min. The results showed that silica colloid was more likely to deposit on the surface of porous media in acidic conditions (pH = 5 than in alkaline conditions (pH = 9, indicating that the risks of pollution from colloidal interactions would be higher when the pH of the recharge water was higher. Colloid deposition occurred when the ionic strength of the colloidal suspension increased, and bivalent cations had a greater effect than monovalent cations. This suggests that bivalent cation-rich recharge water might affect the porosity of the porous medium because of colloid deposition during the managed aquifer recharge process. As the flow rate increased, the migration ability of silica colloid increased. We simulated the migration of silica colloid in porous media with the COMSOL Multiphysics model.

  13. Mixed convection in fluid superposed porous layers

    CERN Document Server

    Dixon, John M

    2017-01-01

    This Brief describes and analyzes flow and heat transport over a liquid-saturated porous bed. The porous bed is saturated by a liquid layer and heating takes place from a section of the bottom. The effect on flow patterns of heating from the bottom is shown by calculation, and when the heating is sufficiently strong, the flow is affected through the porous and upper liquid layers. Measurements of the heat transfer rate from the heated section confirm calculations. General heat transfer laws are developed for varying porous bed depths for applications to process industry needs, environmental sciences, and materials processing. Addressing a topic of considerable interest to the research community, the brief features an up-to-date literature review of mixed convection energy transport in fluid superposed porous layers.

  14. Sedimentation of bidisperse, uncharged colloidal sphere suspensions: Influence of viscosity and irregular surfaces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thies-Weesie, Dominique M. E.; Philipse, Albert P.; Lekkerkerker, Henk N. W.

    1996-01-01

    The sedimentation velocity of uncharged, nonaggregated silica spheres under gravity is strongly reduced after addition of small amounts of nonsedimenting small spheres. This reduction is largely due to surface irregularities on a nanoscale of the large spheres at which a limited number of small

  15. Surface wave propagation in a fluid-saturated incompressible ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    dilatational and one rotational elastic waves in fluid-saturated porous solids. Biot theory ..... If the pore liquid is absent or gas is filled in the pores, then ρF ..... Biot M A (1962) Mechanics of deformation and acoustic propagation in porous media.

  16. A mathematical theorem on the onset of Couple-Stress fluid permeated with suspended dust particles saturating a porous medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G Rana

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the effect of suspended particles on thermal convection in Couple-Stress fluid saturating a porous medium is considered. By applying linear stability theory and normal mode analysis method, a mathematical theorem is derived which states that the viscoelastic thermal convection at marginal state, cannot manifest as stationary convection if the thermal Rayleigh number R, the medium permeability parameter Pl, the couple-stress parameter F and suspended particles parameter B, satisfy the inequality

  17. Laboratory analysis of fluid flow and solute transport through a variably saturated fracture embedded in porous tuff

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chuang, Y.; Haldeman, W.R.; Rasmussen, T.C.; Evans, D.D.

    1990-02-01

    Laboratory techniques are developed that allow concurrent measurement of unsaturated matrix hydraulic conductivity and fracture transmissivity of fractured rock blocks. Two Apache Leap tuff blocks with natural fractures were removed from near Superior, Arizona, shaped into rectangular prisms, and instrumented in the laboratory. Porous ceramic plates provided solution to block tops at regulated pressures. Infiltration tests were performed on both test blocks. Steady flow testing of the saturated first block provided estimates of matrix hydraulic conductivity and fracture transmissivity. Fifteen centimeters of suction applied to the second block top showed that fracture flow was minimal and matrix hydraulic conductivity was an order of magnitude less than the first block saturated matrix conductivity. Coated-wire ion-selective electrodes monitored aqueous chlorided breakthrough concentrations. Minute samples of tracer solution were collected with filter paper. The techniques worked well for studying transport behavior at near-saturated flow conditions and also appear to be promising for unsaturated conditions. Breakthrough curves in the fracture and matrix, and a concentration map of chloride concentrations within the fracture, suggest preferential flows paths in the fracture and substantial diffusion into the matrix. Average travel velocity, dispersion coefficient and longitudinal dispersivity in the fracture are obtained. 67 refs., 54 figs., 23 tabs

  18. Comparison study between the effects of different terms contributing to viscous dissipation in saturated porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Salama, Amgad

    2013-02-01

    Some sort of controversy is associated with the problem of viscous dissipation in saturated porous media for which we try to present a comparison study between the influences of the different terms contributing to this phenomenon. We consider viscous dissipation by studying the case of semi-infinite flat plate embedded in saturated porous medium and is kept at constant, higher temperature compared with the surrounding fluid. The fluid is induced to move upwards by natural convection during which viscous dissipation is considered. The boundary layer assumptions are considered to simplify the treatment and to highlight the influencing parameters. The behavior of temperature, and velocity fields in the neighborhood of the vertical flat plate were used to highlight the effects of these parameters. Three terms were considered to contribute to viscous dissipation, namely Darcy\\'s term, the Forchheimer term and Al-Hadharami\\'s term. Although there are no unanimous agreements between researchers to include the Forchhemier term in the dissipation function, some researchers argued it might have an indirect effect and hence for this sake and for completion purposes, we include it in this comparison study. Dimensional considerations reveal that Darcy\\'s term is influenced by Gebhart number, the Forchheimer term is controlled by the non-Darcy parameter and Al-Hadharami\\'s term is influenced by Darcy\\'s number. The governing, non-dimensional set of equations together with the imposed boundary conditions is numerically investigated by finite element method. The results for the details of the governing parameters are presented and investigated. It is found that the irreversible process of transforming the kinetic energy of the moving fluid to heat energy via the viscosity of the moving fluid (i.e., viscous dissipation) is very much influenced by the relative magnitude of these dimensionless parameters. © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Chaotic Darcy-Brinkman convection in a fluid saturated porous layer subjected to gravity modulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moli Zhao

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of Darcy-Brinkman model, the chaotic convection in a couple stress fluid saturated porous media under gravity modulation is investigated using the nonlinear stability analyses. The transition from steady convection to chaos is analysed with the effect of Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter and the gravity modulation. The results show that the chaotic behavior is connected with the critical value of Rayleigh number which is dependent upon the oscillation frequency and the Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter. If the oscillation frequency Ω is not zero, the Rayleigh number value R of the chaotic behavior increases with the increase of the Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter. The Darcy-Brinkman couple stress parameter and the gravity modulation decrease the rate of heat transfer. Keywords: Darcy-Brinkman model, Gravity modulation, Nonlinear stability, Chaotic convection

  20. Steam injection into water-saturated porous rock

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bruining, J.; Marchesin, D.; Duijn, van C.J.

    2003-01-01

    We formulate conservation laws governing steam injection in a linear porous medium containing water. Heat losses to the outside are neglected. We find a complete and systematic description of all solutions of the Riemann problem for the injection of a mixture of steam and water into a

  1. The onset of double diffusive convection in a viscoelastic fluid-saturated porous layer with non-equilibrium model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhixin Yang

    Full Text Available The onset of double diffusive convection in a viscoelastic fluid-saturated porous layer is studied when the fluid and solid phase are not in local thermal equilibrium. The modified Darcy model is used for the momentum equation and a two-field model is used for energy equation each representing the fluid and solid phases separately. The effect of thermal non-equilibrium on the onset of double diffusive convection is discussed. The critical Rayleigh number and the corresponding wave number for the exchange of stability and over-stability are obtained, and the onset criterion for stationary and oscillatory convection is derived analytically and discussed numerically.

  2. Transport and Retention of TiO2 Rutile Nanoparticles in Saturated Porous Media: Influence of Solution pH, Ionic Strength, and the Presence of Humic Acid

    Science.gov (United States)

    The influence of solution pH, ionic strength, and varying concentrations of the Suwannee River Humic Acid (SRHA) on the transport of titanium dioxide (TiO2, rutile) nanoparticle aggregates (nTiO2) in saturated porous media was investigated through systematically examining the tra...

  3. Configuration de piégeage dans un milieu poreux à saturation résiduelle en huile Configuration of Trapping in a Porous Medium with Residual Oil Saturation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvestre L.

    2006-11-01

    ainsi, d'une part, situer le comportement du milieu poreux par rapport aux deux états de référence précédemment définis et d'autre part, nous avons pu estimer la fraction du volume poreux en écoulement, la composition des zones stagnantes et leur taille moyenne, en fonction de la saturation en huile. L'analyse critique de ces résultats nous permet de conclure que, si certains comportements sont vraisemblablement caractéristiques de notre mode opératoire expérimental et du milieu poreux étudié, la technique mise au point (traçage et interprétation par un modèle PDE pourrait être utilisée avec succès dans le cas de milieux poreux réels. This article analyzes the hydrodynamics and spatial distribution of liquid phases in a porous medium with residual oil saturation. Experiments were performed in a porous medium made up of glass beads piled up in a column. Water drive was used to achieve decane saturations of up to 30% pore volume. The sweep water was traced during each experiment by a dyestuff that was insoluble in oil. The distribution curves of the tracer residence time, obtained upon issuing from the medium, were analyzed by a chromatographic model of the piston-dispersion type with exchange (PDE. This model covers all the pores in which the sweeping phase is flowing as well as the stagnant sections containing trapped water and oil. In the first phase an analysis of equations led to a definition, in the form of adimensional variables, of the penetrability of the porous medium and of the time constants respectively characterizing flow in the mobile phase and diffusion in stagnant zones. An examination of the influence of these variables on the flows transferred led to a definition of the state of distribution equilibrium of the solute between the stagnant and mobile phases. Two reference situations were chosen: (i equilibrium almost reached, and (ii negligible penetration of stagnant zones. On these bases, correlations were established between the

  4. New concept to describe three-phase capillary pressure-degree of saturation relationship in porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Keita; Kikumoto, Mamoru

    2018-03-15

    The Leverett concept is used conventionally to model the relationship between the capillary pressures and the degrees of saturation in the water-nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL)-air three-phase system in porous media. In this paper, the limitation of the Leverett concept that the concept is not applicable in the case of nonspreading NAPLs is discussed through microscopic consideration. A new concept that can be applied in the case of nonspreading NAPLs as well as spreading NAPLs is then proposed. The validity of the proposed concept is confirmed by comparing with past experimental data and simulation results obtained using the conventional model based on the Leverett concept. It is confirmed that the proposed concept can correctly predict the observed distributions of NAPLs, including those of nonspreading ones. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  5. Numerical investigation of heat transfer in a laminar flow in a helical pipe filled with a fluid saturated porous medium: the sensitivity to parameter variations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, L.; Kuznetsov, A.V.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents the first attempt to investigate numerically heat transfer in a helical pipe filled with a fluid saturated porous medium; the analysis is based on the full momentum equation for porous media that accounts for the Brinkman and Forchheimer extensions of the Darcy law as well as for the flow inertia. Numerical computations are performed in an orthogonal helical coordinate system. The effects of the Darcy number, the Forchheimer coefficient as well as the Dean and Germano numbers on the axial flow velocity, secondary flow, temperature distribution, and the Nusselt number are investigated. (authors)

  6. Numerical investigation of heat transfer in a laminar flow in a helical pipe filled with a fluid saturated porous medium: the sensitivity to parameter variations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, L.; Kuznetsov, A.V. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

    2005-07-01

    This paper presents the first attempt to investigate numerically heat transfer in a helical pipe filled with a fluid saturated porous medium; the analysis is based on the full momentum equation for porous media that accounts for the Brinkman and Forchheimer extensions of the Darcy law as well as for the flow inertia. Numerical computations are performed in an orthogonal helical coordinate system. The effects of the Darcy number, the Forchheimer coefficient as well as the Dean and Germano numbers on the axial flow velocity, secondary flow, temperature distribution, and the Nusselt number are investigated. (authors)

  7. A general approach for defining the macroscopic free energy density of saturated porous media at finite strains under non-isothermal conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gajo, A.

    2011-01-01

    A general approach is proposed for defining the macroscopic free energy density function (and its complement, the free enthalpy) of a saturated porous medium submitted to finite deformations under non-isothermal conditions, in the case of compressible fluid and solid constituents. Reference is made to an elementary volume treated as an 'open system', moving with the solid skeleton. The proposed free energy depends on the generalised strains (namely an appropriate measure of the strain of the solid skeleton and the variation in fluid mass content) and the absolute temperatures of the solid and fluid phases (which are assumed to differ from each other for the sake of generality). This macroscopic energy proves to be a potential for the generalised stresses (namely the associated measure of the total stress and the free enthalpy of the pore fluid per unit mass) and the entropies of the solid and fluid phases. In contrast with mixture theories, the resulting free energy is not the simple sum of the free energies of the single constituents. Two simplified cases are examined in detail, i.e. the semi-linear theory (originally proposed for isothermal conditions and extended here to non-isothermal problems) and the linear theory. The proposed approach paves the way to the consistent non-isothermal-hyper-elastic-plastic modelling of saturated porous media with a compressible fluid and solid constituents. (authors)

  8. A Physically Based Analytical Model to Describe Effective Excess Charge for Streaming Potential Generation in Water Saturated Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarracino, L.; Jougnot, D.

    2018-01-01

    Among the different contributions generating self-potential, the streaming potential is of particular interest in hydrogeology for its sensitivity to water flow. Estimating water flux in porous media using streaming potential data relies on our capacity to understand, model, and upscale the electrokinetic coupling at the mineral-solution interface. Different approaches have been proposed to predict streaming potential generation in porous media. One of these approaches is the flux averaging which is based on determining the excess charge which is effectively dragged in the medium by water flow. In this study, we develop a physically based analytical model to predict the effective excess charge in saturated porous media using a flux-averaging approach in a bundle of capillary tubes with a fractal pore size distribution. The proposed model allows the determination of the effective excess charge as a function of pore water ionic concentration and hydrogeological parameters like porosity, permeability, and tortuosity. The new model has been successfully tested against different set of experimental data from the literature. One of the main findings of this study is the mechanistic explanation to the empirical dependence between the effective excess charge and the permeability that has been found by several researchers. The proposed model also highlights the link to other lithological properties, and it is able to reproduce the evolution of effective excess charge with electrolyte concentrations.

  9. Thermal convection around a heat source embedded in a box containing a saturated porous medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Himasekhar, K.; Bau, H.H. (Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (USA))

    1988-08-01

    A study of the thermal convection around a uniform flux cylinder embedded in a box containing a saturated porous medium is carried out experimentally and theoretically. The experimental work includes heat transfer and temperature field measurements. It is observed that for low Rayleigh numbers, the flow is two dimensional and time independent. Once a critical Rayleigh number is exceeded, the flow undergoes a Hopf bifurcation and becomes three dimensional and time dependent. The theoretical study involves the numerical solution of the two-dimensional Darcy-Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations. The complicated geometry is conveniently handled by mapping the physical domain onto a rectangle via the use of boundary-fitted coordinates. The numerical code can easily be extended to handle diverse geometric configurations. For low Rayleigh numbers, the theoretical results agree favorably with the experimental observations. However, the appearance of three-dimensional flow phenomena limits the range of utility of the numerical code.

  10. Characterization of thermal, hydraulic, and gas diffusion properties in variably saturated sand grades

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Deepagoda Thuduwe Kankanamge Kelum, Chamindu; Smits, Kathleen; Ramirez, Jamie

    2016-01-01

    porous media transport properties, key transport parameters such as thermal conductivity and gas diffusivity are particularly important to describe temperature-induced heat transport and diffusion-controlled gas transport processes, respectively. Despite many experimental and numerical studies focusing...... transport models (thermal conductivity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and gas diffusivity). An existing thermal conductivity model was improved to describe the distinct three-region behavior in observed thermal conductivity–water saturation relations. Applying widely used parametric models for saturated......Detailed characterization of partially saturated porous media is important for understanding and predicting vadose zone transport processes. While basic properties (e.g., particle- and pore-size distributions and soil-water retention) are, in general, essential prerequisites for characterizing most...

  11. Passive flux meter measurement of water and nutrient flux in saturated porous media: bench-scale laboratory tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Jaehyun; Annable, Michael D; Jawitz, James W; Hatfield, Kirk

    2007-01-01

    The passive nutrient flux meter (PNFM) is introduced for simultaneous measurement of both water and nutrient flux through saturated porous media. The PNFM comprises a porous sorbent pre-equilibrated with a suite of alcohol tracers, which have different partitioning coefficients. Water flux was estimated based on the loss of loaded resident tracers during deployment, while nutrient flux was quantified based on the nutrient solute mass captured on the sorbent. An anionic resin, Lewatit 6328 A, was used as a permeable sorbent and phosphate (PO4(3-)) was the nutrient studied. The phosphate sorption capacity of the resin was measured in batch equilibration tests as 56 mg PO4(3-) g(-1), which was determined to be adequate capacity to retain PO4(3-) loads intercepted over typical PNFM deployment periods in most natural systems. The PNFM design was validated with bench-scale laboratory tests for a range of 9.8 to 28.3 cm d(-1) Darcy velocities and 6 to 43 h deployment durations. Nutrient and water fluxes measured by the PNFM averaged within 6 and 12% of the applied values, respectively, indicating that the PNFM shows promise as a tool for simultaneous measurement of water and nutrient fluxes.

  12. Wave propagation in thermoelastic saturated porous medium

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    the existence and propagation of four waves in the medium. Three of the waves are ... predicted infinite speed for propagation of ther- mal signals. Lord and ..... saturated reservoir rock (North-sea Sandstone) is chosen for the numerical model ...

  13. Deposition and release kinetics of nano-TiO2 in saturated porous media: Effects of solution ionic strength and surfactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godinez, Itzel G.; Darnault, Christophe J.G.; Khodadoust, Amid P.; Bogdan, Dorin

    2013-01-01

    The aggregation, transport and deposition kinetics (i.e. attachment and release) of TiO 2 nanoparticles (nano-TiO 2 ) were investigated as a function of ionic strength and the presence of anionic (sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, SDBS) and non-ionic (Triton X-100) surfactants in 100% critical micelle concentration (CMC). The electrolyte concentration of the suspensions dictated the kinetic stability of nano-TiO 2 thus influencing the transport and retention of the nanoaggregates in the saturated porous medium. With increasing ionic strength, the interaction between approaching nano-TiO 2 and nano-TiO 2 already deposited onto collectors surfaces seemed to be more favorable than the interaction between approaching nano-TiO 2 and bare collectors surfaces. The abrupt and gradual reduction in electrolyte concentration during the flushing cycles of the column experiments induced the release of previously deposited nano-TiO 2 suggesting attachment of nano-TiO 2 through secondary energy minimum. Highlights: ► This study focuses on aggregation, transport and deposition kinetics of nano-TiO 2 . ► Ionic strength and surfactants impact nano-TiO 2 transport in saturated porous media. ► Previously deposited nano-TiO 2 serve as preferential sites for subsequent deposition. ► Changes in solution chemistry cause nanodeposits to release a portion of nano-TiO 2 . -- Previously deposited nano-TiO 2 serve as preferential sites for subsequent deposition and changes in solution chemistry cause nanodeposits to release a portion of nano-TiO 2

  14. Method of preparing an electrochemical cell in uncharged state

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimotake, Hiroshi; Bartholme, Louis G.; Arntzen, John D.

    1977-02-01

    A secondary electrochemical cell is assembled in an uncharged state for the preparation of a lithium alloy-transition metal sulfide cell. The negative electrode includes a material such as aluminum or silicon for alloying with lithium as the cell is charged. The positive electrode is prepared by blending particulate lithium sulfide, transition metal powder and electrolytic salt in solid phase. The mixture is simultaneously heated to a temperature in excess of the melting point of the electrolyte and pressed onto an electrically conductive substrate to form a plaque. The plaque is assembled as a positive electrode within the cell. During the first charge cycle lithium alloy is formed within the negative electrode and transition metal sulfide such as iron sulfide is produced within the positive electrode.

  15. On the propagation of a coupled saturation and pressure front

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vasco, D. W.

    2010-12-01

    Using an asymptotic technique, valid for a medium with smoothly varying heterogeneity, I derive an expression for the velocity of a propagating, coupled saturation and pressure front. Due to the nonlinearity of the governing equations, the velocity of the propagating front depends upon the magnitude of the saturation and pressure changes across the front in addition to the properties of the medium. Thus, the expression must be evaluated in conjunction with numerical reservoir simulation. The propagation of the two-phase front is governed by the background saturation distribution, the saturation-dependent component of the fluid mobility, the porosity, the permeability, the capillary pressure function, the medium compressibility, and the ratio of the slopes of the relative permeability curves. Numerical simulation of water injection into a porous layer saturated with a nonaqueous phase liquid indicates that two modes of propagation are important. The fastest mode of propagation is a pressure-dominated disturbance that travels through the saturated layer. This is followed, much later, by a coupled mode with a large saturation change. These two modes are also observed in a simulation using a heterogeneous porous layer. A comparison between the propagation times estimated from the results of the numerical simulation and predictions from the asymptotic expression indicates overall agreement.

  16. FEMWATER: a finite-element model of water flow through saturated-unsaturated porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeh, G.T.; Ward, D.S.

    1980-10-01

    Upon examining the Water Movement Through Saturated-Unsaturated Porous Media: A Finite-Element Galerkin Model, it was felt that the model should be modified and expanded. The modification is made in calculating the flow field in a manner consistent with the finite element approach, in evaluating the moisture-content increasing rate within the region of interest, and in numerically computing the nonlinear terms. With these modifications, the flow field is continuous everywhere in the flow regime, including element boundaries and nodal points, and the mass loss through boundaries is much reduced. Expansion is made to include four additional numerical schemes which would be more appropriate for many situations. Also, to save computer storage, all arrays pertaining to the boundary condition information are compressed to smaller dimension, and to ease the treatment of different problems, all arrays are variably dimensioned in all subroutines. This report is intended to document these efforts. In addition, in the derivation of finite-element equations, matrix component representation is used, which is believed more readable than the matrix representation in its entirety. Two identical sample problems are simulated to show the difference between the original and revised models

  17. Double-diffusive convection in a Darcy porous medium saturated with a couple-stress fluid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malashetty, M S; Kollur, Premila; Pal, Dulal

    2010-01-01

    The onset of double-diffusive convection in a couple-stress fluid-saturated horizontal porous layer is studied using linear and weak nonlinear stability analyses. The modified Darcy equation that includes the time derivative term and the inertia term is used to model the momentum equation. The expressions for stationary, oscillatory and finite-amplitude Rayleigh number are obtained as a function of the governing parameters. The effect of couple-stress parameter, solute Rayleigh number, Vadasz number and diffusivity ratio on stationary, oscillatory and finite-amplitude convection is shown graphically. It is found that the couple-stress parameter and the solute Rayleigh number have a stabilizing effect on stationary, oscillatory and finite-amplitude convection. The diffusivity ratio has a destabilizing effect in the case of stationary and finite-amplitude modes, with a dual effect in the case of oscillatory convection. The Vadasz number advances the onset of oscillatory convection. The heat and mass transfer decreases with an increase in the values of couple-stress parameter and diffusivity ratio, while both increase with an increase in the value of the solute Rayleigh number.

  18. Parametric study of boiling heat transfer in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, B.; Jones, B.G.; Pan, C.

    1996-01-01

    Detailed numerical modeling and parametric variation studies were conducted on boiling heat transfer processes in porous deposits with emphasis on applications associated with light water nuclear power reactor systems. The processes of boiling heat transfer in the porous corrosion deposits typically involve phase changes in finite volumetric regions in the porous media. The study examined such processes in two porous media configurations, without chimneys (homogeneous porous structures) and with chimneys (heterogeneous porous structures). A 1-D model and a 2-D model were developed to simulate two-phase flows with phase changes, without dry-out, inside the porous media for both structural configurations. For closure of the governing equations, an empirical correlation of the evaporation rate for phase changes inside the porous media was introduced. In addition, numerical algorithms were developed to solve the coupled nonlinear equations of mass, momentum, energy, capillary pressure, and evaporation rate. The distributions of temperature, thermodynamic saturation, liquid pressure, vapor pressure, liquid velocity, and vapor velocity were predicted. Furthermore, the effects of heat flux, system pressure, porosity, particle diameter, chimney population density, chimney radius, and crud thickness on the all superheat, critical heat flux, and minimum saturation were examined. The predictions were found to be in good agreement with the available experimental results

  19. Self-diffusion of charged colloidal tracer spheres in transparent porous glass media: Effect of ionic strength and pore size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kluijtmans, Sebastiaan G. J. M.; de Hoog, Els H. A.; Philipse, Albert P.

    1998-05-01

    The influence of charge on diffusion in porous media was studied for fluorescent colloidal silica spheres diffusing in a porous glass medium. The bicontinuous porous silica glasses were optically matched with an organic solvent mixture in which both glass and tracers are negatively charged. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, the long-time self-diffusion coefficient DSL of the confined silica particles was monitored in situ as a function of the ionic strength and particle to pore size ratio. At high salt concentration DSL reaches a relatively high plateau value, which depends on the particle to pore size ratio. This plateau value is unexpectedly higher than the value found for uncharged silica spheres in these porous glasses, but still significantly smaller than the free particle bulk diffusion coefficient of the silica spheres. At low salt concentration DSL reduces markedly, up to the point where colloids are nearly immobilized. This peculiar retardation probably originates from potential traps and barriers at pore intersections due to deviations from cylinder symmetry in the double layer interactions between tracers and pore walls. This indicates that diffusion of charged particles in tortuous porous media may be very different from transport in long capillaries without such intersections.

  20. A Conditionally Stable Scheme for a Transient Flow of a Non-Newtonian Fluid Saturating a Porous Medium

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed

    2012-06-02

    The problem of thermal dispersion effects on unsteady free convection from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder to a non-Newtonian fluid saturating a porous medium is examined numerically. The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model is employed to describe the flow field. The thermal diffusivity coefficient has been assumed to be the sum of the molecular diffusivity and the dynamic diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. The simultaneous development of the momentum and thermal boundary layers are obtained by using finite difference method. The stability conditions are determined for each difference equation. Using an explicit finite difference scheme, solutions at each time-step have been found and then stepped forward in time until reaching steady state solution. Velocity and temperature profiles are shown graphically. It is found that as time approaches infinity, the values of friction factor and heat transfer coefficient approach the steady state values.

  1. A Conditionally Stable Scheme for a Transient Flow of a Non-Newtonian Fluid Saturating a Porous Medium

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed; Salama, Amgad; Sun, Shuyu

    2012-01-01

    The problem of thermal dispersion effects on unsteady free convection from an isothermal horizontal circular cylinder to a non-Newtonian fluid saturating a porous medium is examined numerically. The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model is employed to describe the flow field. The thermal diffusivity coefficient has been assumed to be the sum of the molecular diffusivity and the dynamic diffusivity due to mechanical dispersion. The simultaneous development of the momentum and thermal boundary layers are obtained by using finite difference method. The stability conditions are determined for each difference equation. Using an explicit finite difference scheme, solutions at each time-step have been found and then stepped forward in time until reaching steady state solution. Velocity and temperature profiles are shown graphically. It is found that as time approaches infinity, the values of friction factor and heat transfer coefficient approach the steady state values.

  2. Control of optical transport parameters of 'porous medium – supercritical fluid' systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zimnyakov, D A; Ushakova, O V; Yuvchenko, S A [Yuri Gagarin State Technical University of Saratov, Saratov (Russian Federation); Bagratashvili, V N [M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2015-11-30

    The possibility of controlling optical transport parameters (in particular, transport scattering coefficient) of porous systems based on polymer fibres, saturated with carbon dioxide in different phase states (gaseous, liquid and supercritical) has been experimentally studied. An increase in the pressure of the saturating medium leads to a rise of its refractive index and, correspondingly, the diffuse-transmission coefficient of the system due to the decrease in the transport scattering coefficient. It is shown that, in the case of subcritical saturating carbon dioxide, the small-angle diffuse transmission of probed porous layers at pressures close to the saturated vapour pressure is determined by the effect of capillary condensation in pores. The immersion effect in 'porous medium – supercritical fluid' systems, where the fluid pressure is used as a control parameter, is considered. The results of reconstructing the values of transport scattering coefficient of probed layers for different refractive indices of a saturating fluid are presented. (radiation scattering)

  3. Fractal analysis of fracture increasing spontaneous imbibition in porous media with gas-saturated

    KAUST Repository

    Cai, Jianchao; Sun, Shuyu

    2013-01-01

    Spontaneous imbibition (SI) of wetting liquid into matrix blocks due to capillary pressure is regarded as an important recovery mechanism in low permeability fractured reservoir. In this paper, an analytical model is proposed for characterizing SI horizontally from a single plane fracture into gas-saturated matrix blocks. The presented model is based on the fractal character of pores in porous matrix, with gravity force included in the entire imbibition process. The accumulated mass of wetting liquid imbibed into matrix blocks is related to a number of factors such as contact area, pore fractal dimension, tortuosity, maximum pore size, porosity, liquid density and viscosity, surface tension, contact angle, as well as height and tilt angle of the fracture. The mechanism of fracture-enhanced SI is analyzed accordingly. Because of the effect of fracture, the gravity force is positive to imbibition process. Additionally, the farther away from the fracture top of the pore, the more influential the hydrostatic pressure is upon the imbibition action. The presented fractal analysis of horizontal spontaneous imbibition from a single fracture could also shed light on the scaling study of the mass transfer function between matrix and fracture system of fractured reservoirs. © 2013 World Scientific Publishing Company.

  4. Enhanced transport of zerovalent iron nanoparticles in saturated porous media by guar gum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiraferri, Alberto; Sethi, Rajandrea

    2009-01-01

    In order to ensure adequate mobility of zerovalent iron nanoparticles in natural aquifers, the use of a stabilizing agent is necessary. Polymers adsorbed on the nanoparticle surface will give rise to electrosteric stabilization and will decrease attachment to the surface soil grains. Water saturated sand-packed columns were used in this study to investigate the transport of iron nanoparticle suspensions, bare or modified with the green polymer guar gum. The suspensions were prepared at 154 mg/L particle concentration and 0.5 g/L polymer concentration. Transport experiments were conducted by varying the ionic strength, ionic composition, and approach velocity of the fluid. Nanoparticle deposition rates, attachment efficiencies, and travel distances were subsequently calculated based on the classical particle filtration theory. It was found that bare iron nanoparticles are basically immobile in sandy porous media. In contrast, guar gum is able to ensure significant nanoparticle transport at the tested conditions, regardless of the chemistry of the solution. Attachment efficiency values for guar gum-coated nanoparticles under the various conditions tested were smaller than 0.066. Although the calculated travel distances may not prove satisfactory for field application, the investigation attested the promising role of guar gum to ensure mobility of iron nanoparticles in the subsurface environment.

  5. Fractal analysis of fracture increasing spontaneous imbibition in porous media with gas-saturated

    KAUST Repository

    Cai, Jianchao

    2013-08-01

    Spontaneous imbibition (SI) of wetting liquid into matrix blocks due to capillary pressure is regarded as an important recovery mechanism in low permeability fractured reservoir. In this paper, an analytical model is proposed for characterizing SI horizontally from a single plane fracture into gas-saturated matrix blocks. The presented model is based on the fractal character of pores in porous matrix, with gravity force included in the entire imbibition process. The accumulated mass of wetting liquid imbibed into matrix blocks is related to a number of factors such as contact area, pore fractal dimension, tortuosity, maximum pore size, porosity, liquid density and viscosity, surface tension, contact angle, as well as height and tilt angle of the fracture. The mechanism of fracture-enhanced SI is analyzed accordingly. Because of the effect of fracture, the gravity force is positive to imbibition process. Additionally, the farther away from the fracture top of the pore, the more influential the hydrostatic pressure is upon the imbibition action. The presented fractal analysis of horizontal spontaneous imbibition from a single fracture could also shed light on the scaling study of the mass transfer function between matrix and fracture system of fractured reservoirs. © 2013 World Scientific Publishing Company.

  6. Convective hydromagnetic instabilities of a power-law liquid saturating a porous medium: Flux conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chahtour, C.; Ben Hamed, H.; Beji, H.; Guizani, A.; Alimi, W.

    2018-01-01

    We investigate how an external imposed magnetic field affects thermal instability in a horizontal shallow porous cavity saturated by a non-Newtonian power-law liquid. The magnetic field is assumed to be constant and parallel to the gravity. A uniform heat flux is applied to the horizontal walls of the layer while the vertical walls are adiabatic. We use linear stability analysis to find expressions for the critical Rayleigh number as a function of the power-law index and the intensity of the magnetic field. We use nonlinear parallel flow theory to find some explicit solutions of the problem, and we use finite difference numerical simulations to solve the full nonlinear equations. We show how the presence of magnetic field alters the known hydrodynamical result of Newtonian flows and power-law flows and how it causes the presence of subcritical finite amplitude convection for both pseudoplastic and dilatant fluids. We also show that in the limit of very strong magnetic field, the dissipation of energy by Joule effect dominates the dissipation of energy by shear stress and gives to the liquid an inviscid character.

  7. Uniqueness of Specific Interfacial Area–Capillary Pressure–Saturation Relationship Under Non-Equilibrium Conditions in Two-Phase Porous Media Flow

    KAUST Repository

    Joekar-Niasar, Vahid

    2012-02-23

    The capillary pressure-saturation (P c-S w) relationship is one of the central constitutive relationships used in two-phase flow simulations. There are two major concerns regarding this relation. These concerns are partially studied in a hypothetical porous medium using a dynamic pore-network model called DYPOSIT, which has been employed and extended for this study: (a) P c-S w relationship is measured empirically under equilibrium conditions. It is then used in Darcy-based simulations for all dynamic conditions. This is only valid if there is a guarantee that this relationship is unique for a given flow process (drainage or imbibition) independent of dynamic conditions; (b) It is also known that P c-S w relationship is flow process dependent. Depending on drainage and imbibition, different curves can be achieved, which are referred to as "hysteresis". A thermodynamically derived theory (Hassanizadeh and Gray, Water Resour Res 29: 3389-3904, 1993a) suggests that, by introducing a new state variable, called the specific interfacial area (a nw, defined as the ratio of fluid-fluid interfacial area to the total volume of the domain), it is possible to define a unique relation between capillary pressure, saturation, and interfacial area. This study investigates these two aspects of capillary pressure-saturation relationship using a dynamic pore-network model. The simulation results imply that P c-S w relation not only depends on flow process (drainage and imbibition) but also on dynamic conditions for a given flow process. Moreover, this study attempts to obtain the first preliminary insights into the global functionality of capillary pressure-saturation-interfacial area relationship under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions and the uniqueness of P c-S w-a nw relationship. © 2012 The Author(s).

  8. A physically-based analytical model to describe effective excess charge for streaming potential generation in saturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jougnot, D.; Guarracino, L.

    2016-12-01

    The self-potential (SP) method is considered by most researchers the only geophysical method that is directly sensitive to groundwater flow. One source of SP signals, the so-called streaming potential, results from the presence of an electrical double layer at the mineral-pore water interface. When water flows through the pore space, it gives rise to a streaming current and a resulting measurable electrical voltage. Different approaches have been proposed to predict streaming potentials in porous media. One approach is based on the excess charge which is effectively dragged in the medium by the water flow. Following a recent theoretical framework, we developed a physically-based analytical model to predict the effective excess charge in saturated porous media. In this study, the porous media is described by a bundle of capillary tubes with a fractal pore-size distribution. First, an analytical relationship is derived to determine the effective excess charge for a single capillary tube as a function of the pore water salinity. Then, this relationship is used to obtain both exact and approximated expressions for the effective excess charge at the Representative Elementary Volume (REV) scale. The resulting analytical relationship allows the determination of the effective excess charge as a function of pore water salinity, fractal dimension and hydraulic parameters like porosity and permeability, which are also obtained at the REV scale. This new model has been successfully tested against data from the literature of different sources. One of the main finding of this study is that it provides a mechanistic explanation to the empirical dependence between the effective excess charge and the permeability that has been found by various researchers. The proposed petrophysical relationship also contributes to understand the role of porosity and water salinity on effective excess charge and will help to push further the use of streaming potential to monitor groundwater flow.

  9. Evaluation of Colloid Retention Site Dominance in Variably Saturated Porous Media: An All Pores Pore-Scale Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morales, Veronica; Perez-Reche, Francisco; Holzner, Markus; Kinzelbach, Wolfgang

    2016-04-01

    It is well accepted that colloid and nanoparticle transport processes in porous media differ substantially between water saturated and unsaturated conditions. Differences are frequently ascribed to particle immobilization by association with interfaces with the gas, as well as to restrictions of the liquid medium through which colloids are transported. Yet, the current understanding of the importance of particle retention at gas interfaces is based on observations of single pores or two-dimensional pore network representations, leaving open the question of their statistical significance when all pores in the medium are considered. In order to address this question, column experiments were performed using a model porous medium of glass beads through which Silver particles were transported for conditions of varying water content and water chemistry. X-ray microtomography was subsequently employed as a non-destructive imaging technique to obtain pore-scale information of the entire column regarding: i) the presence and distribution of the main locations where colloids can become retained (interfaces with the water-solid, air-water, air-solid, and air-water-solid, grain-grain contacts, and the bulk liquid), ii) deposition profiles of colloids along the column classified by the available retention location, and iii) channel widths of 3-dimensional pore-water network representations. The results presented provide a direct statistical evaluation on the significance of colloid retention by attachment to interfaces or by strainig at contact points where multiple interfaces meet.

  10. Concurrent aggregation and transport of graphene oxide in saturated porous media: Roles of temperature, cation type, and electrolyte concentration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Mei; Gao, Bin; Tang, Deshan; Yu, Congrong

    2018-04-01

    Simultaneous aggregation and retention of nanoparticles can occur during their transport in porous media. In this work, the concurrent aggregation and transport of GO in saturated porous media were investigated under the conditions of different combinations of temperature, cation type (valence), and electrolyte concentration. Increasing temperature (6-24 °C) at a relatively high electrolyte concentration (i.e., 50 mM for Na + , 1 mM for Ca 2+ , 1.75 mM for Mg 2+ , and 0.03 and 0.05 mM for Al 3+ ) resulted in enhanced GO retention in the porous media. For instance, when the temperature increased from 6 to 24 °C, GO recovery rate decreased from 31.08% to 6.53% for 0.03 mM Al 3+ and from 27.11% to 0 for 0.05 mM Al 3+ . At the same temperature, increasing cation valence and electrolyte concentration also promoted GO retention. Although GO aggregation occurred in the electrolytes during the transport, the deposition mechanisms of GO retention in the media depended on cation type (valence). For 50 mM Na + , surface deposition via secondary minima was the dominant GO retention mechanism. For multivalent cation electrolytes, GO aggregation was rapid and thus other mechanisms such as physical straining and sedimentation also played important roles in controlling GO retention in the media. After passing through the columns, the GO particles in the effluents showed better stability with lower initial aggregation rates. This was probably because less stable GO particles with lower surface charge densities in the porewater were filtered by the porous media, resulting in more stable GO particle with higher surface charge densities in the effluents. An advection-dispersion-reaction model was applied to simulate GO breakthrough curves and the simulations matched all the experimental data well. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Simulation of uncompressible fluid flow through a porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramirez, A.; Gonzalez, J.L.; Carrillo, F.; Lopez, S.

    2009-01-01

    Recently, a great interest has been focused for investigations about transport phenomena in disordered systems. One of the most treated topics is fluid flow through anisotropic materials due to the importance in many industrial processes like fluid flow in filters, membranes, walls, oil reservoirs, etc. In this work is described the formulation of a 2D mathematical model to simulate the fluid flow behavior through a porous media (PM) based on the solution of the continuity equation as a function of the Darcy's law for a percolation system; which was reproduced using computational techniques reproduced using a random distribution of the porous media properties (porosity, permeability and saturation). The model displays the filling of a partially saturated porous media with a new injected fluid showing the non-defined advance front and dispersion of fluids phenomena.

  12. METHOD OF IMPREGNATING A POROUS MATERIAL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steele, G.N.

    1960-06-01

    A method of impregnating a porous body with an inorganic uranium- containing salt is outlined and comprises dissolving a water-soluble uranium- containing salt in water; saturating the intercommunicating pores of the porous body with the salt solution; infusing ammonia gas into the intercommunicating pores of the body, the ammonia gas in water chemically reacting with the water- soluble uranium-containing salt in the water solvent to form a nonwater-soluble uranium-containing precipitant; and evaporating the volatile unprecipitated products from the intercommunicating pores whereby the uranium-containing precipitate is uniformly distributed in the intercommunicating peres of the porous body.

  13. Analysis of the laminar Newtonian fluid flow through a thin fracture modelled as a fluid-saturated sparsely packed porous medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pazanin, Igor [Zagreb Univ. (Croatia). Dept. of Mathematics; Siddheshwar, Pradeep G. [Bangalore Univ., Bengaluru (India). Dept. of Mathematics

    2017-06-01

    In this article we investigate the fluid flow through a thin fracture modelled as a fluid-saturated porous medium. We assume that the fracture has constrictions and that the flow is governed by the prescribed pressure drop between the edges of the fracture. The problem is described by the Darcy-Lapwood-Brinkman model acknowledging the Brinkman extension of the Darcy law as well as the flow inertia. Using asymptotic analysis with respect to the thickness of the fracture, we derive the explicit higher-order approximation for the velocity distribution. We make an error analysis to comment on the order of accuracy of the method used and also to provide rigorous justification for the model.

  14. Simulation of uncompressible fluid flow through a porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramirez, A. [Instituto Politecnico Nacional (SEPI-ESIQIE-IPN), Unidad Profesional Zacatenco, Laboratorio de Analisis Met. (Edif. ' Z' y Edif. ' 6' P.B.), Mexico City (Mexico)], E-mail: adaramil@yahoo.com.mx; Gonzalez, J.L. [Instituto Politecnico Nacional (SEPI-ESIQIE-IPN), Unidad Profesional Zacatenco, Laboratorio de Analisis Met. (Edif. ' Z' y Edif. ' 6' P.B.), Mexico City (Mexico); Carrillo, F. [Instituto Politecnico Nacional (SEPI-CICATA-IPN), Unidad Altamira Tamaulipas, Mexico (Mexico); Lopez, S. [Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo (I.M.P.-D.F.), Mexico (Mexico)

    2009-02-28

    Recently, a great interest has been focused for investigations about transport phenomena in disordered systems. One of the most treated topics is fluid flow through anisotropic materials due to the importance in many industrial processes like fluid flow in filters, membranes, walls, oil reservoirs, etc. In this work is described the formulation of a 2D mathematical model to simulate the fluid flow behavior through a porous media (PM) based on the solution of the continuity equation as a function of the Darcy's law for a percolation system; which was reproduced using computational techniques reproduced using a random distribution of the porous media properties (porosity, permeability and saturation). The model displays the filling of a partially saturated porous media with a new injected fluid showing the non-defined advance front and dispersion of fluids phenomena.

  15. Cation-Inhibited Transport of Graphene Oxide Nanomaterials in Saturated Porous Media: The Hofmeister Effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Tianjiao; Qi, Yu; Liu, Jing; Qi, Zhichong; Chen, Wei; Wiesner, Mark R

    2017-01-17

    Transport of negatively charged nanoparticles in porous media is largely affected by cations. To date, little is known about how cations of the same valence may affect nanoparticle transport differently. We observed that the effects of cations on the transport of graphene oxide (GO) and sulfide-reduced GO (RGO) in saturated quartz sand obeyed the Hofmeister series; that is, transport-inhibition effects of alkali metal ions followed the order of Na + cations having large ionic radii (and thus being weakly hydrated) interacted with quartz sand and GO and RGO more strongly than did cations of small ionic radii. In particular, the monovalent Cs + and divalent Ca 2+ and Ba 2+ , which can form inner-sphere complexes, resulted in very significant deposition of GO and RGO via cation bridging between quartz sand and GO and RGO, and possibly via enhanced straining, due to the enhanced aggregation of GO and RGO from cation bridging. The existence of the Hofmeister effects was further corroborated with the interesting observation that cation bridging was more significant for RGO, which contained greater amounts of carboxyl and phenolic groups (i.e., metal-complexing moieties) than did GO. The findings further demonstrate that transport of nanoparticles is controlled by the complex interplay between nanoparticle surface functionalities and solution chemistry constituents.

  16. Rn3D: A finite element code for simulating gas flow and radon transport in variably saturated, nonisothermal porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holford, D.J.

    1994-01-01

    This document is a user's manual for the Rn3D finite element code. Rn3D was developed to simulate gas flow and radon transport in variably saturated, nonisothermal porous media. The Rn3D model is applicable to a wide range of problems involving radon transport in soil because it can simulate either steady-state or transient flow and transport in one-, two- or three-dimensions (including radially symmetric two-dimensional problems). The porous materials may be heterogeneous and anisotropic. This manual describes all pertinent mathematics related to the governing, boundary, and constitutive equations of the model, as well as the development of the finite element equations used in the code. Instructions are given for constructing Rn3D input files and executing the code, as well as a description of all output files generated by the code. Five verification problems are given that test various aspects of code operation, complete with example input files, FORTRAN programs for the respective analytical solutions, and plots of model results. An example simulation is presented to illustrate the type of problem Rn3D is designed to solve. Finally, instructions are given on how to convert Rn3D to simulate systems other than radon, air, and water

  17. The effective thermal conductivity of porous media based on statistical self-similarity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kou Jianlong; Wu Fengmin; Lu Hangjun; Xu Yousheng; Song Fuquan

    2009-01-01

    A fractal model is presented based on the thermal-electrical analogy technique and statistical self-similarity of fractal saturated porous media. A dimensionless effective thermal conductivity of saturated fractal porous media is studied by the relationship between the dimensionless effective thermal conductivity and the geometrical parameters of porous media with no empirical constant. Through this study, it is shown that the dimensionless effective thermal conductivity decreases with the increase of porosity (φ) and pore area fractal dimension (D f ) when k s /k g >1. The opposite trends is observed when k s /k g t ). The model predictions are compared with existing experimental data and the results show that they are in good agreement with existing experimental data.

  18. A New Appraoch to Modeling Immiscible Two-phase Flow in Porous Media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yuan, Hao; Shapiro, Alexander; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

    In this work we present a systematic literature review regarding the macroscopic approaches to modeling immiscible two-phase flow in porous media, the formulation process of the incorporate PDE based on Film Model(viscous coupling), the calculation of saturation profile around the transition zone...... to modeling immiscible two-phase flow in porous media. The suggested approach to immiscible two-phase flow in porous media describes the dispersed mesoscopic fluids’ interfaces which are highly influenced by the injected interfacial energy and the local interfacial energy capacity. It reveals a new...... possibility of modeling two-phase flow through energy balance. The saturation profile generated through the suggested approach is different from those through other approaches....

  19. The Effect of Wettability Heterogeneity on Relative Permeability of Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media: A Lattice Boltzmann Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jianlin; Kang, Qinjun; Yao, Jun; Viswanathan, Hari; Pawar, Rajesh; Zhang, Lei; Sun, Hai

    2018-02-01

    Relative permeability is a critical parameter characterizing multiphase flow in porous media and it is strongly dependent on the wettability. In many situations, the porous media are nonuniformly wet. To investigate the effect of wettability heterogeneity on relative permeability of two-phase flow in porous media, a multi-relaxation-time color-gradient lattice Boltzmann model is adopted to simulate oil/water two-phase flow in porous media with different oil-wet solid fractions. For the water phase, when the water saturation is high, the relative permeability of water increases with the increase of oil-wet solid fraction under a constant water saturation. However, as the water saturation decreases to an intermediate value (about 0.4-0.7), the relative permeability of water in fractionally wet porous media could be lower than that in purely water-wet porous media, meaning additional flow resistance exists in the fractionally wet porous media. For the oil phase, similar phenomenon is observed. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the wettability-related microscale fluid distribution. According to both our simulation results and theoretical analysis, it is found that the relative permeability of two-phase flow in porous media is strongly related to three parameters: the fluid saturation, the specific interfacial length of fluid, and the fluid tortuosity in the flow direction. The relationship between the relative permeability and these parameters under different capillary numbers is explored in this paper.

  20. Effect of Initial Hydraulic Conditions on Capillary Rise in a Porous Medium: Pore-Network Modeling

    KAUST Repository

    Joekar-Niasar, V.

    2012-01-01

    The dynamics of capillary rise in a porous medium have been mostly studied in initially dry systems. As initial saturation and initial hydraulic conditions in many natural and industrial porous media can be variable, it is important to investigate the influence of initial conditions on the dynamics of the process. In this study, using dynamic pore-network modeling, we simulated capillary rise in a porous medium for different initial saturations (and consequently initial capillary pressures). Furthermore, the effect of hydraulic connectivity of the wetting phase in corners on the height and velocity of the wetting front was studied. Our simulation results show that there is a trade-off between capillary forces and trapping due to snap-off, which leads to a nonlinear dependence of wetting front velocity on initial saturation at the pore scale. This analysis may provide a possible answer to the experimental observations in the literature showing a non-monotonic dependency between initial saturation and the macroscopic front velocity. © Soil Science Society of America.

  1. The two-phase flow IPTT method for measurement of nonwetting-wetting liquid interfacial areas at higher nonwetting saturations in natural porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Hua; Ouni, Asma El; Lin, Dan; Wang, Bingguo; Brusseau, Mark L

    2016-07-01

    Interfacial areas between nonwetting-wetting (NW-W) liquids in natural porous media were measured using a modified version of the interfacial partitioning tracer test (IPTT) method that employed simultaneous two-phase flow conditions, which allowed measurement at NW saturations higher than trapped residual saturation. Measurements were conducted over a range of saturations for a well-sorted quartz sand under three wetting scenarios of primary drainage (PD), secondary imbibition (SI), and secondary drainage (SD). Limited sets of experiments were also conducted for a model glass-bead medium and for a soil. The measured interfacial areas were compared to interfacial areas measured using the standard IPTT method for liquid-liquid systems, which employs residual NW saturations. In addition, the theoretical maximum interfacial areas estimated from the measured data are compared to specific solid surface areas measured with the N 2 /BET method and estimated based on geometrical calculations for smooth spheres. Interfacial areas increase linearly with decreasing water saturation over the range of saturations employed. The maximum interfacial areas determined for the glass beads, which have no surface roughness, are 32±4 and 36±5 cm -1 for PD and SI cycles, respectively. The values are similar to the geometric specific solid surface area (31±2 cm -1 ) and the N 2 /BET solid surface area (28±2 cm -1 ). The maximum interfacial areas are 274±38, 235±27, and 581±160 cm -1 for the sand for PD, SI, and SD cycles, respectively, and ~7625 cm -1 for the soil for PD and SI. The maximum interfacial areas for the sand and soil are significantly larger than the estimated smooth-sphere specific solid surface areas (107±8 cm -1 and 152±8 cm -1 , respectively), but much smaller than the N 2 /BET solid surface area (1387±92 cm -1 and 55224 cm -1 , respectively). The NW-W interfacial areas measured with the two-phase flow method compare well to values measured using the standard

  2. Stability Analysis and Internal Heating Effect on Oscillatory Convection in a Viscoelastic Fluid Saturated Porous Medium Under Gravity Modulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhadauria, B. S.; Singh, M. K.; Singh, A.; Singh, B. K.; Kiran, P.

    2016-12-01

    In this paper, we investigate the combined effect of internal heating and time periodic gravity modulation in a viscoelastic fluid saturated porous medium by reducing the problem into a complex non-autonomous Ginzgburg-Landau equation. Weak nonlinear stability analysis has been performed by using power series expansion in terms of the amplitude of gravity modulation, which is assumed to be small. The Nusselt number is obtained in terms of the amplitude for oscillatory mode of convection. The influence of viscoelastic parameters on heat transfer has been discussed. Gravity modulation is found to have a destabilizing effect at low frequencies and a stabilizing effect at high frequencies. Finally, it is found that overstability advances the onset of convection, more with internal heating. The conditions for which the complex Ginzgburg-Landau equation undergoes Hopf bifurcation and the amplitude equation undergoes supercritical pitchfork bifurcation are studied.

  3. Law of nonlinear flow in saturated clays and radial consolidation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    It was derived that micro-scale amount level of average pore radius of clay changed from 0.01 to 0.1 micron by an equivalent concept of flow in porous media. There is good agreement between the derived results and test ones. Results of experiments show that flow in micro-scale pore of saturated clays follows law of nonlinear flow. Theoretical analyses demonstrate that an interaction of solid-liquid interfaces varies inversely with permeability or porous radius. The interaction is an important reason why nonlinear flow in saturated clays occurs. An exact mathematical model was presented for nonlinear flow in micro-scale pore of saturated clays. Dimension and physical meanings of parameters of it are definite. A new law of nonlinear flow in saturated clays was established. It can describe characteristics of flow curve of the whole process of the nonlinear flow from low hydraulic gradient to high one. Darcy law is a special case of the new law. A mathematical model was presented for consolidation of nonlinear flow in radius direction in saturated clays with constant rate based on the new law of nonlinear flow. Equations of average mass conservation and moving boundary, and formula of excess pore pressure distribution and average degree of consolidation for nonlinear flow in saturated clay were derived by using an idea of viscous boundary layer, a method of steady state in stead of transient state and a method of integral of an equation. Laws of excess pore pressure distribution and changes of average degree of consolidation with time were obtained. Results show that velocity of moving boundary decreases because of the nonlinear flow in saturated clay. The results can provide geology engineering and geotechnical engineering of saturated clay with new scientific bases. Calculations of average degree of consolidation of the Darcy flow are a special case of that of the nonlinear flow.

  4. Influence of gas law on ultrasonic behaviour of porous media under pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, S; Ayrault, C

    2010-06-01

    This paper deals with the influence of gas law on ultrasonic behaviour of porous media when the saturating fluid is high pressured. Previous works have demonstrated that ultrasonic transmission through a porous sample with variations of the static pressure (up to 18 bars) of the saturating fluid allows the characterization of high damping materials. In these studies, the perfect gas law was used to link static pressure and density, which is disputable for high pressures. This paper compares the effects of real and perfect gas laws on modeled transmission coefficient for porous foams at these pressures. Direct simulations and a mechanical parameters estimation from minimization show that results are very similar in both cases. The real gas law is thus not necessary to describe the acoustic behaviour of porous media at low ultrasonic frequencies (100 kHz) up to 20 bars. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Elastoplastic model for unsaturated, quasi-saturated and fully saturated fine soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lai Ba Tien

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In unsaturated soils, the gaseous phase is commonly assumed to be continuous. This assumption is no more valid at high saturation ratio. In that case, air bubbles and pockets can be trapped in the porous network by the liquid phase and the gas phase becomes discontinuous. This trapped air reduces the apparent compressibility of the pore fluid and affect the mechanical behavior of the soil. Although it is trapped in the pores, its dissolution can take place. Dissolved air can migrate through the pore space, either by following the flow of the fluid or by diffusion. In this context, this paper present a hydro mechanical model that separately considers the kinematics and the mechanical behavior of each fluid species (eg liquid water, dissolved air, gaseous air and the solid matrix. This new model was implemented in a C++ code. Some numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the ability of this model to reproduce a continuous transition of unsaturated to saturated states.

  6. Centrifuge modeling of LNAPL transport in partially saturated sand

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Esposito, G.; Allersma, H.G.B.; Selvadurai, A.P.S.

    1999-01-01

    Model tests were performed at the Geotechnical Centrifuge Facility of Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, to examine the mechanics of light nonaqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) movement in a partially saturated porous granular medium. The experiment simulated a 2D spill of LNAPL in an

  7. Dynamic seismic signatures of saturated porous rocks containing two orthogonal sets of fractures: theory versus numerical simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Junxin; Rubino, J. Germán; Glubokovskikh, Stanislav; Gurevich, Boris

    2018-05-01

    The dispersion and attenuation of seismic waves are potentially important attributes for the non-invasive detection and characterization of fracture networks. A primary mechanism for these phenomena is wave-induced fluid flow (WIFF), which can take place between fractures and their embedding background (FB-WIFF), as well as within connected fractures (FF-WIFF). In this work, we propose a theoretical approach to quantify seismic dispersion and attenuation related to these two manifestations of WIFF in saturated porous rocks permeated by two orthogonal sets of fractures. The methodology is based on existing theoretical models for rocks with aligned fractures, and we consider three types of fracture geometries, namely, periodic planar fractures, randomly spaced planar fractures and penny-shaped cracks. Synthetic 2-D rock samples with different degrees of fracture intersections are then explored by considering both the proposed theoretical approach and a numerical upscaling procedure that provides the effective seismic properties of generic heterogeneous porous media. The results show that the theoretical predictions are in overall good agreement with the numerical simulations, in terms of both the stiffness coefficients and the anisotropic properties. For the seismic dispersion and attenuation caused by FB-WIFF, the theoretical model for penny-shaped cracks matches the numerical simulations best, whereas for representing the effects due to FF-WIFF the periodic planar fractures model turns out to be the most suitable one. The proposed theoretical approach is easy to apply and is applicable not only to 2-D but also to 3-D fracture systems. Hence, it has the potential to constitute a useful framework for the seismic characterization of fractured reservoirs, especially in the presence of intersecting fractures.

  8. Experimental study and modeling of gas diffusion through partially water saturated porous media. Application to Vycor glasses, geo-polymers and CEM V cement pastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boher, C.

    2012-01-01

    This work documents the relationship that exists between the transfer properties of a material (pore size distribution, total porosity accessible to water, water saturation degree), and its diffusion coefficient. For this sake, materials having a quasi mono modal porosity are used: Vycor glasses and geo-polymers. We also use materials having a complex porosity: CEM V cement pastes. The use of Vycor glasses and geo-polymers allows quantifying the gas diffusion coefficient through materials having known pores size, as a function of their water saturation degree. The use of cement pastes allows checking if it is possible to decompose the diffusion coefficient of a complex porosity material, in an assembling of diffusion coefficients of quasi mono modal porosity materials. For this sake, the impact of pore network arrangement on the diffusion coefficient is studied in great details. This study is divided into three parts:1)Measurement of the geometric characteristics of materials porous network by means of the mercury intrusion porosimetry, water porosimetry, isotherms of nitrogen sorption / desorption, and water desorption tests. 2) Measurement of the materials diffusion coefficient, as a function of their relative humidity storage, and their water saturation degree. 3) Modeling the diffusion coefficient of the materials, and study the impact of the pore network (tortuosity, pores connection). (author) [fr

  9. Application of X-ray CT investigation of CO{sub 2}-brine flow in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Lanlan; Liu, Yu; Song, Yongchen; Yang, Mingjun; Zhao, Yuechao; Zhao, Jiafei; Zhang, Yi; Shen, Zijian [Dalian University of Technology, Key Laboratory of Ocean Energy Utilization and Energy Conservation of Ministry of Education, Dalian (China); Xue, Ziqiu [Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, Kizugawa City, Kyoto (Japan); Suekane, Tetsuya [Tokyo Institute Technology, Department of Energy Sciences, Nagatsuta, Yokohama (Japan)

    2015-05-15

    A clear understanding of two-phase flows in porous media is important for investigating CO{sub 2} geological storage. In this study, we conducted an experiment of CO{sub 2}/brine flow process in porous media under sequestration conditions using X-ray CT technique. The flow properties of relative permeability, porosity heterogeneity, and CO{sub 2} saturation were observed in this experiment. The porous media was packed with glass beads having a diameter of 0.2 mm. The porosity distribution along the flow direction is heterogeneous owing to the diameter and shape of glass beads along the flow direction. There is a relationship between CO{sub 2} saturation and porosity distribution, which changes with different flow rates and fractional flows. The heterogeneity of the porous media influences the distribution of CO{sub 2}; moreover, gravity, fractional flows, and flow rates influence CO{sub 2} distribution and saturation. The relative permeability curve was constructed using the steady-state method. The results agreed well with the relative permeability curve simulated using pore-network model. (orig.)

  10. Humic acid transport in saturated porous media: influence of flow velocity and influent concentration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Xiaorong; Shao, Mingan; Du, Lina; Horton, Robert

    2014-12-01

    Understanding the transport of humic acids (HAs) in porous media can provide important and practical evidence needed for accurate prediction of organic/inorganic contaminant transport in different environmental media and interfaces. A series of column transport experiments was conducted to evaluate the transport of HA in different porous media at different flow velocities and influent HA concentrations. Low flow velocity and influent concentration were found to favor the adsorption and deposition of HA onto sand grains packed into columns and to give higher equilibrium distribution coefficients and deposition rate coefficients, which resulted in an increased fraction of HA being retained in columns. Consequently, retardation factors were increased and the transport of HA through the columns was delayed. These results suggest that the transport of HA in porous media is primarily controlled by the attachment of HA to the solid matrix. Accordingly, this attachment should be considered in studies of HA behavior in porous media. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Stability Analysis and Internal Heating Effect on Oscillatory Convection in a Viscoelastic Fluid Saturated Porous Medium Under Gravity Modulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bhadauria B.S.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate the combined effect of internal heating and time periodic gravity modulation in a viscoelastic fluid saturated porous medium by reducing the problem into a complex non-autonomous Ginzgburg-Landau equation. Weak nonlinear stability analysis has been performed by using power series expansion in terms of the amplitude of gravity modulation, which is assumed to be small. The Nusselt number is obtained in terms of the amplitude for oscillatory mode of convection. The influence of viscoelastic parameters on heat transfer has been discussed. Gravity modulation is found to have a destabilizing effect at low frequencies and a stabilizing effect at high frequencies. Finally, it is found that overstability advances the onset of convection, more with internal heating. The conditions for which the complex Ginzgburg-Landau equation undergoes Hopf bifurcation and the amplitude equation undergoes supercritical pitchfork bifurcation are studied.

  12. Experimental study on distributed optical fiber-based approach monitoring saturation line in levee engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Huaizhi; Li, Hao; Kang, Yeyuan; Wen, Zhiping

    2018-02-01

    Seepage is one of key factors which affect the levee engineering safety. The seepage danger without timely detection and rapid response may likely lead to severe accidents such as seepage failure, slope instability, and even levee break. More than 90 percent of levee break events are caused by the seepage. It is very important for seepage behavior identification to determine accurately saturation line in levee engineering. Furthermore, the location of saturation line has a major impact on slope stability in levee engineering. Considering the structure characteristics and service condition of levee engineering, the distributed optical fiber sensing technology is introduced to implement the real-time observation of saturation line in levee engineering. The distributed optical fiber temperature sensor system (DTS)-based monitoring principle of saturation line in levee engineering is investigated. An experimental platform, which consists of DTS, heating system, water-supply system, auxiliary analysis system and levee model, is designed and constructed. The monitoring experiment of saturation line in levee model is implemented on this platform. According to the experimental results, the numerical relationship between moisture content and thermal conductivity in porous medium is identified. A line heat source-based distributed optical fiber method obtaining the thermal conductivity in porous medium is developed. A DTS-based approach is proposed to monitor the saturation line in levee engineering. The embedment pattern of optical fiber for monitoring saturation line is presented.

  13. Heat Transfer to Pulsatile Slip Flow in a Porous Channel Filled With ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper investigate the effect of slip on the hydromagnetic pulsatile flow through a porous channel filled with saturated porous medium with time dependent boundary condition on the heated wall. Based on the pulsatile flow nature, the dimensionless flow governing equations are resolved to harmonic and non-harmonic ...

  14. Notes on HP1 a software package for simulating variably-saturated water flow, heat transport, solute transport, and biogeochemistry in porous media. HP1 Version 2.2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacques, D.; Simunek, J.

    2010-01-15

    HP1 is a comprehensive modeling tool in terms of processes and reactions for simulating reactive transport and biogeochemical processes in variably-saturated porous media. HP1 results from coupling the water and solute transport model HYDRUS-1D (Simunek et al., 2009a) and PHREEQC-2 (Parkhurst and Appelo, 1999). This note provides an overview of how to set up and execute a HP1 project using version 2.2.002 of HP1 and version 4.13 of the graphical user interface (GUI) of HYDRUS-1D. A large part of this note are step-by-step instructions for selected examples involving mineral dissolution and precipitation, cation exchange, surface complexation and kinetic degradation networks. The implementation of variably-saturated flow conditions, changing boundary conditions, a layered soil profile or immobile water is also illustrated.

  15. Notes on HP1 a software package for simulating variably-saturated water flow, heat transport, solute transport, and biogeochemistry in porous media. HP1 Version 2.2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacques, D.; Simunek, J.

    2010-01-01

    HP1 is a comprehensive modeling tool in terms of processes and reactions for simulating reactive transport and biogeochemical processes in variably-saturated porous media. HP1 results from coupling the water and solute transport model HYDRUS-1D (Simunek et al., 2009a) and PHREEQC-2 (Parkhurst and Appelo, 1999). This note provides an overview of how to set up and execute a HP1 project using version 2.2.002 of HP1 and version 4.13 of the graphical user interface (GUI) of HYDRUS-1D. A large part of this note are step-by-step instructions for selected examples involving mineral dissolution and precipitation, cation exchange, surface complexation and kinetic degradation networks. The implementation of variably-saturated flow conditions, changing boundary conditions, a layered soil profile or immobile water is also illustrated.

  16. Erbium doped stain etched porous silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez-Diaz, B.; Diaz-Herrera, B.; Guerrero-Lemus, R.; Mendez-Ramos, J.; Rodriguez, V.D.; Hernandez-Rodriguez, C.; Martinez-Duart, J.M.

    2008-01-01

    In this work a simple erbium doping process applied to stain etched porous silicon layers (PSLs) is proposed. This doping process has been developed for application in porous silicon solar cells, where conventional erbium doping processes are not affordable because of the high processing cost and technical difficulties. The PSLs were formed by immersion in a HF/HNO 3 solution to properly adjust the porosity and pore thickness to an optimal doping of the porous structure. After the formation of the porous structure, the PSLs were analyzed by means of nitrogen BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) area measurements and scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, the PSLs were immersed in a saturated erbium nitrate solution in order to cover the porous surface. Then, the samples were subjected to a thermal process to activate the Er 3+ ions. Different temperatures and annealing times were used in this process. The photoluminescence of the PSLs was evaluated before and after the doping processes and the composition was analyzed by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy

  17. Acoustic emission in a fluid saturated heterogeneous porous layer with application to hydraulic fracture

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, J.T. (California Univ., Berkeley, CA (USA). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA))

    1988-11-01

    A theoretical model for acoustic emission in a vertically heterogeneous porous layer bounded by semi-infinite solid regions is developed using linearized equations of motion for a fluid/solid mixture and a reflectivity method. Green's functions are derived for both point loads and moments. Numerically integrated propagators represent solutions for intermediate heterogeneous layers in the porous region. These are substituted into a global matrix for solution by Gaussian elimination and back-substitution. Fluid partial stress and seismic responses to dislocations associated with fracturing of a layer of rock with a hydraulically conductive fracture network are computed with the model. A constitutive model is developed for representing the fractured rock layer as a porous material, using commonly accepted relationships for moduli. Derivations of density, tortuosity, and sinuosity are provided. The main results of the model application are the prediction of a substantial fluid partial stress response related to a second mode wave for the porous material. The response is observable for relatively large distances, on the order of several tens of meters. The visco-dynamic transition frequency associated with parabolic versus planar fluid velocity distributions across micro-crack apertures is in the low audio or seismic range, in contrast to materials with small pore size, such as porous rocks, for which the transition frequency is ultrasonic. Seismic responses are predicted for receiver locations both in the layer and in the outlying solid regions. In the porous region, the seismic response includes both shear and dilatational wave arrivals and a second-mode arrival. The second-mode arrival is not observable outside of the layer because of its low velocity relative to the dilatational and shear wave propagation velocities of the solid region.

  18. High-speed scattering of charged and uncharged particles in general relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Westphal, K.

    1985-01-01

    After a brief consideration of the high-speed scattering of two point charges high-speed scattering is thoroughly discussed for a charged particle by a fixed mass and of two uncharged particles of comparable masses. Perturbation technique is used over Minkowski spacetime in the de Donder gauge and the field equations and the resulting equations of motion (which take the reaction of the particles' quasistatic self-field into account) are solved by iteration. The obtained energy-momentum conservation laws allow the computation of second-order corrections for the scattering angle and the cross section. The asymptotic structure of the far-field indicates synchrotron radiation (electromagnetic and gravitational, respectively) which causes an energy loss whose reaction on the motion is briefly considered in the low-velocity limit including bound motion. (For neutral particles this is a third-order effect.) (author)

  19. An Amorphous Network Model for Capillary Flow and Dispersion in a Partially Saturated Porous Medium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmons, C. S.; Rockhold, M. L.

    2013-12-01

    Network models of capillary flow are commonly used to represent conduction of fluids at pore scales. Typically, a flow system is described by a regular geometric lattice of interconnected tubes. Tubes constitute the pore throats, while connection junctions (nodes) are pore bodies. Such conceptualization of the geometry, however, is questionable for the pore scale, where irregularity clearly prevails, although prior published models using a regular lattice have demonstrated successful descriptions of the flow in the bulk medium. Here a network is allowed to be amorphous, and is not subject to any particular lattice structure. Few network flow models have treated partially saturated or even multiphase conditions. The research trend is toward using capillary tubes with triangular or square cross sections that have corners and always retain some fluid by capillarity when drained. In contrast, this model uses only circular capillaries, whose filled state is controlled by a capillary pressure rule for the junctions. The rule determines which capillary participate in the flow under an imposed matric potential gradient during steady flow conditions. Poiseuille's Law and Laplace equation are used to describe flow and water retention in the capillary units of the model. A modified conjugate gradient solution for steady flow that tracks which capillary in an amorphous network contribute to fluid conduction was devised for partially saturated conditions. The model thus retains the features of classical capillary models for determining hydraulic flow properties under unsaturated conditions based on distribution of non-interacting tubes, but now accounts for flow exchange at junctions. Continuity of the flow balance at every junction is solved simultaneously. The effective water retention relationship and unsaturated permeability are evaluated for an extensive enough network to represent a small bulk sample of porous medium. The model is applied for both a hypothetically

  20. Reactive transport modeling in variably saturated porous media with OGS-IPhreeqc

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, W.; Beyer, C.; Fleckenstein, J. H.; Jang, E.; Kalbacher, T.; Shao, H.; Wang, W.; Kolditz, O.

    2014-12-01

    Worldwide, sustainable water resource management becomes an increasingly challenging task due to the growth of population and extensive applications of fertilizer in agriculture. Moreover, climate change causes further stresses to both water quantity and quality. Reactive transport modeling in the coupled soil-aquifer system is a viable approach to assess the impacts of different land use and groundwater exploitation scenarios on the water resources. However, the application of this approach is usually limited in spatial scale and to simplified geochemical systems due to the huge computational expense involved. Such computational expense is not only caused by solving the high non-linearity of the initial boundary value problems of water flow in the unsaturated zone numerically with rather fine spatial and temporal discretization for the correct mass balance and numerical stability, but also by the intensive computational task of quantifying geochemical reactions. In the present study, a flexible and efficient tool for large scale reactive transport modeling in variably saturated porous media and its applications are presented. The open source scientific software OpenGeoSys (OGS) is coupled with the IPhreeqc module of the geochemical solver PHREEQC. The new coupling approach makes full use of advantages from both codes: OGS provides a flexible choice of different numerical approaches for simulation of water flow in the vadose zone such as the pressure-based or mixed forms of Richards equation; whereas the IPhreeqc module leads to a simplification of data storage and its communication with OGS, which greatly facilitates the coupling and code updating. Moreover, a parallelization scheme with MPI (Message Passing Interface) is applied, in which the computational task of water flow and mass transport is partitioned through domain decomposition, whereas the efficient parallelization of geochemical reactions is achieved by smart allocation of computational workload over

  1. Effect of Initial Hydraulic Conditions on Capillary Rise in a Porous Medium: Pore-Network Modeling

    KAUST Repository

    Joekar-Niasar, V.; Hassanizadeh, S. M.

    2012-01-01

    The dynamics of capillary rise in a porous medium have been mostly studied in initially dry systems. As initial saturation and initial hydraulic conditions in many natural and industrial porous media can be variable, it is important to investigate

  2. Thermophysical properties of a fluid-saturated sandstone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abid, Muhammad; Hammerschmidt, Ulf; Koehler, Juergen

    2014-01-01

    Thermophysical properties of a fluid-saturated stone are presented that are obtained by using the transient hot-bridge technique (THB) at ambient conditions. Measurements are succeedingly done each after having filled the porous stone structure first with six different fluids of distinct thermal conductivities and next with six different gases also having different thermal conductivities. Variations in thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and volumetric specific heat due to liquid or gas saturations are discussed. Internal pore structure of the stone is studied by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and other standardized density methods at ambient conditions. Effect of interstitial pore pressure on thermophysical properties are also discussed in the context of Knudsen effect. (authors)

  3. Uzawa smoother in multigrid for the coupleD porous medium and stokes flow system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P. Luo (Peiyao); C. Rodrigo (Carmen); F.J. Gaspar Lorenz (Franscisco); C.W. Oosterlee (Kees)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractThe multigrid solution of coupled porous media and Stokes flow problems is considered. The Darcy equation as the saturated porous medium model is coupled to the Stokes equations by means of appropriate interface conditions. We focus on an efficient multigrid solution technique for the

  4. Heat transfer through natural convection in a porous saturated medium between two vertical cylinders

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hasnaoui, M. [Faculte des Sciences Semlalia, Marrakech (Morocco); Vasseur, P.; Bilgen, E.; Robillard, L. [Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, PQ (Canada)

    1993-12-31

    A numerical and analytical study of two dimensional, laminar and near steady convection in a vertical porous annular region. The mathematical model was established, basing on Darcy-Oberbeck-Boussinesq equations. The analytical resolution is in the limit where the width of the porous layer is small compared to the cylinders height and it is based on the hypothesis of the parallel flow. (Authors). 4 refs., 4 figs.

  5. Unexpected large room-temperature ferromagnetism in porous Cu{sub 2}O thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hou, Xue [College of Physics Science & Information Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Key Laboratory of Advanced Films of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Sun, Huiyuan, E-mail: huiyuansun@126.com [College of Physics Science & Information Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Key Laboratory of Advanced Films of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Liu, Lihu; Jia, Xiaoxuan; Liu, Huiyuan [College of Physics Science & Information Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Key Laboratory of Advanced Films of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China)

    2015-05-15

    Porous Cu{sub 2}O films have been fabricated on porous anodic alumina substrates using DC-reactive magnetron sputtering with pure Cu targets, and unexpectedly large room temperature ferromagnetism has been observed in the films. The maximum saturation magnetic moment along the out-of-plane direction was as high as 94 emu/cm{sup 3}. Photoluminescence spectra show that the ferromagnetism originates with oxygen vacancies. The ferromagnetism could be adjusted by changing the concentration of oxygen vacancies through annealing in an oxygen atmosphere. These observations suggest that the origin of the ferromagnetism is due to coupling between oxygen vacancies with local magnetic moments in the porous Cu{sub 2}O films, which can occur either directly through exchange interactions between oxygen vacancies, or through the mediation of conduction electrons. Such a ferromagnet without the presence of any ferromagnetic dopant may find applications in spintronic devices. - Highlights: • Porous Cu{sub 2}O films were deposited on porous anodic alumina (PAA) substrates. • Significant room-temperature ferromagnetism has been observed in porous Cu{sub 2}O films. • Ferromagnetism of Cu{sub 2}O films exhibited different magnetic signals with the field. • The saturation magnetization is 94 emu/cm{sup 3} with an out-of-plane.

  6. Seismic response analysis of the deep saturated soil deposits in Shanghai

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu; Ye, Weimin; Chen, Zhuchang

    2009-01-01

    The quaternary deposits in Shanghai are horizontal soil layers of thickness up to about 280 m in the urban area with an annual groundwater table between 0.5 and 0.7 m from the surface. The characteristics of deep saturated deposits may have important influences upon seismic response of the ground in Shanghai. Based on the Biot theory for porous media, the water-saturated soil deposits are modeled as a two-phase porous system consisting of solid and fluid phases, in this paper. A nonlinear constitutive model for predicting the seismic response of the ground is developed to describe the dynamic characters of the deep-saturated soil deposits in Shanghai. Subsequently, the seismic response of a typical site with 280 m deep soil layers, which is subjected to four base excitations (El Centro, Taft, Sunan, and Tangshan earthquakes), is analyzed in terms of an effective stress-based finite element method with the proposed constitutive model. Special emphasis is given to the computed results of accelerations, excess pore-water pressures, and settlements during the seismic excitations. It has been found that the analysis can capture fundamental aspects of the ground response and produce preliminary results for seismic assessment.

  7. Two-phase flow in porous media: power-law scaling of effective permeability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Groeva, Morten; Hansen, Alex, E-mail: Morten.Grova@ntnu.no, E-mail: Alex.Hansen@ntnu.no [Department of Physics, NTNU, NO-7491 Trondheim (Norway)

    2011-09-15

    A recent experiment has reported power-law scaling of effective permeability of two-phase flow with respect to capillary number for a two-dimensional model porous medium. In this paper, we consider the simultaneous flow of two phases through a porous medium under steady-state conditions, fixed total flow-rate and saturation, using a two-dimensional network simulator. We obtain power-law exponents for the scaling of effective permeability with respect to capillary number. The simulations are performed both for viscosity matched fluids and for a high viscosity ratio resembling that of air and water. Good power-law behaviour is found for both cases. Different exponents are found, depending on saturation.

  8. Energy dissipation during an explosion in a porous elasto-plastic medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lovetskii, E.E.; Maslennikov, A.M.; Fetisov, V.S.

    1979-01-01

    A study is made of the redistribution of energy from camouflage blasting in a saturated porous medium. The study is undertaken with the aid of a numerical solution to a system of hydrodynamic equations, that account for shear strength of the substance under investigation. A study is made of the energy characteristics of explosion, their dynamic development, the influence of strength parameters of the medium, and porosity on these characteristics. A mechanism that is associated with the impact compression of matter is identified as the basic mechanism of energy dissipation for dry porous media. Water saturation of pores brings the energy characteristics of the explosion close to the explosion in a monolith. 12 references, 5 figures, 1 table.

  9. Transformation of seismic velocity data to extract porosity and saturation values for rocks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, James G.; Berge, Patricia A.; Bonner, Brian P.

    2000-01-01

    For wave propagation at low frequencies in a porous medium, the Gassmann-Domenico relations are well-established for homogeneous partial saturation by a liquid. They provide the correct relations for seismic velocities in terms of constituent bulk and shear moduli, solid and fluid densities, porosity and saturation. It has not been possible, however, to invert these relations easily to determine porosity and saturation when the seismic velocities are known. Also, the state (or distribution) of saturation, i.e., whether or not liquid and gas are homogeneously mixed in the pore space, is another important variable for reservoir evaluation. A reliable ability to determine the state of saturation from velocity data continues to be problematic. It is shown how transforming compressional and shear wave velocity data to the (ρ/λ,μ/λ)-plane (where λ and μ are the Lame parameters and ρ is the total density) results in a set of quasi-orthogonal coordinates for porosity and liquid saturation that greatly aids in the interpretation of seismic data for the physical parameters of most interest. A second transformation of the same data then permits isolation of the liquid saturation value, and also provides some direct information about the state of saturation. By thus replotting the data in the (λ/μ, ρ/μ)-plane, inferences can be made concerning the degree of patchy (inhomogeneous) versus homogeneous saturation that is present in the region of the medium sampled by the data. Our examples include igneous and sedimentary rocks, as well as man-made porous materials. These results have potential applications in various areas of interest, including petroleum exploration and reservoir characterization, geothermal resource evaluation, environmental restoration monitoring, and geotechnical site characterization. (c) 2000 Acoustical Society of America

  10. A cellular automaton simulation of contaminant transport in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freed, D.M.; Simonson, S.A.

    1995-01-01

    A simulation tool to investigate radionuclide transport in porous groundwater flow is described. The flow systems of interest are those important in determining the fate of radionuclides emplaced in an underground repository, such as saturated matrix flow, matrix and fracture flow in the unsaturated zone, and viscous fingering in porous fractures. The work discussed here is confined to consideration of saturated flow in porous media carrying a dilute, sorptive species. The simulation technique is based on a special class of cellular automata known as lattice gas automata (LGA) which are capable of predicting hydrodynamic behavior. The original two-dimensional scheme (that of Frisch et. al. known as the FHP model) used particles of unit mass traveling on a triangular lattice with unit velocity and undergoing simple collisions which conserve mass and momentum at each node. These microscopic rules go over to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in the macroscopic limit. One of the strengths of this technique is the natural way that heterogeneities, such as boundaries, are accommodated. Complex geometries such as those associated with porous microstructures can be modeled effectively. Several constructions based on the FHP model have been devised, including techniques to eliminate statistical noise, extension to three dimensions, and the addition of surface tension which leads to multiphase flow

  11. Effect of flood conditions on the deterioration of porous clay-based brick

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mol, L.; Tomor, A.

    2017-12-01

    Man-made materials represent an increasingly large proportion of geomaterials that are used to build up a rapidly expanding urbanised landscape. The deterioration of such materials is of increasing concern, in particular in light of the projected increase in storm and flood events and their associated high water levels. The effect of prolonged saturation in porous materials, man-made as well as natural, can lead to accelerated deterioration. This can be of particular concern for load-bearing structural materials, for example bridges. In this study, the effect of moisture movement has been investigated for brick masonry, as one of the most commonly used porous building materials. Saturation of brick masonry can be of particular concern for historical masonry, such as masonry arch bridges in conjunction with under increasing levels of long-term traffic loading. While flooding can lead to scour and sudden collapse of bridges, saturation can also lead to accelerated medium and long-term deterioration. A series of small-scale laboratory tests have been carried out on brick masonry to identify the effects of saturation on the material properties and changes in the rate of deterioration. Brick masonry prisms have been loaded to failure under quasi-static and long-term cyclic compression and monitored with the help of acoustic emission technique, accelerometers, linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs), permeametry and brick surface hardness measurements. Under quasi-static loading saturated samples showed significant reduction in the load capacity and increased fracture development. Under fatigue loading the number of cycles to failure reduced significantly for saturated specimens and characteristic changes in material parameters have been related to stages of fatigue deterioration. Test results indicated that increasing flood events can accelerate moisture-related deterioration in porous brick masonry.

  12. Effect of Carreau-Yasuda rheological parameters on subcritical Lapwood convection in horizontal porous cavity saturated by shear-thinning fluid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khechiba, Khaled; Mamou, Mahmoud; Hachemi, Madjid; Delenda, Nassim; Rebhi, Redha

    2017-06-01

    The present study is focused on Lapwood convection in isotropic porous media saturated with non-Newtonian shear thinning fluid. The non-Newtonian rheological behavior of the fluid is modeled using the general viscosity model of Carreau-Yasuda. The convection configuration consists of a shallow porous cavity with a finite aspect ratio and subject to a vertical constant heat flux, whereas the vertical walls are maintained impermeable and adiabatic. An approximate analytical solution is developed on the basis of the parallel flow assumption, and numerical solutions are obtained by solving the full governing equations. The Darcy model with the Boussinesq approximation and energy transport equations are solved numerically using a finite difference method. The results are obtained in terms of the Nusselt number and the flow fields as functions of the governing parameters. A good agreement is obtained between the analytical approximation and the numerical solution of the full governing equations. The effects of the rheological parameters of the Carreau-Yasuda fluid and Rayleigh number on the onset of subcritical convection thresholds are demonstrated. Regardless of the aspect ratio of the enclosure and thermal boundary condition type, the subcritical convective flows are seen to occur below the onset of stationary convection. Correlations are proposed to estimate the subcritical Rayleigh number for the onset of finite amplitude convection as a function of the fluid rheological parameters. Linear stability of the convective motion, predicted by the parallel flow approximation, is studied, and the onset of Hopf bifurcation, from steady convective flow to oscillatory behavior, is found to depend strongly on the rheological parameters. In general, Hopf bifurcation is triggered earlier as the fluid becomes more and more shear-thinning.

  13. Properties of uncharged water-soluble tetra({omega}-methoxypolyethyleneoxy)phthalocyanine free base: Viable switching of the optical response by means of H{sub 3}O{sup +} ions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mineo, Placido [Department of Chemistry, University of Catania and INSTM UdR of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania (Italy); Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici - CNR, Viale Ferdinando Stagno D' Alcontres, 37, 98158 Messina (Italy); Lupo, Fabio; Fragala, Ignazio; Scamporrino, Emilio [Department of Chemistry, University of Catania and INSTM UdR of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania (Italy); Gulino, Antonino, E-mail: agulino@unict.it [Department of Chemistry, University of Catania and INSTM UdR of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania (Italy)

    2012-02-15

    An uncharged water-soluble tetra ({omega}-methoxypolyethyleneoxy)phthalocyanine was characterized by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, UV-vis and luminescence measurements. The polyether substituents render water soluble this uncharged phthalocyanine. Relevant changes are observed in emission measurements upon protonation. The phthalocyanine free base and its protonated forms can be switched alternating H{sub 3}O{sup +} and OH{sup -} ions as inputs, being the intensity of the luminescence spectra the output. Binary codes 1 or 0 can be assigned to the high luminescent phthalocyanine free base state or to the low luminescent protonated state, respectively. The read-out procedure is fast and the system is reversible. In addition, the exploiting of the luminescent properties of the present water soluble phthalocyanine could be of relevance also for biological applications (photosensitizers for the photodynamic therapy). Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer An uncharged water soluble tetra ({omega}-methoxypolyethyleneoxy)phthalocyanine was characterized. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Phthalocyanine protonation changes the luminescence output. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The system can be switched alternating H{sub 3}O{sup +} and OH{sup -} as inputs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The read-out procedure is fast and reversible. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Binary codes are assigned to the high and low luminescent states, respectively.

  14. Multi-level adaptive simulation of transient two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Chueh, C.C.

    2010-10-01

    An implicit pressure and explicit saturation (IMPES) finite element method (FEM) incorporating a multi-level shock-type adaptive refinement technique is presented and applied to investigate transient two-phase flow in porous media. Local adaptive mesh refinement is implemented seamlessly with state-of-the-art artificial diffusion stabilization allowing simulations that achieve both high resolution and high accuracy. Two benchmark problems, modelling a single crack and a random porous medium, are used to demonstrate the robustness of the method and illustrate the capabilities of the adaptive refinement technique in resolving the saturation field and the complex interaction (transport phenomena) between two fluids in heterogeneous media. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Study of numerical schemes for two-phase flow in porous media for any meshes: application to storage of nuclear waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelini, O.

    2010-01-01

    The two-phase flow in porous media is a complex phenomenon and which relate to many industrial problems. EDF works on the feasibility and the safety of a storage in deep geologic layer of nuclear waste. In this domain the simulation of the two-phase flow in porous media is particularly important in at least three domains: first of all during the phase of ventilation of the galleries of the storage which could de-saturate the rock and so modify its properties, but also during the phase of re-saturation of the materials and finally during the arrival of the water on the metal parts contained in the storage which will then involve phenomena of corrosion and a hydrogen release. In this context, EDF wishes to obtain robust numerical methods without restrictive condition on the mesh. This work is dedicated at first to the development of the finite volume scheme SUSHI (Scheme Using Stabilization and Hybrid Interfaces) in the code of mechanics of EDF, Code Aster in order to simulate the two-phase flow in porous media. This scheme was developed in 2D and in 3D. At the same time a new formulation which allows to simulate in a uniform way the flows in saturated and unsaturated porous media for miscible and immiscible problems is proposed. Various studies simulating difficulties related to the problems of the storage of nuclear waste in deep geological layers were study. We can quote the study of a bi-material which advances the capillary re-balancing of a material by an other one possessing properties and initial very heterogeneous conditions in saturation. We will also quote the study of the injection of hydrogen in an porous media initially saturated in pure water which is proposed by the benchmark 'two-phase Flow' proposed by the GNR MOMAS. This study had for objective to bring to light the good treatment of the appearance of a phase in a saturated porous media and thus the relevance of our new formulation to study with a way unified a problem of saturated flow and a

  16. Simulations of cold nuclear matter at sub-saturation densities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giménez Molinelli, P.A., E-mail: pagm@df.uba.ar [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires 1428 (Argentina); Nichols, J.I. [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires 1428 (Argentina); López, J.A. [Department of Physics, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968 (United States); Dorso, C.O. [Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IFIBA, CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires 1428 (Argentina)

    2014-03-01

    Ideal nuclear matter is expected to undergo a first order phase transition at the thermodynamic limit. At such phase transitions the size of density fluctuations (bubbles or droplets) scale with the size of the system. This means that simulations of nuclear matter at sub-saturation densities will inexorably suffer from what is vaguely referred to as “finite size effects”. It is usually thought that these finite size effects can be diminished by imposing periodic boundary conditions and making the system large enough, but as we show in this work, that is actually not the case at sub-saturation densities. In this paper we analyze the equilibrium configurations of molecular dynamics simulations of a classical model for symmetric ideal (uncharged) nuclear matter at sub-saturation densities and low temperatures, where phase coexistence is expected at the thermodynamic limit. We show that the most stable configurations in this density range are almost completely determined by artificial aspects of the simulations (i.e. boundary conditions) and can be predicted analytically by surface minimization. This result is very general and is shown to hold true for several well known semi-classical models of nuclear interaction and even for a simple Lennard-Jones potential. Also, in the limit of very large systems, when “small size” effects can be neglected, those equilibrium configurations seem to be restricted to a few structures reminiscent to the “Pasta Phases” expected in Neutron Star matter, but arising from a completely different origin: In Neutron Star matter, the non-homogeneous structures arise from a competition between nuclear and Coulomb interactions while for ideal nuclear matter they emerge from finite (yet not “small”) size effects. The role of periodic boundary conditions and finite size effects in Neutron Star matter simulations are reexamined.

  17. Transport and Retention of Carboxymethylcellulose-Modified Carbon Nanotube-Magnetite Nanohybrids in Water-Saturated Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, D.; Su, C.

    2017-12-01

    Carbon-metal oxide nanohybrids (NHs) are increasingly recognized as the next-generation, promising group of nanomaterials for solving emerging environmental issues and challenges. This research, for the first time, systematically explored the transport and retention of the multifunctional carbon nanotube-magnetite (CNT-Fe3O4) NHs in water-saturated porous media under environmentally relevant physicochemical conditions. An environment-benign macromolecule, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), was employed to stabilize the NHs. Classical Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory and colloid transport model were used to describe the transport and retention of the NHs. Our results showed that transport of the magnetic CNT-Fe3O4 NHs was lower than that of the parent CNT due to greater aggregation (induced by magnetic attraction) during transport. The DLVO theory well-interpreted the NHs' transport; and secondary minimum played dominant roles in NHs' retention. A novel transport feature, an initial low and following sharp peaks occurred frequently in the NHs' breakthrough curves; and the magnitude and location of both transport peaks varied with different experimental conditions due to the interplay between variability of the fluid viscosity and aggregation-dispersion nature of the NHs. Very promisingly, the estimated maximum transport distance of NHs using the Tufenkji-Elimelech equation ranged between 0.38-46 m, supporting the feasibility of employing the magnetically recyclable CNT-Fe3O4 NHs for in-situ nanoremediation of contaminated soils, sediment aquifers, and groundwater.

  18. Nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of the stationary dynamics of partially saturated media during steady-state infiltration flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rassi, Erik M.; Codd, Sarah L.; Seymour, Joseph D.

    2011-01-01

    Flow in porous media and the resultant hydrodynamics are important in fields including but not limited to the hydrology, chemical, medical and petroleum industries. The observation and understanding of the hydrodynamics in porous media are critical to the design and optimal utilization of porous media, such as those seen in trickle-bed reactors, medical filters, subsurface flows and carbon sequestration. Magnetic resonance (MR) provides for a non-invasive technique that can probe the hydrodynamics on pore and bulk scale lengths; many previous works have characterized fully saturated porous media, while rapid MR imaging (MRI) methods in particular have previously been applied to partially saturated flows. We present time- and ensemble-averaged MR measurements to observe the effects on a bead pack partially saturated with air under flowing water conditions. The 10 mm internal diameter bead pack was filled with 100 μm borosilicate glass beads. Air was injected into the bead pack as water flowed simultaneously through the sample at 25 ml h-1. The initial partially saturated state was characterized with MRI density maps, free induction decay (FID) experiments, propagators and velocity maps before the water flow rate was increased incrementally from 25 to 500 ml h-1. After the maximum flow rate of 500 ml h-1, the MRI density maps, FID experiments, propagators and velocity maps were repeated and compared to the data taken before the maximum flow rate. This work shows that a partially saturated single-phase flow has global flow dynamics that return to characteristic flow statistics once a steady-state high flow rate has been reached. This high flow rate pushed out a significant amount of the air in the bead pack and caused the return of a preferential flow pattern. Velocity maps indicated that local flow statistics were not the same for the before and after blow out conditions. It has been suggested and shown previously that a flow pattern can return to

  19. Nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of the stationary dynamics of partially saturated media during steady-state infiltration flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rassi, Erik M; Codd, Sarah L; Seymour, Joseph D

    2011-01-01

    Flow in porous media and the resultant hydrodynamics are important in fields including but not limited to the hydrology, chemical, medical and petroleum industries. The observation and understanding of the hydrodynamics in porous media are critical to the design and optimal utilization of porous media, such as those seen in trickle-bed reactors, medical filters, subsurface flows and carbon sequestration. Magnetic resonance (MR) provides for a non-invasive technique that can probe the hydrodynamics on pore and bulk scale lengths; many previous works have characterized fully saturated porous media, while rapid MR imaging (MRI) methods in particular have previously been applied to partially saturated flows. We present time- and ensemble-averaged MR measurements to observe the effects on a bead pack partially saturated with air under flowing water conditions. The 10 mm internal diameter bead pack was filled with 100 μm borosilicate glass beads. Air was injected into the bead pack as water flowed simultaneously through the sample at 25 ml h -1 . The initial partially saturated state was characterized with MRI density maps, free induction decay (FID) experiments, propagators and velocity maps before the water flow rate was increased incrementally from 25 to 500 ml h -1 . After the maximum flow rate of 500 ml h -1 , the MRI density maps, FID experiments, propagators and velocity maps were repeated and compared to the data taken before the maximum flow rate. This work shows that a partially saturated single-phase flow has global flow dynamics that return to characteristic flow statistics once a steady-state high flow rate has been reached. This high flow rate pushed out a significant amount of the air in the bead pack and caused the return of a preferential flow pattern. Velocity maps indicated that local flow statistics were not the same for the before and after blow out conditions. It has been suggested and shown previously that a flow pattern can return to similar

  20. Micro-poromechanics model of fluid-saturated chemically active fibrous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Anil; Parthasarathy, Ranganathan; Singh, Viraj; Spencer, Paulette

    2015-02-01

    We have developed a micromechanics based model for chemically active saturated fibrous media that incorporates fiber network microstructure, chemical potential driven fluid flow, and micro-poromechanics. The stress-strain relationship of the dry fibrous media is first obtained by considering the fiber behavior. The constitutive relationships applicable to saturated media are then derived in the poromechanics framework using Hill's volume averaging. The advantage of this approach is that the resultant continuum model accounts for the discrete nature of the individual fibers while retaining a form suitable for porous materials. As a result, the model is able to predict the influence of micro-scale phenomena, such as the fiber pre-strain caused by osmotic effects and evolution of fiber network structure with loading, on the overall behavior and in particular, on the poromechanics parameters. Additionally, the model can describe fluid-flow related rate-dependent behavior under confined and unconfined conditions and varying chemical environments. The significance of the approach is demonstrated by simulating unconfined drained monotonic uniaxial compression under different surrounding fluid bath molarity, and fluid-flow related creep and relaxation at different loading-levels and different surrounding fluid bath molarity. The model predictions conform to the experimental observations for saturated soft fibrous materials. The method can potentially be extended to other porous materials such as bone, clays, foams and concrete.

  1. Natural convection in square cavity filled with ferrofluid saturated porous medium in the presence of uniform magnetic field

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Javed, Tariq [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, FBAS, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Mehmood, Z., E-mail: rajaziafat@yahoo.com [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, FBAS, International Islamic University, Islamabad 44000 (Pakistan); Abbas, Z. [Department of Mathematics, The Islamia University, Bahawalpur (Pakistan)

    2017-02-01

    This article contains numerical results for free convection through square enclosure enclosing ferrofluid saturated porous medium when uniform magnetic field is applied upon the flow along x-axis. Heat is provided through bottom wall and a square blockage placed near left or right bottom corner of enclosure as a heat source. Left and right vertical boundaries of the cavity are considered insulated while upper wall is taken cold. The problem is modelled in terms of system of nonlinear partial differential equations. Finite element method has been adopted to compute numerical simulations of mathematical problem for wide range of pertinent flow parameters including Rayleigh number, Hartman number, Darcy number and Prandtl number. Analysis of results reveals that the strength of streamline circulation is an increasing function of Darcy and Prandtl number where convection heat transfer is dominant for large values of these parameters whereas increase in Hartman number has opposite effects on isotherms and streamline circulations. Thermal conductivity and hence local heat transfer rate of fluid gets increased when ferroparticles are introduced in the fluid. Average Nusselt number increases with increase in Darcy and Rayleigh numbers while it is decreases when Hartman number is increased.

  2. Natural convection in square cavity filled with ferrofluid saturated porous medium in the presence of uniform magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, Tariq; Mehmood, Z.; Abbas, Z.

    2017-01-01

    This article contains numerical results for free convection through square enclosure enclosing ferrofluid saturated porous medium when uniform magnetic field is applied upon the flow along x-axis. Heat is provided through bottom wall and a square blockage placed near left or right bottom corner of enclosure as a heat source. Left and right vertical boundaries of the cavity are considered insulated while upper wall is taken cold. The problem is modelled in terms of system of nonlinear partial differential equations. Finite element method has been adopted to compute numerical simulations of mathematical problem for wide range of pertinent flow parameters including Rayleigh number, Hartman number, Darcy number and Prandtl number. Analysis of results reveals that the strength of streamline circulation is an increasing function of Darcy and Prandtl number where convection heat transfer is dominant for large values of these parameters whereas increase in Hartman number has opposite effects on isotherms and streamline circulations. Thermal conductivity and hence local heat transfer rate of fluid gets increased when ferroparticles are introduced in the fluid. Average Nusselt number increases with increase in Darcy and Rayleigh numbers while it is decreases when Hartman number is increased.

  3. Comparison of Experimental and Numerical Two-Phase Flows in a Porous Micro-Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dustin Crandall

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Characterizing two-phase flow in porous media is important to provide estimates of sweep efficiency in enhanced oil recovery and storage estimates in potential geological CO2 sequestration repositories. To further the current understanding of two-phase flow in porous media a micro-model of interconnected channels was designed and fabricated using stereolithography to experimentally study gas-liquid flows. This flowcell was created with a wide variability of throat dimensions to represent naturally occurring porous media. Low flow rate experiments of immiscible two-phase drainage were performed within this cell. Additionally, a computational model for analyzing two-phase flows in the same flowcell was developed and used to simulate conditions not possible with our laboratory settings. The computational model was first tested for the identical conditions used in the experimental studies, and was shown to be in good agreement with the experimentally determined fractal dimension of the invading gas structure, time until breakthrough, and fluid saturation. The numerical model was then used to study two-phase air-water flows in flowcells with the same geometry and different gas-liquid-solid contact angles. The percent saturation of air and the motion of the fluids through the cell were found to vary with changes in these parameters. Finally, to simulate flows expected during geologic carbon sequestration, the fluid properties and interface conditions were set to model the flow of CO2 into a brine-saturated porous medium at representative subsurface conditions. The CO2 flows were shown to have larger gas saturations than the previous air into water studies. Thus the accuracy of the computational model was supported by the flowcell experiments, and the computational model extended the laboratory results to conditions not possible with the apparatus used in the experiments.

  4. Boiling phenomenon and heat transfer in bead-packed porous structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xiaojie; ZHu Yanlei; Bai Bofeng; Yan Xiao; Xiao Zejun

    2009-01-01

    A visual study on pool boiling behavior and phase distribution was conducted on the porous structures made of staggered glass beads at atmospheric pressure. The bead-packed structure was heated on the bottom. The investigations were carried out respectively at different glass bead diameters which were 4 mm, 6 mm and 8 mm. The results show that during subcooled boiling, small isolated bubbles are formed on the heated surface and combine into main-bubbles, the dispersion frequency of the main-bubbles is low and the small bubbles scatter in the bead-packed porous structures. At the initial stage of saturated boiling, the bubble growth rate, the volume of main-bubbles and the range of continuous vapor phase increase. The dispersion frequency of main-bubbles increases with the increasing of heat flux. During film boiling, the heated surface is absolutely covered with vapor film and the porous structure is full of liquid. The larger the diameter of beads is, the higher heat flux is needed for the same phenomenon, and the higher maximum value of heat transfer coefficient will be. During the whole saturated boiling, and the heat transfer enhanced firstly and then weakened. Being opposite to that of the diameters of 4 mm and 8 mm, the heat transfer coefficient in the 6 mm-bead-packed porous structure decreases with the increasing of the heat flux. (authors)

  5. Effects of pH on nano-bubble stability and transport in saturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamamoto, Shoichiro; Takemura, Takato; Suzuki, Kenichiro; Nishimura, Taku

    2018-01-01

    An understanding of nano-scale bubble (NB) transport in porous media is important for potential application of NBs in soil/groundwater remediation. It is expected that the solution chemistry of NB water highly influences the surface characteristics of NBs and porous media and the interaction between them, thus affecting the stability and transport characteristics of NB. In this study, in addition to stability experiments, one-dimensional column transport experiments using glass beads were conducted to investigate the effects of pH on the NB transport behavior. The results showed that the NBs were more stable under higher pH. Column transport experiments revealed that entrapment of NBs, especially larger ones, was enhanced in lower-pH water, likely suggesting pH-dependent NB attachment and physical straining, both of which are also probably influenced by bubble size. Although relatively smaller NBs were released after switching the eluting fluid to one with lower ionic strength, most of the NBs in lower-pH water were still retained in the porous media even altering the chemical condition.

  6. Influence of Biochar on Deposition and Release of Clay Colloids in Saturated Porous Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haque, Muhammad Emdadul; Shen, Chongyang; Li, Tiantian; Chu, Haoxue; Wang, Hong; Li, Zhen; Huang, Yuanfang

    2017-11-01

    Although the potential application of biochar in soil remediation has been recognized, the effect of biochar on the transport of clay colloids, and accordingly the fate of colloid-associated contaminants, is unclear to date. This study conducted saturated column experiments to systematically examine transport of clay colloids in biochar-amended sand porous media in different electrolytes at different ionic strengths. The obtained breakthrough curves were simulated by the convection-diffusion equation, which included a first-order deposition and release terms. The deposition mechanisms were interpreted by calculating Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek interaction energies. A linear relationship between the simulated deposition rate or the attachment efficiency and the fraction of biochar was observed ( ≥ 0.91), indicating more favorable deposition in biochar than in sand. The interaction energy calculations show that the greater deposition in biochar occurs because the half-tube-like cavities on the biochar surfaces favor deposition in secondary minima and the nanoscale physical and chemical heterogeneities on the biochar surfaces increase deposition in primary minima. The deposited clay colloids in NaCl can be released by reduction of ionic strength, whereas the presence of a bivalent cation (Ca) results in irreversible deposition due to the formation of cation bridging between the colloids and biochar surfaces. The deposition and release of clay colloids on or from biochar surfaces not only change their mobilizations in the soil but also influence the efficiency of the biochar for removal of pollutants. Therefore, the influence of biochar on clay colloid transport must be considered before application of the biochar in soil remediation. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

  7. Pollutant transport in clayey sands: reactive flows in saturated porous media and unsaturated flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cadalen, Sebastien

    2008-01-01

    In the context of nuclear risk control associated to nuclear waste storage, the french nuclear agency plays an increasing role in terms of research and development in the area of subsurface contamination. This study focuses on an homogeneous porous media constituted of Fontainebleau sand and clay grains (illite) presenting sorption capacities. The modeling of the complex geometry and physical phenomena at different scales enables us to describe the average transport at Darcy's scale. The two main axes developed are the impact of an heterogeneous sorption on transport phenomena and the dispersivity of an unsaturated porous media. (author) [fr

  8. Polarisations of quasi-waves in a general anisotropic porous solid ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    in fluid-saturated porous media was developed by. Biot (1956). ... anisotropic permeability controlling the flow of vis- cous fluid in its pores. ..... solid: III reflection of plane waves at a free plane boundary (general case); Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 52.

  9. Biogenic Cracks in Porous Rock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemmerle, A.; Hartung, J.; Hallatschek, O.; Goehring, L.; Herminghaus, S.

    2014-12-01

    Microorganisms growing on and inside porous rock may fracture it by various processes. Some of the mechanisms of biofouling and bioweathering are today identified and partially understood but most emphasis is on chemical weathering, while mechanical contributions have been neglected. However, as demonstrated by the perseverance of a seed germinating and cracking up a concrete block, the turgor pressure of living organisms can be very significant. Here, we present results of a systematic study of the effects of the mechanical forces of growing microbial populations on the weathering of porous media. We designed a model porous medium made of glass beads held together by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a curable polymer. The rheological properties of the porous medium, whose shape and size are tunable, can be controlled by the ratio of crosslinker to base used in the PDMS (see Fig. 1). Glass and PDMS being inert to most chemicals, we are able to focus on the mechanical processes of biodeterioration, excluding any chemical weathering. Inspired by recent measurements of the high pressure (~0.5 Mpa) exerted by a growing population of yeasts trapped in a microfluidic device, we show that yeast cells can be cultured homogeneously within porous medium until saturation of the porous space. We investigate then the effects of such an inner pressure on the mechanical properties of the sample. Using the same model system, we study also the complex interplay between biofilms and porous media. We focus in particular on the effects of pore size on the penetration of the biofilm within the porous sample, and on the resulting deformations of the matrix, opening new perspectives into the understanding of life in complex geometry. Figure 1. Left : cell culture growing in a model porous medium. The white spheres represent the grains, bonds are displayed in grey, and microbes in green. Right: microscopy picture of glass beads linked by PDMS bridges, scale bar: 100 μm.

  10. Impact of small-scale saline tracer heterogeneity on electrical resistivity monitoring in fully and partially saturated porous media: Insights from geoelectrical milli-fluidic experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jougnot, Damien; Jiménez-Martínez, Joaquín; Legendre, Raphaël; Le Borgne, Tanguy; Méheust, Yves; Linde, Niklas

    2018-03-01

    Time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a geophysical method widely used to remotely monitor the migration of electrically-conductive tracers and contaminant plumes in the subsurface. Interpretations of time-lapse ERT inversion results are generally based on the assumption of a homogeneous solute concentration below the resolution limits of the tomogram depicting inferred electrical conductivity variations. We suggest that ignoring small-scale solute concentration variability (i.e., at the sub-resolution scale) is a major reason for the often-observed apparent loss of solute mass in ERT tracer studies. To demonstrate this, we developed a geoelectrical milli-fluidic setup where the bulk electric conductivity of a 2D analogous porous medium, consisting of cylindrical grains positioned randomly inside a Hele-Shaw cell, is monitored continuously in time while saline tracer tests are performed through the medium under fully and partially saturated conditions. High resolution images of the porous medium are recorded with a camera at regular time intervals, and provide both the spatial distribution of the fluid phases (aqueous solution and air), and the saline solute concentration field (where the solute consists of a mixture of salt and fluorescein, the latter being used as a proxy for the salt concentration). Effective bulk electrical conductivities computed numerically from the measured solute concentration field and the spatial distributions of fluid phases agree well with the measured bulk conductivities. We find that the effective bulk electrical conductivity is highly influenced by the connectivity of high electrical conductivity regions. The spatial distribution of air, saline tracer fingering, and mixing phenomena drive temporal changes in the effective bulk electrical conductivity by creating preferential paths or barriers for electrical current at the pore-scale. The resulting heterogeneities in the solute concentrations lead to strong anisotropy

  11. The effect of a microscale fracture on dynamic capillary pressure of two-phase flow in porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Mingming; Lu, Shuangfang; Zhan, Hongbin; Wenqjie, Guo; Ma, Huifang

    2018-03-01

    Dynamic capillary pressure (DCP) effects, which is vital for predicting multiphase flow behavior in porous media, refers to the injection rate dependence capillary pressure observed during non-equilibrium displacement experiments. However, a clear picture of the effects of microscale fractures on DCP remains elusive. This study quantified the effects of microscale fractures on DCP and simulated pore-scale force and saturation change in fractured porous media using the multiphase lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). Eighteen simulation cases were carried out to calculate DCP as a function of wetting phase saturation. The effects of viscosity ratio and fracture orientation, aperture and length on DCP and DCP coefficient τ were investigated, where τ refers to the ratio of the difference of DCP and static capillary pressure (SCP) over the rate of wetting-phase saturation change versus time. Significant differences in τ values were observed between unfractured and fractured porous media. The τ values of fractured porous media were 1.1  × 104 Pa ms to 5.68 × 105 Pa ms, which were one or two orders of magnitude lower than those of unfractured porous media with a value of 4 × 106 Pa. ms. A horizontal fracture had greater effects on DCP and τ than a vertical fracture, given the same fracture aperture and length. This study suggested that a microscale fracture might result in large magnitude changes in DCP for two-phase flow.

  12. Prediction of the saturated hydraulic conductivity from Brooks and Corey’s water retention parameters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nasta, P.; Vrugt, J.A.; Romano, N.

    2013-01-01

    Prediction of flow through variably saturated porous media requires accurate knowledge of the soil hydraulic properties, namely the water retention function (WRF) and the hydraulic conductivity function (HCF). Unfortunately, direct measurement of the HCF is time consuming and expensive. In this

  13. The unsaturated flow in porous media with dynamic capillary pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milišić, Josipa-Pina

    2018-05-01

    In this paper we consider a degenerate pseudoparabolic equation for the wetting saturation of an unsaturated two-phase flow in porous media with dynamic capillary pressure-saturation relationship where the relaxation parameter depends on the saturation. Following the approach given in [13] the existence of a weak solution is proved using Galerkin approximation and regularization techniques. A priori estimates needed for passing to the limit when the regularization parameter goes to zero are obtained by using appropriate test-functions, motivated by the fact that considered PDE allows a natural generalization of the classical Kullback entropy. Finally, a special care was given in obtaining an estimate of the mixed-derivative term by combining the information from the capillary pressure with the obtained a priori estimates on the saturation.

  14. Organic Dye Effects on DNAPL Entry Pressure in Water Saturated Porous Media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iversen, G.M.

    2001-01-01

    One of three diazo dyes with the same fundamental structure have been used in most studies of DNAPL behavior in porous media to stain the NAPL: Sudan III, Sudan IV, or Oil-Red-O. The dyes are generally implicitly assumed to not influence DNAPL behavior. That assumption was tested using simple entry pressure experiments

  15. Saturated Zone Colloid-Facilitated Transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolfsberg, A.; Reimus, P.

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of the Saturated Zone Colloid-Facilitated Transport Analysis and Modeling Report (AMR), as outlined in its Work Direction and Planning Document (CRWMS MandO 1999a), is to provide retardation factors for colloids with irreversibly-attached radionuclides, such as plutonium, in the saturated zone (SZ) between their point of entrance from the unsaturated zone (UZ) and downgradient compliance points. Although it is not exclusive to any particular radionuclide release scenario, this AMR especially addresses those scenarios pertaining to evidence from waste degradation experiments, which indicate that plutonium and perhaps other radionuclides may be irreversibly attached to colloids. This report establishes the requirements and elements of the design of a methodology for calculating colloid transport in the saturated zone at Yucca Mountain. In previous Total Systems Performance Assessment (TSPA) analyses, radionuclide-bearing colloids were assumed to be unretarded in their migration. Field experiments in fractured tuff at Yucca Mountain and in porous media at other sites indicate that colloids may, in fact, experience retardation relative to the mean pore-water velocity, suggesting that contaminants associated with colloids should also experience some retardation. Therefore, this analysis incorporates field data where available and a theoretical framework when site-specific data are not available for estimating plausible ranges of retardation factors in both saturated fractured tuff and saturated alluvium. The distribution of retardation factors for tuff and alluvium are developed in a form consistent with the Performance Assessment (PA) analysis framework for simulating radionuclide transport in the saturated zone. To improve on the work performed so far for the saturated-zone flow and transport modeling, concerted effort has been made in quantifying colloid retardation factors in both fractured tuff and alluvium. The fractured tuff analysis used recent data

  16. Application of the finite volume method in the simulation of saturated flows of binary mixtures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murad, M.A.; Gama, R.M.S. da; Sampaio, R.

    1989-12-01

    This work presents the simulation of saturated flows of an incompressible Newtonian fluid through a rigid, homogeneous and isotropic porous medium. The employed mathematical model is derived from the Continuum Theory of Mixtures and generalizes the classical one which is based on Darcy's Law form of the momentum equation. In this approach fluid and porous matrix are regarded as continuous constituents of a binary mixture. The finite volume method is employed in the simulation. (author) [pt

  17. Boundary Layer Flows in Porous Media with Lateral Mass Flux

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nemati, H; H, Bararnia; Noori, F

    2015-01-01

    Solutions for free convection boundary layers on a heated vertical plate with lateral mass flux embedded in a saturated porous medium are presented using the Homotopy Analysis Method and Shooting Numerical Method. Homotopy Analysis Method yields an analytic solution in the form of a rapidly...

  18. An experimental study of dielectric dispersion in porous media and its dependence on pore geometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haslund, E.

    1996-12-31

    Understanding water saturated composite media are important in the study of oil reservoirs. This doctoral thesis discusses measurements of the frequency dependent permittivity and conductivity of water saturated porous glass specimens. The experiments are designed to investigate the dispersion resulting from the geometrical properties of the pore space. Measurements are presented of the effective complex dielectric constant of water saturated porous glass specimens for frequencies below 13 MHz. The specimens are made from sintered glass spheres, and in some specimens thin plates are mixed in with the spheres. Low-conductivity water is used to saturate the pore space in order to scale the frequency range of the Maxwell-Wagner dispersion into the measurement range. The experiments are compared with two different effective medium approaches. One approach is the Mendelson and Cohen theory with randomly oriented spheroidal grains in addition to spherical grains, the other the Local porosity theory due to Hilfer. Both theories were found to be in good agreement with the experimental observations. 175 refs., 59 figs., 1 table

  19. Study on Two-Phase Flow in Heterogeneous Porous Media by Light Transmission Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiao, W.

    2015-12-01

    The non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) released to the subsurface can form residual ganglia and globules occupying pores and also accumulate and form pools, in which multiphase system forms. Determining transient fluid saturations in a multiphase system is essential to understand the flow characteristics of systems and to perform effective remediation strategies. As a non-destructive and non-invasive laboratory technique utilized for the measurement of liquid saturation in porous media, light transmission is of the lowest cost and safe. Utilization of Coupled Charge Device camera in light transmission systems provides a nearly instantaneous high-density array of spatial measurements over a very large dynamic range. The migration of NAPL and air spariging technique applied to remove NAPL in aquifer systems are typically two-phase flow problem. Because of the natural aquifer normally being heterogeneous, two 2-D sandboxes (Length55cm×width1.3cm×hight45cm) are set up to study the migration of gas and DNAPL in heterogeneous porous media based on light transmission method and its application in two-phase flow. Model D for water/gas system developed by Niemet and Selker (2001) and Model NW-A for water/NAPL system developed by Zhang et al. (2014) are applied for the calculation of fluid saturation in the two experiments, respectively. The gas injection experiments show that the gas moves upward in the irregular channels, piling up beneath the low permeability lenses and starting lateral movement. Bypassing the lenses, the gas moves upward and forms continuous distribution in the top of the sandbox. The faster of gas injects, the wider of gas migration will be. The DNAPL infiltration experiment shows that TCE mainly moves downward as the influence of gravity, stopping vertical infiltration when reaching the low permeability lenses because of its failure to overcome the capillary pressure. Then, TCE accumulates on the surface and starts transverse movement. Bypassing the

  20. Optical properties of erbium-doped porous silicon waveguides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Najar, A. [Laboratoire d' Optronique UMR 6082-FOTON, Universite de Rennes 1, 6 rue de Kerampont, B P. 80518, 22305 Lannion Cedex (France); Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Raman, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, 2092 ElManar, Tunis (Tunisia); Charrier, J. [Laboratoire d' Optronique UMR 6082-FOTON, Universite de Rennes 1, 6 rue de Kerampont, B P. 80518, 22305 Lannion Cedex (France)]. E-mail: joel.charier@univ-rennes1.fr; Ajlani, H. [Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Raman, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, 2092 ElManar, Tunis (Tunisia); Lorrain, N. [Laboratoire d' Optronique UMR 6082-FOTON, Universite de Rennes 1, 6 rue de Kerampont, B P. 80518, 22305 Lannion Cedex (France); Elhouichet, H. [Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Raman, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, 2092 ElManar, Tunis (Tunisia); Oueslati, M. [Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Raman, Faculte des Sciences de Tunis, 2092 ElManar, Tunis (Tunisia); Haji, L. [Laboratoire d' Optronique UMR 6082-FOTON, Universite de Rennes 1, 6 rue de Kerampont, B P. 80518, 22305 Lannion Cedex (France)

    2006-12-15

    Planar and buried channel porous silicon waveguides (WG) were prepared from p{sup +}-type silicon substrate by a two-step anodization process. Erbium ions were incorporated into pores of the porous silicon layers by an electrochemical method using ErCl{sub 3}-saturated solution. Erbium concentration of around 10{sup 20} at/cm{sup 3} was determined by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis performed on SEM cross-section. The luminescence properties of erbium ions in the IR range were determined and a luminescence time decay of 420 {mu}s was measured. Optical losses were studied on these WG. The increased losses after doping were discussed.

  1. Structural properties of water around uncharged and charged carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dezfoli, Amir Reza Ansari; Mehrabian, Mozaffar Ali; Rafsanjani, Hassan Hashemipour

    2013-01-01

    Studying the structural properties of water molecules around the carbon nanotubes is very important in a wide variety of carbon nanotubes applications. We studied the number of hydrogen bonds, oxygen and hydrogen density distributions, and water orientation around carbon nanotubes. The water density distribution for all carbon nanotubes was observed to have the same feature. In water-carbon nanotubes interface, a high-density region of water molecules exists around carbon nanotubes. The results reveal that the water orientation around carbon nanotubes is roughly dependent on carbon nanotubes surface charge. The water molecules in close distances to carbon nanotubes were found to make an HOH plane nearly perpendicular to the water-carbon nanotubes interface for carbon nanotubes with negative surface charge. For uncharged carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotubes with positive surface charge, the HOH plane was in tangential orientation with water-carbon nanotubes interface. There was also a significant reduction in hydrogen bond of water region around carbon nanotubes as compared with hydrogen bond in bulk water. This reduction was very obvious for carbon nanotubes with positive surface charge. In addition, the calculation of dynamic properties of water molecules in water-CNT interface revealed that there is a direct relation between the number of Hbonds and self-diffusion coefficient of water molecules

  2. Analytical and numerical stability analysis of Soret-driven convection in a horizontal porous layer: the effect of conducting bounding plates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ouattara, B; Khouzam, A; Mojtabi, A [Universite de Toulouse (France); INPT, UPS (France); IMFT (Institut de Mecanique des Fluides de Toulouse), Allee Camille Soula, F-31400 Toulouse (France); Charrier-Mojtabi, M C, E-mail: bouattar@imft.fr, E-mail: akhouzam@imft.fr, E-mail: mojtabi@imft.fr, E-mail: cmojtabi@cict.fr [PHASE, EA 810, UFR PCA, Universite Paul Sabatier, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex (France)

    2012-06-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of conducting boundaries on the onset of convection in a binary fluid-saturated porous layer. The isotropic saturated porous layer is bounded by two impermeable but thermally conducting plates, subjected to a constant heat flux. These plates have identical conductivity. Moreover, the conductivity of the plates is generally different from the porous layer conductivity. The overall layer is of large extent in both horizontal directions. The problem is governed by seven dimensionless parameters, namely the normalized porosity of the medium {epsilon}, the ratio of plates over the porous layer thickness {delta} and their relative thermal conductivities ratio d, the separation ratio {delta}, the Lewis number Le and thermal Rayleigh number Ra. In this work, an analytical and numerical stability analysis is performed. The equilibrium solution is found to lose its stability via a stationary bifurcation or a Hopf bifurcation depending on the values of the dimensionless parameters. For the long-wavelength mode, the critical Rayleigh number is obtained as Ra{sub cs}=12(1+2d{delta} )/[1+{psi} (2d{delta}Le+Le+1)] and k{sub cs}=0 for {psi}> {psi} {sub uni}> 0. This work extends an earlier paper by Mojtabi and Rees (2011 Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 54 293-301) who considered a configuration where the porous layer is saturated by a pure fluid.

  3. Generation of dense plume fingers in saturated-unsaturated homogeneous porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremer, Clemens J. M.; Graf, Thomas

    2015-02-01

    Flow under variable-density conditions is widespread, occurring in geothermal reservoirs, at waste disposal sites or due to saltwater intrusion. The migration of dense plumes typically results in the formation of vertical plume fingers which are known to be triggered by material heterogeneity or by variations in source concentration that causes the density variation. Using a numerical groundwater model, six perturbation methods are tested under saturated and unsaturated flow conditions to mimic heterogeneity and concentration variations on the pore scale in order to realistically generate dense fingers. A laboratory-scale sand tank experiment is numerically simulated, and the perturbation methods are evaluated by comparing plume fingers obtained from the laboratory experiment with numerically simulated fingers. Dense plume fingering for saturated flow can best be reproduced with a spatially random, time-constant perturbation of the solute source. For unsaturated flow, a spatially and temporally random noise of solute concentration or a random conductivity field adequately simulate plume fingering.

  4. Electrokinetic coupling in unsaturated porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Revil, A.; Linde, N.; Cerepi, A.; Jougnot, D.; Matthai, S.; Finsterle, S.

    2007-02-27

    We consider a charged porous material that is saturated bytwo fluid phases that are immiscible and continuous on the scale of arepresentative elementary volume. The wetting phase for the grains iswater and the nonwetting phase is assumed to be an electricallyinsulating viscous fluid. We use a volume-averaging approach to derivethe linear constitutive equations for the electrical current density aswell as the seepage velocities of the wetting and nonwetting phases onthe scale of a representative elementary volume. These macroscopicconstitutive equations are obtained by volume-averaging Ampere's lawtogether with the Nernst Planck equation and the Stokes equations. Thematerial properties entering the macroscopic constitutive equations areexplicitly described as functions of the saturation of the water phase,the electrical formation factor, and parameters that describe thecapillary pressure function, the relative permeability function, and thevariation of electrical conductivity with saturation. New equations arederived for the streaming potential and electro-osmosis couplingcoefficients. A primary drainage and imbibition experiment is simulatednumerically to demonstrate that the relative streaming potential couplingcoefficient depends not only on the water saturation, but also on thematerial properties of the sample, as well as the saturation history. Wealso compare the predicted streaming potential coupling coefficients withexperimental data from four dolomite core samples. Measurements on thesesamples include electrical conductivity, capillary pressure, thestreaming potential coupling coefficient at various level of saturation,and the permeability at saturation of the rock samples. We found verygood agreement between these experimental data and the modelpredictions.

  5. A Fractal Study on the Effective Thermal Conductivity of Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, X.; Cai, J.; Wei, W.

    2017-12-01

    Thermal conduction in porous media has steadily received attention in science and engineering, for instance, exploiting and utilizing the geothermal energy, developing the oil-gas resource, ground water flow in hydrothermal systems and investigating the potential host nuclear wastes, etc. The thermal conductivity is strongly influenced by the microstructure features of porous media. In this work, based on the fractal characteristics of the grains, a theoretical model of effective thermal conductivity is proposed for saturated and unsaturated porous media. It is found that the proposed effective thermal conductivity solution is a function of geometrical parameters of porous media, such as the porosity, fractal dimension of granular matrix and the thermal conductivity of the grains and pore fluid. The model predictions are compared with existing experimental data and the results show that they are in good agreement with existing experimental data. The proposed model may provide a better understanding of the physical mechanisms of thermal transfer in porous media than conventional models.

  6. Hydrocarbons biodegradation in unsaturated porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gautier, C.

    2007-12-01

    Biological processes are expected to play an important role in the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated soils. However, factors influencing the kinetics of biodegradation are still not well known, especially in the unsaturated zone. To address these biodegradation questions in the unsaturated zone an innovative experimental set up based on a physical column model was developed. This experimental set up appeared to be an excellent tool for elaboration of a structured porous medium, with well defined porous network and adjusted water/oil saturations. Homogeneous repartition of both liquid phases (i.e., aqueous and non aqueous) in the soil pores, which also contain air, was achieved using ceramic membranes placed at the bottom of the soil column. Reproducible interfaces (and connectivity) are developed between gas, and both non mobile water and NAPL phases, depending on the above-defined characteristics of the porous media and on the partial saturations of these three phases (NAPL, water and gas). A respirometric apparatus was coupled to the column. Such experimental set up have been validated with hexadecane in dilution in an HMN phase. This approach allowed detailed information concerning n-hexadecane biodegradation, in aerobic condition, through the profile of the oxygen consumption rate. We have taken benefit of this technique, varying experimental conditions, to determine the main parameters influencing the biodegradation kinetics and compositional evolution of hydrocarbons, under steady state unsaturated conditions and with respect to aerobic metabolism. Impacts of the nitrogen quantity and of three different grain sizes have been examined. Biodegradation of petroleum cut, as diesel cut and middle distillate without aromatic fraction, were, also studied. (author)

  7. Experiment on the Influence Factors of Steam Distillation Rate of Crude Oil in Porous Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tian Guoqing

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available To explore the influence of complexity of reservoir properties in porous media and the diversity of operating conditions on the steam distillation rate of crude oil in the process of heavy oil exploitation with steam injection, steam distillation simulation devices are used to study steam distillation rate of crude oil in porous media. Then steam distillation ratio is obtained under the condition of different core permeability, oil saturation, steam temperatures, system pressure, steam injection rates and steam distillation rates with different viscosities of crude oil. The results show that the steam distillation rate of crude oil in porous media depends mainly on the nature of the crude oil itself, for temperature and pressure are the key factors compared with the pore structure, the initial oil saturation and steam injection rate. The experimental results help estimate the amount of crude oil and the required steam in the reservoir in the steam drive process, aiming to facilitate the optimization design and operation of steam drive.

  8. Numerical simulation of the transport phenomena due to sudden heating in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lei, S.Y.; Zheng, G.Y.; Wang, B.X.; Yang, R.G.; Xia, C.M.

    1997-07-01

    Such process as wet porous media suddenly heated by hot fluids frequently occurs in nature and in industrial applications. The three-variable simulation model was developed to predict violent transport phenomena due to sudden heating in porous media. Two sets of independent variables were applied to different regions in porous media in the simulation. For the wet zone, temperature, wet saturation and air pressure were used as the independent variables. For the dry zone, the independent variables were temperature, vapor pressure and air pressure. The model simulated two complicated transport processes in wet unsaturated porous media which is suddenly heated by melting metal or boiling water. The effect of the gas pressure is also investigated on the overall transport phenomena.

  9. Poromechanics Parameters of Fluid-Saturated Chemically Active Fibrous Media Derived from a Micromechanical Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Anil; Parthasarathy, Ranganathan; Singh, Viraj; Spencer, Paulette

    2013-01-01

    The authors have derived macroscale poromechanics parameters for chemically active saturated fibrous media by combining microstructure-based homogenization with Hill's volume averaging. The stress-strain relationship of the dry fibrous media is first obtained by considering the fiber behavior. The constitutive relationships applicable to saturated media are then derived in the poromechanics framework using Hill's Lemmas. The advantage of this approach is that the resultant continuum model assumes a form suited to study porous materials, while retaining the effect of discrete fiber deformation. As a result, the model is able to predict the influence of microscale phenomena such as fiber buckling on the overall behavior, and in particular, on the poromechanics constants. The significance of the approach is demonstrated using the effect of drainage and fiber nonlinearity on monotonic compressive stress-strain behavior. The model predictions conform to the experimental observations for articular cartilage. The method can potentially be extended to other porous materials such as bone, clays, foams, and concrete.

  10. Fabrication of Graded Porous and Skin-Core Structure RDX-Based Propellants via Supercritical CO2 Concentration Profile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Weitao; Li, Yuxiang; Ying, Sanjiu

    2015-04-01

    A fabrication process to produce graded porous and skin-core structure propellants via supercritical CO2 concentration profile is reported in this article. It utilizes a partial gas saturation technique to obtain nonequilibrium gas concentration profiles in propellants. Once foamed, the propellant obtains a graded porous or skin-pore structure. This fabrication method was studied with RDX(Hexogen)-based propellant under an SC-CO2 saturation condition. The principle was analyzed and the one-dimensional diffusion model was employed to estimate the gas diffusion coefficient and to predict the gas concentration profiles inside the propellant. Scanning electron microscopy images were used to analyze the effects of partial saturation on the inner structure. The results also suggested that the sorption time and desorption time played an important role in gas profile generation and controlled the inner structure of propellants.

  11. Nanoparticle tracers in calcium carbonate porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Yan Vivian

    2014-07-15

    Tracers are perhaps the most direct way of diagnosing subsurface fluid flow pathways for ground water decontamination and for natural gas and oil production. Nanoparticle tracers could be particularly effective because they do not diffuse away from the fractures or channels where flow occurs and thus take much less time to travel between two points. In combination with a chemical tracer they can measure the degree of flow concentration. A prerequisite for tracer applications is that the particles are not retained in the porous media as the result of aggregation or sticking to mineral surfaces. By screening eight nanoparticles (3-100 nm in diameter) for retention when passed through calcium carbonate packed laboratory columns in artificial oil field brine solutions of variable ionic strength we show that the nanoparticles with the least retention are 3 nm in diameter, nearly uncharged, and decorated with highly hydrophilic polymeric ligands. The details of these column experiments and the tri-modal distribution of zeta potential of the calcite sand particles in the brine used in our tests suggests that parts of the calcite surface have positive zeta potential and the retention of negatively charged nanoparticles occurs at these sites. Only neutral nanoparticles are immune to at least some retention. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media.

  12. Preparation of porous nano barium ferrite and its adsorption properties on uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiong Guoxuan; Huang Haiqing; Zhang Zhibin

    2012-01-01

    The porous nano barium ferrite was made of Fe(NO 3 ) 3 and Ba(NO 3 ) 2 as raw materials, CTAB as surfactant by method of sol-gel and self-propagating combustion. The composition, morphology and magnetic properties of nano-rod barium ferrite were characterized by XRD, SEM and vibrating sample magnetometer. The adsorption properties of porous nano barium ferrite on uranium were studied with static adsorption and the effects of pH, adsorption temperature and oscillation time on adsorption properties were discussed. The results indicate that the average particle size of porous nano barium ferrite is 45-65 nm, the saturation magnetization and coercivity are 62.83 emu/g and 5481.0 Oe, respectively. Under the condition of the porous nano barium ferrite amount of 0.02 g, pH of 6, adsorption temperature of 25℃ and oscillation time of 30 min, the adsorption capacity of uranium on the porous nano barium ferrite reaches 921 μg/g. (authors)

  13. A Finite Difference Scheme for Double-Diffusive Unsteady Free Convection from a Curved Surface to a Saturated Porous Medium with a Non-Newtonian Fluid

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed

    2011-05-14

    In this paper, a finite difference scheme is developed to solve the unsteady problem of combined heat and mass transfer from an isothermal curved surface to a porous medium saturated by a non-Newtonian fluid. The curved surface is kept at constant temperature and the power-law model is used to model the non-Newtonian fluid. The explicit finite difference method is used to solve simultaneously the equations of momentum, energy and concentration. The consistency of the explicit scheme is examined and the stability conditions are determined for each equation. Boundary layer and Boussinesq approximations have been incorporated. Numerical calculations are carried out for the various parameters entering into the problem. Velocity, temperature and concentration profiles are shown graphically. It is found that as time approaches infinity, the values of wall shear, heat transfer coefficient and concentration gradient at the wall, which are entered in tables, approach the steady state values.

  14. Influence of pH on the transport of silver nanoparticles in saturated porous media: laboratory experiments and modeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flory, Jason; Kanel, Sushil R., E-mail: sushil.kanel.ctr@afit.edu; Racz, LeeAnn [Air Force Institute of Technology, Department of Systems and Engineering Management (United States); Impellitteri, Christopher A. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (United States); Silva, Rendahandi G. [U.S. EPA Test and Evaluation Facility, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure (United States); Goltz, Mark N., E-mail: mark.goltz@afit.edu [Air Force Institute of Technology, Department of Systems and Engineering Management (United States)

    2013-03-15

    Given the ubiquity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and their potential for toxic effects on both humans and the environment, it is important to understand their environmental fate and transport. The purpose of this study is to gain information on the transport properties of commercial AgNP suspensions in a glass bead-packed column under saturated flow conditions at different solution pH levels. Commercial AgNPs were characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray diffraction. Transport data were collected at different pH levels (4, 6.5, 9, and 11) at fixed ionic strength. Capture of AgNPs increased as the pH of the solution increased from 4 to 6.5. Further increase in pH to 9 and 11 decreased the attachment of AgNPs to the glass beads. AgNP concentration versus time breakthrough data were simulated using an advection-dispersion model incorporating both irreversible and reversible attachment. In particular, a reversible attachment model is required to simulate breakthrough curve tailing at near neutral pH, when attachment is most significant. The laboratory and modeling study reveals that for natural groundwaters, AgNP transport in porous media may be retarded due to capture; but ultimately, most of the mass may be slowly released over time.

  15. Long-wave equivalent viscoelastic solids for porous rocks saturated by two-phase fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, J. E.; Savioli, G. B.

    2018-04-01

    Seismic waves traveling across fluid-saturated poroelastic materials with mesoscopic-scale heterogeneities induce fluid flow and Biot's slow waves generating energy loss and velocity dispersion. Using Biot's equations of motion to model these type of heterogeneities would require extremely fine meshes. We propose a numerical upscaling procedure to determine the complex and frequency dependent P-wave and shear moduli of an effective viscoelastic medium long-wave equivalent to a poroelastic solid saturated by a two-phase fluid. The two-phase fluid is defined in terms of capillary pressure and relative permeability flow functions. The P-wave and shear effective moduli are determined using harmonic compressibility and shear experiments applied on representative samples of the bulk material. Each experiment is associated with a boundary value problem that is solved using the finite element method. Since a poroelastic solid saturated by a two-phase fluid supports the existence of two slow waves, this upscaling procedure allows to analyze their effect on the mesoscopic-loss mechanism in hydrocarbon reservoir formations. Numerical results show that a two-phase Biot medium model predicts higher attenuation than classic Biot models.

  16. Spin echo SPI methods for quantitative analysis of fluids in porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Linqing; Han, Hui; Balcom, Bruce J

    2009-06-01

    Fluid density imaging is highly desirable in a wide variety of porous media measurements. The SPRITE class of MRI methods has proven to be robust and general in their ability to generate density images in porous media, however the short encoding times required, with correspondingly high magnetic field gradient strengths and filter widths, and low flip angle RF pulses, yield sub-optimal S/N images, especially at low static field strength. This paper explores two implementations of pure phase encode spin echo 1D imaging, with application to a proposed new petroleum reservoir core analysis measurement. In the first implementation of the pulse sequence, we modify the spin echo single point imaging (SE-SPI) technique to acquire the k-space origin data point, with a near zero evolution time, from the free induction decay (FID) following a 90 degrees excitation pulse. Subsequent k-space data points are acquired by separately phase encoding individual echoes in a multi-echo acquisition. T(2) attenuation of the echo train yields an image convolution which causes blurring. The T(2) blur effect is moderate for porous media with T(2) lifetime distributions longer than 5 ms. As a robust, high S/N, and fast 1D imaging method, this method will be highly complementary to SPRITE techniques for the quantitative analysis of fluid content in porous media. In the second implementation of the SE-SPI pulse sequence, modification of the basic measurement permits fast determination of spatially resolved T(2) distributions in porous media through separately phase encoding each echo in a multi-echo CPMG pulse train. An individual T(2) weighted image may be acquired from each echo. The echo time (TE) of each T(2) weighted image may be reduced to 500 micros or less. These profiles can be fit to extract a T(2) distribution from each pixel employing a variety of standard inverse Laplace transform methods. Fluid content 1D images are produced as an essential by product of determining the

  17. Groundwater modelling for fractured and porous media: HYDROCOIN Level 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noy, D.J.

    1986-01-01

    The report describes work carried out as part of the 'Hydrocoin' project to verify some of the models used by the British Geological Survey on its radioactive waste disposal programme. The author's work on Hydrocoin Level 1 concerned groundwater modelling for fractured and porous media. The overall conclusions arising from the work were: a) pressure fields in saturated media can be reliably calculated by existing programmes, b) three techniques for deriving the flow fields are described, and c) severe practical limitations exist as to the ability of current programs to model variably saturated conditions over moderate distances. (U.K.)

  18. A free boundary problem describing the saturated-unsaturated flow in a porous medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Marinoschi

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a functional approach to a nonlinear model describing the complete physical process of water infiltration into an unsaturated soil, including the saturation occurrence and the advance of the wetting front. The model introduced in this paper involves a multivalued operator covering the simultaneous saturated and unsaturated flow behaviors and enhances the study of the displacement of the free boundary between these two flow regimes. The model resides in Richards' equation written in pressure form with an initial condition and boundary conditions which in this work express the inflow due to the rain on the soil surface on the one hand, and characterize a certain permeability corresponding to the underground boundary, on the other hand. Existence, uniqueness, and regularity results for the transformed model in diffusive form, that is, for the moisture of the soil, and the existence of the weak solution for the pressure form are proved in the 3D case. The main part of the paper focuses on the existence of the free boundary between the saturated and unsaturated parts of the soil, and this is proved, in the 1D case, for certain stronger assumptions on the initial data and boundary conditions.

  19. Acoustic and mechanical response of reservoir rocks under variable saturation and effective pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravazzoli, C L; Santos, J E; Carcione, J M

    2003-04-01

    We investigate the acoustic and mechanical properties of a reservoir sandstone saturated by two immiscible hydrocarbon fluids, under different saturations and pressure conditions. The modeling of static and dynamic deformation processes in porous rocks saturated by immiscible fluids depends on many parameters such as, for instance, porosity, permeability, pore fluid, fluid saturation, fluid pressures, capillary pressure, and effective stress. We use a formulation based on an extension of Biot's theory, which allows us to compute the coefficients of the stress-strain relations and the equations of motion in terms of the properties of the single phases at the in situ conditions. The dry-rock moduli are obtained from laboratory measurements for variable confining pressures. We obtain the bulk compressibilities, the effective pressure, and the ultrasonic phase velocities and quality factors for different saturations and pore-fluid pressures ranging from normal to abnormally high values. The objective is to relate the seismic and ultrasonic velocity and attenuation to the microstructural properties and pressure conditions of the reservoir. The problem has an application in the field of seismic exploration for predicting pore-fluid pressures and saturation regimes.

  20. Improvements in or relating to method of preparing porous material/synthetic polymer composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hills, P.R.; McGahan, D.J.

    1976-01-01

    A method for preparing a composite material is described comprising polymerising a monoethylenically unsaturated monomer of a mixture of copolymerisable monoethylenically unsaturated monomers in a porous material, excluding a porous natural cellulosic fibre material, the polymerisable liquid being admixed in the porous material with a saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon or a halogen derivative thereof. It is preferable that the polymerisable liquid and the hydrocarbon or halogen derivative are present in the porous material. Impregnation may be carried out by a vacuum technique or by simple immersion. The monomers that may be used are listed, but a mixture of styrene and acrylonitrile is preferred in the proportions 60 : 40 by volume. Polymerisation may be effected by irradiation, preferably with 60 Co γ-radiation. Suitable porous materials include concrete, stone, and fibreboard. If concrete is used the composite material may be used for pressure pipes and other articles normally made of steel. Examples of the application of the process are given. (U.K.)

  1. The effect of limestone aggregate porosity and saturation degree on the interfacial zone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen, T.D.; Le Saout, G.; Devillers, P.; Garcia-Diaz, E.

    2015-01-01

    The recycling of concrete wastes concerns the nuclear industry as many nuclear facilities will have to be dismantled and the reduction and reuse of the decommissioning concrete wastes in order to minimize the total waste volume is a key issue. The recycled aggregates have the potential to replace natural resources however it is necessary to assess the effect of recycled aggregates on the final concrete. One important issue to be addressed to achieve the required mechanical properties is the water absorption of the recycled aggregates. As a first step, we have used in this study limestone aggregates with different porosities (total porosity from 2 to 20 %) and have investigated the influence of the porosity and the initial saturation degree of these aggregates on the porosity of the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) using scanning electron microscope. The equation of Feret for the strength-porosity relationship of our mortars was applied σ = K(100-p) 2 where σ is the compressive strength in MPa, p is the capillary pore volume in % and K a constant. Aggregates with lower porosity follow the same law characterized by a K value higher than the value for the more porous aggregate law. The K parameter is not dependent of the humidity degree of the aggregate: for a given aggregate, family mortars made with dry and wet aggregate follow the same law. But for porous aggregates as the meso-porosity of the ITZ for a given time of hydration is higher for mortars made with wet aggregates, the compressive strength of these mortars is less than those of mortars made with dry aggregates. Contrary to the low porous aggregate, it was not possible for porous limestone aggregates, and with a calculation based on the saturated surface dry state as reference state to obtain the same net water to cement ratio with wet and dry aggregates. This study reflects the difficulty to control the amount of efficient water in concrete when using porous aggregates and its influence on compressive

  2. Colloid transport in saturated porous media: Elimination of attachment efficiency in a new colloid transport model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landkamer, Lee L.; Harvey, Ronald W.; Scheibe, Timothy D.; Ryan, Joseph N.

    2013-01-01

    A colloid transport model is introduced that is conceptually simple yet captures the essential features of colloid transport and retention in saturated porous media when colloid retention is dominated by the secondary minimum because an electrostatic barrier inhibits substantial deposition in the primary minimum. This model is based on conventional colloid filtration theory (CFT) but eliminates the empirical concept of attachment efficiency. The colloid deposition rate is computed directly from CFT by assuming all predicted interceptions of colloids by collectors result in at least temporary deposition in the secondary minimum. Also, a new paradigm for colloid re-entrainment based on colloid population heterogeneity is introduced. To accomplish this, the initial colloid population is divided into two fractions. One fraction, by virtue of physiochemical characteristics (e.g., size and charge), will always be re-entrained after capture in a secondary minimum. The remaining fraction of colloids, again as a result of physiochemical characteristics, will be retained “irreversibly” when captured by a secondary minimum. Assuming the dispersion coefficient can be estimated from tracer behavior, this model has only two fitting parameters: (1) the fraction of the initial colloid population that will be retained “irreversibly” upon interception by a secondary minimum, and (2) the rate at which reversibly retained colloids leave the secondary minimum. These two parameters were correlated to the depth of the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) secondary energy minimum and pore-water velocity, two physical forces that influence colloid transport. Given this correlation, the model serves as a heuristic tool for exploring the influence of physical parameters such as surface potential and fluid velocity on colloid transport.

  3. Transport and Deposition of Variably Charged Soil Colloids in Saturated Porous Media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sharma, Anu; Kawamoto, Ken; Møldrup, Per

    2011-01-01

    Okinawa (RYS colloids) in Japan. The VAS colloids exhibited a negative surface charge with a high pH dependency, whereas the RYS colloids exhibited a negative surface charge with less pH dependency. The soil colloids were applied as colloidal suspensions to 10-cm-long saturated sand columns packed...

  4. A total pressure-saturation formulation of two-phase flow incorporating dynamic effects in the capillary-pressure-saturation relationship

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dahle, H K; Celia, M A; Hassanizadeh, S M; Karlsen, K H

    2002-07-01

    New theories suggest that the relationship between capillary pressure and saturation should be enhanced by a dynamic term that is proportional to the time rate of change of saturation. This so-called dynamic capillary pressure formulation is supported by laboratory experiments, and can be included in various forms of the governing equations for two-phase flow in porous media. An extended model of two-phase flow in porous media may be developed based on fractional flow curves and a total pressure - saturation description that includes the dynamic capillary pressure terms. A dimensionless form of the resulting equation set provides an ideal tool to study the relative importance of the dynamic capillary pressure effect. This equation provides a rich set of mathematical research questions, and numerical solutions to the equation provide insights into the behavior of two-phase immiscible flow. For typical two-phase flow systems, dynamic capillary pressure acts to retard infiltration fronts, with responses dependent on system parameters including boundary conditions. Recent theoretical work suggests that the traditional algebraic relationship between capillary pressure and saturation may be inadequate. Instead, a so-called dynamic capillary pressure formulation is needed, where capillary pressure is defined as a thermodynamic variable, and the difference between phase pressures is only equal to the capillary pressure at equilibrium. Under dynamic conditions, the disequilibrium between phase-pressure differences and the capillary pressure is taken to be proportional to the time rate of change of saturation. A recent study by Hassanizadeh et al. presents experimental evidence, culled from the literature, to support this claim. Numerical simulations using dynamic pore-scale network models and upscaling also support the claim. Hassanizadeh et al. also presented numerical solutions for an enhanced version of Richards' equation that included the dynamic terms. A preliminary

  5. Calibration-free quantification of interior properties of porous media with x-ray computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussein, Esam M.A.; Agbogun, H.M.D.; Al, Tom A.

    2015-01-01

    A method is presented for interpreting the values of x-ray attenuation coefficients reconstructed in computed tomography of porous media, while overcoming the ambiguity caused by the multichromatic nature of x-rays, dilution by void, and material heterogeneity. The method enables determination of porosity without relying on calibration or image segmentation or thresholding to discriminate pores from solid material. It distinguishes between solution-accessible and inaccessible pores, and provides the spatial and frequency distributions of solid-matrix material in a heterogeneous medium. This is accomplished by matching an image of a sample saturated with a contrast solution with that saturated with a transparent solution. Voxels occupied with solid-material and inaccessible pores are identified by the fact that they maintain the same location and image attributes in both images, with voxels containing inaccessible pores appearing empty in both images. Fully porous and accessible voxels exhibit the maximum contrast, while the rest are porous voxels containing mixtures of pore solutions and solid. This matching process is performed with an image registration computer code, and image processing software that requires only simple subtraction and multiplication (scaling) processes. The process is demonstrated in dolomite (non-uniform void distribution, homogeneous solid matrix) and sandstone (nearly uniform void distribution, heterogeneous solid matrix) samples, and its overall performance is shown to compare favorably with a method based on calibration and thresholding. - Highlights: • A method is presented for quantifying x-ray CT data for porous media. • The method neither requires calibration nor segmentation nor thresholding. • We use voxel matching between images of a sample saturated with two distinct solutions. • Method is demonstrated for micro-CT images of dolomite and sandstone samples. • Overall performance compares favorably with a calibration

  6. Significant room-temperature ferromagnetism in porous ZnO films: The role of oxygen vacancies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hou, Xue; Liu, Huiyuan [College of Physics Science & Information Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Key Laboratory of Advanced Films of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Sun, Huiyuan, E-mail: huiyuansun@126.com [College of Physics Science & Information Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Key Laboratory of Advanced Films of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Liu, Lihu; Jia, Xiaoxuan [College of Physics Science & Information Engineering, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China); Key Laboratory of Advanced Films of Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050024 (China)

    2015-10-15

    Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Porous ZnO films were deposited on porous anodic alumina substrates. • Significant ferromagnetism (FM) has been observed in porous ZnO films (110 emu/cm{sup 3}). • The strong magnetic anisotropy was observed in the porous ZnO films. • The origin of FM is attributed to the oxygen vacancy with a local magnetic moment. - Abstract: Pure porous ZnO films were prepared by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering on porous anodic alumina substrates. Remarkably large room-temperature ferromagnetism was observed in the films. The highest saturation moment along the out-of-plane direction was about 110 emu/cm{sup 3}. Experimental and theoretical results suggested that the oxygen vacancies and the unique porous structure of the films are responsible for the large ferromagnetism. There are two modes of coupling between oxygen vacancies in the porous ZnO films: (i) exchange interactions directly between the oxygen vacancies and (ii) with the mediation of conduction electrons. In addition, it was found that the magnetic moment of ZnO films can be changed by tuning the concentration of oxygen vacancies. These observations may be useful in the development of ZnO-based spintronics devices.

  7. Hydromagnetic Flow and Heat Transfer over a Porous Oscillating Stretching Surface in a Viscoelastic Fluid with Porous Medium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Sami Ullah; Ali, Nasir; Abbas, Zaheer

    2015-01-01

    An analysis is carried out to study the heat transfer in unsteady two-dimensional boundary layer flow of a magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) second grade fluid over a porous oscillating stretching surface embedded in porous medium. The flow is induced due to infinite elastic sheet which is stretched periodically. With the help of dimensionless variables, the governing flow equations are reduced to a system of non-linear partial differential equations. This system has been solved numerically using the finite difference scheme, in which a coordinate transformation is used to transform the semi-infinite physical space to a bounded computational domain. The influence of the involved parameters on the flow, the temperature distribution, the skin-friction coefficient and the local Nusselt number is shown and discussed in detail. The study reveals that an oscillatory sheet embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium generates oscillatory motion in the fluid. The amplitude and phase of oscillations depends on the rheology of the fluid as well as on the other parameters coming through imposed boundary conditions, inclusion of body force term and permeability of the porous medium. It is found that amplitude of flow velocity increases with increasing viscoelastic and mass suction/injection parameters. However, it decreases with increasing the strength of the applied magnetic field. Moreover, the temperature of fluid is a decreasing function of viscoelastic parameter, mass suction/injection parameter and Prandtl number.

  8. Site-Scale Saturated Zone Flow Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    G. Zyvoloski

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this model report is to document the components of the site-scale saturated-zone flow model at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in accordance with administrative procedure (AP)-SIII.lOQ, ''Models''. This report provides validation and confidence in the flow model that was developed for site recommendation (SR) and will be used to provide flow fields in support of the Total Systems Performance Assessment (TSPA) for the License Application. The output from this report provides the flow model used in the ''Site-Scale Saturated Zone Transport'', MDL-NBS-HS-000010 Rev 01 (BSC 2003 [162419]). The Site-Scale Saturated Zone Transport model then provides output to the SZ Transport Abstraction Model (BSC 2003 [164870]). In particular, the output from the SZ site-scale flow model is used to simulate the groundwater flow pathways and radionuclide transport to the accessible environment for use in the TSPA calculations. Since the development and calibration of the saturated-zone flow model, more data have been gathered for use in model validation and confidence building, including new water-level data from Nye County wells, single- and multiple-well hydraulic testing data, and new hydrochemistry data. In addition, a new hydrogeologic framework model (HFM), which incorporates Nye County wells lithology, also provides geologic data for corroboration and confidence in the flow model. The intended use of this work is to provide a flow model that generates flow fields to simulate radionuclide transport in saturated porous rock and alluvium under natural or forced gradient flow conditions. The flow model simulations are completed using the three-dimensional (3-D), finite-element, flow, heat, and transport computer code, FEHM Version (V) 2.20 (software tracking number (STN): 10086-2.20-00; LANL 2003 [161725]). Concurrently, process-level transport model and methodology for calculating radionuclide transport in the saturated zone at Yucca Mountain using FEHM V 2.20 are being

  9. Pore network modeling of drainage process in patterned porous media: a quasi-static study

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Tao; Salama, Amgad; Sun, Shuyu; El-Amin, Mohamed

    2015-01-01

    -saturation relationships, it is quite challenging to isolate its effects explicitly in real porous media applications. However, within the framework of pore network models, it is easy to highlight the effects of wettability conditions on the transport of two-phase systems

  10. Numerical simulation for a two-phase porous medium flow problem with rate independent hysteresis

    KAUST Repository

    Brokate, M.; Botkin, N.D.; Pykhteev, O.A.

    2012-01-01

    The paper is devoted to the numerical simulation of a multiphase flow in porous medium with a hysteretic relation between the capillary pressures and the saturations of the phases. The flow model we use is based on Darcys law. The hysteretic

  11. Simulation of coupled flow and mechanical deformation using IMplicit Pressure-Displacement Explicit Saturation (IMPDES) scheme

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed

    2012-01-01

    The problem of coupled structural deformation with two-phase flow in porous media is solved numerically using cellcentered finite difference (CCFD) method. In order to solve the system of governed partial differential equations, the implicit pressure explicit saturation (IMPES) scheme that governs flow equations is combined with the the implicit displacement scheme. The combined scheme may be called IMplicit Pressure-Displacement Explicit Saturation (IMPDES). The pressure distribution for each cell along the entire domain is given by the implicit difference equation. Also, the deformation equations are discretized implicitly. Using the obtained pressure, velocity is evaluated explicitly, while, using the upwind scheme, the saturation is obtained explicitly. Moreover, the stability analysis of the present scheme has been introduced and the stability condition is determined.

  12. Effect of water content on dispersion of transferred solute in unsaturated porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Latrille, C. [CEA Saclay, DEN/DANS/DPC/SECR/L3MR, 91191 Gif sur Yvette (France)

    2013-07-01

    Estimating contaminant migration in the context of waste disposal and/or environmental remediation of polluted soils requires a complete understanding of the underlying transport processes. In unsaturated porous media, water content impacts directly on porous solute transfer. Depending on the spatial distribution of water content, the flow pathway is more complex than in water saturated media. Dispersivity is consequently dependent on water content. Non-reactive tracer experiments performed using unsaturated sand columns confirm the dependence of dispersivity with pore velocity; moreover, a power law relationship between dispersivity and water content is evidenced. (authors)

  13. Numerical investigation of vapor–liquid heat and mass transfer in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xin, Chengyun; Rao, Zhonghao; You, Xinyu; Song, Zhengchang; Han, Dongtai

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The heat and mass transfer behaviors in porous media was investigated. • A modified separate flow model (MSFM) was developed. • The influence of heat flux direction on heat and fluid flow behaviors is great. • The saturation profile is weakly discontinuous on the phase interface. • A countercurrent flow exists in two-phase region. - Abstract: A modified separate flow model (MSFM) is developed to numerically investigate the heat and mass transfer behaviors in porous media in this paper. In the MSFM, the effects of capillarity, liquid phase change, nonisothermal two-phase region and the local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) are considered. The vapor and liquid velocities are both converted into intermediate variables in the simulations and conveniently convergent solutions are obtained because a special upwind scheme for the convection or boiling heat transfer source and variable convergence factors are simultaneously employed. Two typical numerical examples with a one-dimension model of porous media are studied that the high heat fluxes are vertical and parallel to the fluid flow direction, respectively. And the results indicated that the influence of heat flux direction on heat and fluid flow behaviors in porous media is great. The nonisothermal phenomenon in the two-phase region is obvious for the former while the LTNE phenomenon is remarkable in the two-phase region for the latter. The results also showed several similar behaviors that the saturation profile is weakly discontinuous on the phase interface and a countercurrent flow exists in two-phase region

  14. Predicting elastic properties of porous fluid-filled rocks by inverting the BGG equation: Applications to seismic and borehole data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benson, A.K.; Wu, J.

    2000-01-01

    Two of the needed elastic parameters for predicting velocities in porous, fluid-filled rocks, the bulk modulus of the empty, porous rock and the shear modulus of the rock, are very difficult to obtain in situ. A novel modeling approach is developed by inverting the Biot-Geertsma-Gassmann (BGG) and shear-wave equations to generate values for the bulk and shear moduli, respectively, by using available velocity and porosity data obtained from borehole logs and/or cores from water/brine-saturated rocks. These values of bulk and shear moduli, along with reasonable in-situ estimates of rock-matrix and fluid parameters generated from the Batzle-Wang formulation, are then used to predict compressional and shear-wave velocities, compressional-shear wave ratios, and reflection coefficients at the interfaces between host rocks and fluid-saturated rocks, either fully or partially saturated with hydrocarbons or water, as a function of depth and/or porosity

  15. Temperature dependency of the thermal conductivity of porous heat storage media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hailemariam, Henok; Wuttke, Frank

    2018-04-01

    Analyzing the variation of thermal conductivity with temperature is vital in the design and assessment of the efficiency of sensible heat storage systems. In this study, the temperature variation of the thermal conductivity of a commercial cement-based porous heat storage material named - Füllbinder L is analyzed in saturated condition in the temperature range between 20 to 70°C (water based storage) with a steady state thermal conductivity and diffusivity meter. A considerable decrease in the thermal conductivity of the saturated sensible heat storage material upon increase in temperature is obtained, resulting in a significant loss of system efficiency and slower loading/un-loading rates, which when unaccounted for can lead to the under-designing of such systems. Furthermore, a new empirical prediction model for the estimation of thermal conductivity of cement-based porous sensible heat storage materials and naturally occurring crystalline rock formations as a function of temperature is proposed. The results of the model prediction are compared with the experimental results with satisfactory results.

  16. [Models for quantification of fluid saturation in two-phase flow system by light transmission method and its application].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yan-Hong; Ye, Shu-Jun; Wu, Ji-Chun

    2014-06-01

    Based on light transmission method in quantification of liquid saturation and its application in two-phase flow system, two groups of sandbox experiments were set up to study the migration of gas or Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs) in water saturated porous media. The migration of gas or DNAPL was monitored in the study. Two modified Light Intensity-Saturation (LIS) models for water/gas two-phase system were applied and verified by the experiment data. Moreover two new LIS models for NAPL/water system were developed and applied to simulate the DNAPL infiltration experiment data. The gas injection experiment showed that gas moved upward to the top of the sandbox in the form of 'fingering' and finally formed continuous distribution. The results of DNAPL infiltration experiment showed that TCE mainly moved downward as the result of its gravity, eventually formed irregular plume and accumulated at the bottom of the sandbox. The outcomes of two LIS models for water/gas system (WG-A and WG-B) were consistent to the measured data. The results of two LIS models for NAPL/water system (NW-A and NW-B) fit well with the observations, and Model NW-A based on assumption of individual drainage gave better results. It could be a useful reference for quantification of NAPL/water saturation in porous media system.

  17. Effective medium approximation for elastic constants of porous solids with microscopic heterogeneity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berryman, J.G.

    1986-01-01

    Formulas for the scattering from an inhomogeneous sphere in a fluid-saturated porous medium are used to construct a self-consistent effective medium approximation for the coefficients in Biot's equations of poroelasticity [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 28, 168 (1956)] when the material constituting the porous solid frame is not homogeneous on the microscopic scale. The discussion is restricted to porous materials exhibiting both macroscopic and microscopic isotropy. Brown and Korringa [Geophysics 40, 608 (1975)] have previously found the general form of these coefficients. The present results give explicit estimates of all the coefficients in terms of the moduli of the solid constituents. The results are also shown to be completely consistent with the well-known results of Gassmann and of Biot and Willis, as well as those of Brown and Korringa

  18. The immiscibles: Capillarity effects in porous media - Pore-network modelling. Geologica Ultraiectina (318)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Joekar Niasar, V.

    2010-01-01

    Current theories of two-phase flow in porous media are based on the so-called extended Darcy’s law, and an algebraic relationship between capillary pressure and saturation. Both of these equations have been challenged in recent years, primarily based on theoretical works using a thermodynamic

  19. Numerical simulation of water flow and Nitrate transport through variably saturated porous media in laboratory condition using HYDRUS 2D

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahangeer, F.; Gupta, P. K.; Yadav, B. K.

    2017-12-01

    Due to the reducing availability of water resources and the growing competition for water between residential, industrial, and agricultural users, increasing irrigation efficiency, by several methods like drip irrigation, is a demanding concern for agricultural experts. The understanding of the water and contaminants flow through the subsurface is needed for the sustainable irrigation water management, pollution assessment, polluted site remediation and groundwater recharge. In this study, the Windows-based computer software package HYDRUS-2D, which numerically simulates water and solute movement in two-dimensional, variably-saturated porous media, was used to evaluate the distribution of water and Nitrate in the sand tank. The laboratory and simulation experiments were conducted to evaluate the role of drainage, recharge flux, and infiltration on subsurface flow condition and subsequently, on nitrate movement in the subsurface. The water flow in the unsaturated zone model by Richards' equation, which was highly nonlinear and its parameters were largely dependent on the moisture content and pressure head of the partially saturated zone. Following different cases to be considered to evaluate- a) applying drainage and recharge flux to study domains, b) transient infiltration in a vertical soil column and c) subsequently, nitrate transport in 2D sand tank setup. A single porosity model was used for the simulation of water and nitrate flow in the study domain. The results indicate the transient water table position decreases as the time increase significantly by applying drainage flux at the bottom. Similarly, the water table positions in study domains increasing in the domain by applying recharge flux. Likewise, the water flow profile shows the decreasing water table elevation with increasing water content in the vertical domain. Moreover, the nitrate movement was dominated by advective flux and highly affected by the recharge flux in the vertical direction. The

  20. Numerical simulation for a two-phase porous medium flow problem with rate independent hysteresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brokate, M.; Botkin, N.D.; Pykhteev, O.A.

    2012-01-01

    The paper is devoted to the numerical simulation of a multiphase flow in porous medium with a hysteretic relation between the capillary pressures and the saturations of the phases. The flow model we use is based on Darcy's law. The hysteretic relation between the capillary pressures and the saturations is described by a play-type hysteresis operator. We propose a numerical algorithm for treating the arising system of equations, discuss finite element schemes and present simulation results for the case of two phases.

  1. Discrete-fracture-model of multi–scale time-splitting two–phase flow including nanoparticles transport in fractured porous media

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed

    2017-11-23

    In this article, we consider a two-phase immiscible incompressible flow including nanoparticles transport in fractured heterogeneous porous media. The system of the governing equations consists of water saturation, Darcy’s law, nanoparticles concentration in water, deposited nanoparticles concentration on the pore-wall, and entrapped nanoparticles concentration in the pore-throat, as well as, porosity and permeability variation due to the nanoparticles deposition/entrapment on/in the pores. The discrete-fracture model (DFM) is used to describe the flow and transport in fractured porous media. Moreover, multiscale time-splitting strategy has been employed to manage different time-step sizes for different physics, such as saturation, concentration, etc. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed multi-scale time splitting approach.

  2. Discrete-fracture-model of multi–scale time-splitting two–phase flow including nanoparticles transport in fractured porous media

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed; Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu

    2017-01-01

    In this article, we consider a two-phase immiscible incompressible flow including nanoparticles transport in fractured heterogeneous porous media. The system of the governing equations consists of water saturation, Darcy’s law, nanoparticles concentration in water, deposited nanoparticles concentration on the pore-wall, and entrapped nanoparticles concentration in the pore-throat, as well as, porosity and permeability variation due to the nanoparticles deposition/entrapment on/in the pores. The discrete-fracture model (DFM) is used to describe the flow and transport in fractured porous media. Moreover, multiscale time-splitting strategy has been employed to manage different time-step sizes for different physics, such as saturation, concentration, etc. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed multi-scale time splitting approach.

  3. Modeling the transport of engineered nanoparticles in saturated porous media - an experimental setup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, A.; Neukum, C.; Azzam, R.

    2011-12-01

    The accelerating production and application of engineered nanoparticles is causing concerns regarding their release and fate in the environment. For assessing the risk that is posed to drinking water resources it is important to understand the transport and retention mechanisms of engineered nanoparticles in soil and groundwater. In this study an experimental setup for analyzing the mobility of silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles in saturated porous media is presented. Batch and column experiments with glass beads and two different soils as matrices are carried out under varied conditions to study the impact of electrolyte concentration and pore water velocities. The analysis of nanoparticles implies several challenges, such as the detection and characterization and the preparation of a well dispersed sample with defined properties, as nanoparticles tend to form agglomerates when suspended in an aqueous medium. The analytical part of the experiments is mainly undertaken with Flow Field-Flow Fractionation (FlFFF). This chromatography like technique separates a particulate sample according to size. It is coupled to a UV/Vis and a light scattering detector for analyzing concentration and size distribution of the sample. The advantage of this technique is the ability to analyze also complex environmental samples, such as the effluent of column experiments including soil components, and the gentle sample treatment. For optimization of the sample preparation and for getting a first idea of the aggregation behavior in soil solutions, in sedimentation experiments the effect of ionic strength, sample concentration and addition of a surfactant on particle or aggregate size and temporal dispersion stability was investigated. In general the samples are more stable the lower the concentration of particles is. For TiO2 nanoparticles, the addition of a surfactant yielded the most stable samples with smallest aggregate sizes. Furthermore the suspension stability is

  4. SCDAP/RELAP5 modeling of movement of melted material through porous debris in lower head

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siefken, L. J.; Harvego, E. A.

    2000-01-01

    A model is described for the movement of melted metallic material through a ceramic porous debris bed. The model is designed for the analysis of severe accidents in LWRs, wherein melted core plate material may slump onto the top of a porous bed of relocated core material supported by the lower head. The permeation of the melted core plate material into the porous debris bed influences the heatup of the debris bed and the heatup of the lower head supporting the debris. A model for mass transport of melted metallic material is applied that includes terms for viscosity and turbulence but neglects inertial and capillary terms because of their small value relative to gravity and viscous terms in the momentum equation. The relative permeability and passability of the porous debris are calculated as functions of debris porosity, particle size, and effective saturation. An iterative numerical solution is used to solve the set of nonlinear equations for mass transport. The effective thermal conductivity of the debris is calculated as a function of porosity, particle size, and saturation. The model integrates the equations for mass transport with a model for the two-dimensional conduction of heat through porous debris. The integrated model has been implemented into the SCDAP/RELAP5 code for the analysis of the integrity of LWR lower heads during severe accidents. The results of the model indicate that melted core plate material may permeate to near the bottom of a 1m deep hot porous debris bed supported by the lower head. The presence of the relocated core plate material was calculated to cause a 12% increase in the heat flux on the external surface of the lower head

  5. An open-source toolbox for multiphase flow in porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horgue, P.; Soulaine, C.; Franc, J.; Guibert, R.; Debenest, G.

    2015-02-01

    Multiphase flow in porous media provides a wide range of applications: from the environmental understanding (aquifer, site-pollution) to industrial process improvements (oil production, waste management). Modeling of such flows involves specific volume-averaged equations and therefore specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. In this work, we develop a toolbox for modeling multiphase flow in porous media with OpenFOAM®, an open-source platform for CFD. The underlying idea of this approach is to provide an easily adaptable tool that can be used in further studies to test new mathematical models or numerical methods. The package provides the most common effective properties models of the literature (relative permeability, capillary pressure) and specific boundary conditions related to porous media flows. To validate this package, solvers based on the IMplicit Pressure Explicit Saturation (IMPES) method are developed in the toolbox. The numerical validation is performed by comparison with analytical solutions on academic cases. Then, a satisfactory parallel efficiency of the solver is shown on a more complex configuration.

  6. Simulation of CO2 Injection in Porous Media with Structural Deformation Effect

    KAUST Repository

    Negara, Ardiansyah

    2011-06-18

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration is one of the most attractive methods to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by injecting it into the geological formations. Furthermore, it is also an effective mechanism for enhanced oil recovery. Simulation of CO2 injection based on a suitable modeling is very important for explaining the fluid flow behavior of CO2 in a reservoir. Increasing of CO2 injection may cause a structural deformation of the medium. The structural deformation modeling in carbon sequestration is useful to evaluate the medium stability to avoid CO2 leakage to the atmosphere. Therefore, it is important to include such effect into the model. The purpose of this study is to simulate the CO2 injection in a reservoir. The numerical simulations of two-phase flow in homogeneous and heterogeneous porous media are presented. Also, the effects of gravity and capillary pressure are considered. IMplicit Pressure Explicit Saturation (IMPES) and IMplicit Pressure-Displacements and an Explicit Saturation (IMPDES) schemes are used to solve the problems under consideration. Various numerical examples were simulated and divided into two parts of the study. The numerical results demonstrate the effects of buoyancy and capillary pressure as well as the permeability value and its distribution in the domain. Some conclusions that could be derived from the numerical results are the buoyancy of CO2 is driven by the density difference, the CO2 saturation profile (rate and distribution) are affected by the permeability distribution and its value, and the displacements of the porous medium go to constant values at least six to eight months (on average) after injection. Furthermore, the simulation of CO2 injection provides intuitive knowledge and a better understanding of the fluid flow behavior of CO2 in the subsurface with the deformation effect of the porous medium.

  7. Predicting liquid water saturation through differently structured cathode gas diffusion media of a proton exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Akhtar, N.; Kerkhof, P.J.A.M.

    2012-01-01

    The role of gas diffusion media with differently structured properties have been examined with emphasis on the liquid water saturation within the cathode of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The cathode electrode consists of a gas diffusion layer (GDL), a micro-porous layer and a

  8. Anomalous solute transport in saturated porous media: Relating transport model parameters to electrical and nuclear magnetic resonance properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, Ryan D; Binley, Andrew; Keating, Kristina; France, Samantha; Osterman, Gordon; Day-Lewis, Frederick D.; Singha, Kamini

    2015-01-01

    The advection-dispersion equation (ADE) fails to describe commonly observed non-Fickian solute transport in saturated porous media, necessitating the use of other models such as the dual-domain mass-transfer (DDMT) model. DDMT model parameters are commonly calibrated via curve fitting, providing little insight into the relation between effective parameters and physical properties of the medium. There is a clear need for material characterization techniques that can provide insight into the geometry and connectedness of pore spaces related to transport model parameters. Here, we consider proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), direct-current (DC) resistivity, and complex conductivity (CC) measurements for this purpose, and assess these methods using glass beads as a control and two different samples of the zeolite clinoptilolite, a material that demonstrates non-Fickian transport due to intragranular porosity. We estimate DDMT parameters via calibration of a transport model to column-scale solute tracer tests, and compare NMR, DC resistivity, CC results, which reveal that grain size alone does not control transport properties and measured geophysical parameters; rather, volume and arrangement of the pore space play important roles. NMR cannot provide estimates of more-mobile and less-mobile pore volumes in the absence of tracer tests because these estimates depend critically on the selection of a material-dependent and flow-dependent cutoff time. Increased electrical connectedness from DC resistivity measurements are associated with greater mobile pore space determined from transport model calibration. CC was hypothesized to be related to length scales of mass transfer, but the CC response is unrelated to DDMT.

  9. Mass Transfer and Porous Media (MTPM)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rotenberg, B.; Marry, V.; Malikova, N.; Vuilleumier, R.; Giffaut, E.; Turq, P.; Robinet, J.C.; Diaz, N.; Sardini, P.; Goutelard, F.; Menut, D.; Parneix, J.C.; Sammartino, S.; Pret, D.; Coelho, D.; Jougnot, D.; Revil, A.; Boulin, P.F.; Angulo-Jaramillo, R.; Daian, J.F.; Talandier, J.; Berne, P.; Cochepin, B.; Trotignon, L.; Bildstein, O.; Steefel, C.; Lagneau, V.; Van der Lee, J.; Birchall, D.J.; Harrington, J.F.; Noy, D.J.; Sellin, P.; Bildstein, O.; Piault, E.; Trotignon, L.; Montarnal, P.; Deville, E.; Genty, A.; Le Potier, C.; Imbert, C.; Semete, P.; Desgree, P.; Fevrier, B.; Courtois, A.; Touze, G.; Sboui, A.; Roberts, J.E.; Jaffre, J.; Glaus, M.A.; Rosse, R.; Van Loon, L.R.; Matray, J.M.; Parneix, J.C.; Tinseau, E.; Pret, D.; Mayor, J.C.; Ohkubo, T.; Kikuchi, H.; Yamaguchi, M.; Alonso, U.; Missana, T.; Garcia-Gutierrez, M.; Patelli, A.; Siitari-Kauppi, M.; Leskinen, A.; Rigato, V.; Samper, J.; Dewonck, S.; Zheng, L.; Yang, Q.; Naves, A.; Dai, Z.; Samper, J.; Wolfsberg, A.; Levitt, D.; Cormenzana, J.L.; Missana, T.; Mingarro, M.; Schampera, B.; Dultz, S.; Riebe, B.; Samper, J.; Yang, Q.; Genty, A.; Perraud, D.; Poller, A.; Mayer, G.; Croise, J.; Marschall, P.; Krooss, B.; Matray, J.M.; Tanaka, T.; Vogel, P.; Lavanchy, J.M.; Enssle, C.P.; Cruchaudet, M.; Dewonck, S.; Descostes, M.; Blin, V.; Radwan, J.; Poinssot, C.; Mibus, J.; Sachs, S.; Devol-Brown, I.; Motellier, S.; Tinseau, E.; Thoby, D.; Marsal, F.; DeWindt, L.; Tinseau, E.; Pellegrini, D.; Bauer, A.; Fiehn, B.; Marquardt, Ch.; Romer, J.; Gortzen, A.; Kienzler, B

    2007-07-01

    This session gathers 48 articles (posters) dealing with: interlayer / micro-pore exchange of water and ions in clays: a molecular dynamics study; the multi-scale characterisation of mineral and textural spatial heterogeneities in Callovo-Oxfordian argilite and its consequence on solute species diffusion modelling; the diffusion of ions in unsaturated clay rocks: Theory and application to the Callovo- Oxfordian argillite; the porous media characterization with respect to gas transfer in Callovo Oxfordian argillite; the predictions on a 2-D cementation experiment in porous medium: intercomparison on the Comedie project; the large-scale gas injection test (LASGIT) at the Aespoe hard rock laboratory in Sweden; simulating the geochemical coupling between vitrified waste, canister and near-field on the alliances platform; toward radionuclide transport calculations on whole radioactive waste disposal with CAST3M platform; the experimental study of the water permeability of a partially saturated argillite; a mixed hexahedral finite elements for Darcy flow calculation in clay porous media; the diffusive properties of stainless steel filter discs before and after use in diffusion experiments with compacted clays; the structural organization of porosity in the Opalinus clay at the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory under saturated and unsaturated conditions; the evaluation of pore structure in compacted saturated Bentonite using NMR relaxometry; diffusion coefficients measurement in consolidated clays: a combination of micro-scale profiling and solid pore structure analyses; the numerical interpretation of in-situ DIR diffusion experiments on the Callovo- Oxfordian clay at the Meuse/Haute-Marne URL the identification of relative conductivity models for water flow and solute transport in unsaturated compacted Bentonite; diffusion experiments in Callovo- Oxfordian clay from the Meuse/Haute-Marne URL, France: experimental setup and data analyses; the transport in organo

  10. Uncharged water-soluble porphyrin tweezers as a supramolecular sensor for α-amino acids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villari, Valentina; Mineo, Placido; Micali, Norberto; Angelini, Nicola; Vitalini, Daniele; Scamporrino, Emilio

    2007-01-01

    The binding between uncharged cobalt porphyrin tweezers and L-amino acids in aqueous solutions is studied by means of UV-vis and circular dichroism spectroscopy. By varying the length of the aliphatic bridge between the two porphyrin units, the number of cobalt ions in the porphyrin cores and the pH of the solution, the chirality induction phenomenon has been investigated. The binding of the amino acid to the porphyrin seems to occur via a coordination mechanism between the metal and the nitrogen of the amino group; the steric, hydrophobic and π-π interactions operate to stabilize the complexes. The chirogenesis displays an opposite behaviour in the presence of aromatic guests with respect to the non-aromatic ones. Moreover, the UV-vis and the induced circular dichroism spectral changes suggest that the amino acid arrangement in the tweezers is determined by many factors, so that, unlike in organic solvent, the porphyrin tweezers in aqueous solution allow for two different arrangements of the same aromatic amino acid. The experimental findings indicate that the porphyrins tweezers reported in the paper are promising in opening perspectives toward their application as a selective molecular sensor in aqueous solutions directly

  11. An artificial compressibility CBS method for modelling heat transfer and fluid flow in heterogeneous porous materials

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Malan, AG

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available to modelling both forced convection as well as heat transfer and fluid flow through heterogeneous saturated porous materials via an edge-based finite volume discretization scheme. A volume-averaged set of local thermal disequilibrium governing equations...

  12. Experimental study and theoretical interpretation of saturation effect on ultrasonic velocity in tight sandstones under different pressure conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Dongqing; Wei, Jianxin; Di, Bangrang; Ding, Pinbo; Huang, Shiqi; Shuai, Da

    2018-03-01

    Understanding the influence of lithology, porosity, permeability, pore structure, fluid content and fluid distribution on the elastic wave properties of porous rocks is of great significance for seismic exploration. However, unlike conventional sandstones, the petrophysical characteristics of tight sandstones are more complex and less understood. To address this problem, we measured ultrasonic velocity in partially saturated tight sandstones under different effective pressures. A new model is proposed, combining the Mavko-Jizba-Gurevich relations and the White model. The proposed model can satisfactorily simulate and explain the saturation dependence and pressure dependence of velocity in tight sandstones. Under low effective pressure, the relationship of P-wave velocity to saturation is pre-dominantly attributed to local (pore scale) fluid flow and inhomogeneous pore-fluid distribution (large scale). At higher effective pressure, local fluid flow gradually decreases, and P-wave velocity gradually shifts from uniform saturation towards patchy saturation. We also find that shear modulus is more sensitive to saturation at low effective pressures. The new model includes wetting ratio, an adjustable parameter that is closely related to the relationship between shear modulus and saturation.

  13. Criteria for disintegration of an uncharged conducting liquid jet in a transverse electric field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubareva, O. V.; Zubarev, N. M.; Volkov, N. B.

    2018-01-01

    An uncharged conducting liquid cylindrical column (a jet for applications) placed between a pair of flat electrodes is considered. In the trivial case, when the electric field is absent, the jet with circular cross-section is the only possible equilibrium configuration of the system. In the presence of a potential difference between the electrodes, the jet is deformed by the electrostatic forces: its cross-section stretches along the electric field lines. In the case of the mutual compensation of the electrostatic and capillary forces, a new equilibrium configuration of the jet can appear. In a sufficiently strong field, the balance of the forces becomes impossible, and the jet disintegrates (splits into two separate jets). In the present work, we find the range of the parameters (the applied potential difference and the interelectrode distance), where the problem of finding the equilibrium configurations of the jet has solutions. Also we obtain the conditions under which the solutions do not exist and, consequently, the jet splits. The results are compared with the previously studied limiting case of infinite interelectrode distance.

  14. Bovine serum albumin adsorption on functionalized porous silicon surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tay, Li-Lin; Rowell, Nelson L.; Lockwood, David J.; Boukherroub, Rabah

    2004-10-01

    The large surface area within porous Si (pSi) and its strong room temperature photoluminescence (PL) make it an ideal host for biological sensors. In particular, the development of pSi-based optical sensors for DNA, enzyme and other biochemical molecules have become of great interest. Here, we demonstrate that the in-situ monitoring of the pSi PL behaviour can be used as a positive identification of bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein adsorption inside the porous matrix. Electrochemically prepared pSi films were first functionalized with undecylenic acid to produce an organic monolayer covalently attached to the porous silicon surfaces. The acid terminal group also provided favourable BSA binding sites on the pSi matrix sidewalls. In-situ PL spectra showed a gradual red shift (up to 12 meV) in the PL peak energy due to the protein incorporation into the porous matrix. The PL then exhibited a continuous blue shift after saturation of the protein molecules in the pores. This blue shift of the PL peak frequency and a steady increase in the PL intensity is evidence of surface oxidation. Comparing the specular reflectance obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) before and after BSA incubation confirmed the adsorption of protein in the pSi matrix.

  15. Hydrogen storage by physisorption on porous materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Panella, B

    2006-09-13

    A great challenge for commercializing hydrogen powered vehicles is on-board hydrogen storage using economic and secure systems. A possible solution is hydrogen storage in light-weight solid materials. Here three principle storage mechanisms can be distinguished: i) absorption of hydrogen in metals ii) formation of compounds with ionic character, like complex hydrides and iii) physisorption (or physical adsorption) of hydrogen molecules on porous materials. Physical adsorption exhibits several advantages over chemical hydrogen storage as for example the complete reversibility and the fast kinetics. Two classes of porous materials were investigated for physical hydrogen storage, i.e. different carbon nanostructures and crystalline metal-organic frameworks possessing extremely high specific surface area. Hydrogen adsorption isotherms were measured using a Sieverts' apparatus both at room temperature and at 77 K at pressures up to the saturation regime. Additionally, the adsorption sites of hydrogen in these porous materials were identified using thermal desorption spectroscopy extended to very low temperatures (down to 20 K). Furthermore, the adsorbed hydrogen phase was studied in various materials using Raman spectroscopy at different pressures and temperatures. The results show that the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of porous materials correlates linearly with the specific surface area and is independent of structure and composition. In addition the pore structure of the adsorbent plays an important role for hydrogen storage since the adsorption sites for H2 could be assigned to pores possessing different dimensions. Accordingly it was shown that small pores are necessary to reach high storage capacities already at low pressures. This new understanding may help to tailor and optimize new porous materials for hydrogen storage. (orig.)

  16. Hydrogen storage by physisorption on porous materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Panella, B.

    2006-09-13

    A great challenge for commercializing hydrogen powered vehicles is on-board hydrogen storage using economic and secure systems. A possible solution is hydrogen storage in light-weight solid materials. Here three principle storage mechanisms can be distinguished: i) absorption of hydrogen in metals ii) formation of compounds with ionic character, like complex hydrides and iii) physisorption (or physical adsorption) of hydrogen molecules on porous materials. Physical adsorption exhibits several advantages over chemical hydrogen storage as for example the complete reversibility and the fast kinetics. Two classes of porous materials were investigated for physical hydrogen storage, i.e. different carbon nanostructures and crystalline metal-organic frameworks possessing extremely high specific surface area. Hydrogen adsorption isotherms were measured using a Sieverts' apparatus both at room temperature and at 77 K at pressures up to the saturation regime. Additionally, the adsorption sites of hydrogen in these porous materials were identified using thermal desorption spectroscopy extended to very low temperatures (down to 20 K). Furthermore, the adsorbed hydrogen phase was studied in various materials using Raman spectroscopy at different pressures and temperatures. The results show that the maximum hydrogen storage capacity of porous materials correlates linearly with the specific surface area and is independent of structure and composition. In addition the pore structure of the adsorbent plays an important role for hydrogen storage since the adsorption sites for H2 could be assigned to pores possessing different dimensions. Accordingly it was shown that small pores are necessary to reach high storage capacities already at low pressures. This new understanding may help to tailor and optimize new porous materials for hydrogen storage. (orig.)

  17. Numerical studies of fluid and heat flow near high-level nuclear waste packages emplaced in partially saturated fractured tuff

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pruess, K.; Tsang, Y.W.; Wang, J.S.Y.

    1984-11-01

    We have performed modeling studies on the simultaneous transport of heat, liquid water, vapor, and air in partially saturated fractured porous rock. Formation parameters were chosen as representative of the potential repository horizon in the Topopah Spring Unit of the Yucca Mountain tuffs. The presence of fractures makes the transport problem very complex, both in terms of flow geometry and physics. The numerical simulator ''TOUGH'' used for our flow calculations takes into account most of the physical effects which are important in multi-phase fluid and heat flow. It has provisions for handling the extreme non-linearities which arise in phase transitions, component disappearances, and capillary discontinuities at fracture faces. We model a region around an infinite linear string of nuclear waste canisters, taking into account both the discrete fractures and the porous matrix. From an analysis of the results obtained with explicit fractures, we develop equivalent continuum models which can reproduce the temperature, saturation, and pressure variation, and gas and liquid flow rates of the discrete fracture-porous matrix calculations. The equivalent continuum approach makes use of a generalized relative permeability concept to take into account the fracture effects. This results in a substantial simplification of the flow problem which makes larger scale modeling of complicated unsaturated fractured porous systems feasible. Potential applications for regional scale simulations and limitations of the continuum approach are discussed. 35 refs., 14 figs., 4 tabs

  18. Heteroatom-doped porous carbon from methyl orange dye wastewater for oxygen reduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yiqing Wang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Banana peel-derived porous carbon (BPPC was prepared from banana peel and used as an adsorbent for methyl orange (MO wastewater removal. BPPC-MO50 is a N,S-doped BPPC obtained via secondary carbonization. The BPPC-MO50 exhibited a high specific surface area of 1774.3 m2/g. Heteroatom-doped porous carbon (PC was successfully synthesized from the BPPC absorbed MO at high temperature and used for oxygen reduction. The BPPC-MO50 displayed the highest ORR onset potential among all carbon-based electrocatalysts, i.e., 0.93 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE. This is the first report to describe porous carbon-activated materials from agriculture and forestry waste that is used for adsorption of dyes from wastewater via an enhanced heteroatom (N,S content. These results may contribute to the sustainable development of dye wastewater treatment by transforming saturated PC into an effective material and has potential applications in fuel cells or as energy sources. Keywords: Banana peel, Dye wastewater, Porous carbon, Heteroatom doping, Oxygen reduction reaction

  19. Flow visualization in heat-generating porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, D.O.; Nilson, R.H.

    1977-11-01

    The work reported is in support of the Sandia Post-Accident Heat Removal Program, in which simulated LMFBR beds will be subjected to in-pile heating in the ACPR (Annular Core Pulsed Reactor). Flow visualization experiments were performed to gain some insight into the flow patterns and temperature distributions in a fluid-saturated heat-generating porous medium. Although much of the information presented is of a qualitative nature, it is useful in the recognition of the controlling transport process and in the formulation of analytic and numerical models

  20. Numerical simulation for a two-phase porous medium flow problem with rate independent hysteresis

    KAUST Repository

    Brokate, M.

    2012-05-01

    The paper is devoted to the numerical simulation of a multiphase flow in porous medium with a hysteretic relation between the capillary pressures and the saturations of the phases. The flow model we use is based on Darcys law. The hysteretic relation between the capillary pressures and the saturations is described by a play-type hysteresis operator. We propose a numerical algorithm for treating the arising system of equations, discuss finite element schemes and present simulation results for the case of two phases. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Multiscale Adapted Time-Splitting Technique for Nonisothermal Two-Phase Flow and Nanoparticles Transport in Heterogenous Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed F.

    2017-05-05

    This paper is devoted to study the problem of nonisothermal two-phase flow with nanoparticles transport in heterogenous porous media, numerically. For this purpose, we introduce a multiscale adapted time-splitting technique to simulate the problem under consideration. The mathematical model consists of equations of pressure, saturation, heat, nanoparticles concentration in the water–phase, deposited nanoparticles concentration on the pore–walls, and entrapped nanoparticles concentration in the pore–throats. We propose a multiscale time splitting IMplicit Pressure Explicit Saturation–IMplicit Temperature Concentration (IMPES-IMTC) scheme to solve the system of governing equations. The time step-size adaptation is achieved by satisfying the stability Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL<1) condition. Moreover, numerical test of a highly heterogeneous porous medium is provided and the water saturation, the temperature, the nanoparticles concentration, the deposited nanoparticles concentration, and the permeability are presented in graphs.

  2. Flow modelling and radionuclide transport research and development in saturated and unsaturated soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carvalho Filho, Carlos Alberto de; Branco, Otavio Eurico de Aquino; Loureiro, Celso de Oliveira

    1996-01-01

    The Engenho Nogueira Hydrogeological Project, PROHBEN, was idealized with the goal of implementing an Experimental Hydrogeological basin within its limits, in order to permit the development of hydrogeological studies and techniques, mainly in the modeling of flow and transport of contaminants (radionuclides) in the saturated and unsaturated porous media. The PROHBEN is located in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, amounting a 5 km 2 area. The local porous-granular, heterogeneous and anisotropic, water-table aquifer reaches 40 meters of thickness, and is compound mainly by alluvial deposits and alteration rocks products, with a sandy texture. The flow and transport modeling are being done using the Modflow and MT3D codes. Three master degree researches are being done in the PROHBEN area and one expects is that more researchers come to use this experimental site. (author)

  3. Transport of poly(acrylic acid) coated 2-line ferrihydrite nanoparticles in saturated aquifer sediments for environmental remediation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Aishuang; Zhou, Sheng; Koel, Bruce E.; Jaffé, Peter R.

    2014-04-01

    Groundwater remediation using iron oxide and zero-valent iron nanoparticles (NPs) can be effective, but is limited in many applications due to the NP strong retention in groundwater-saturated porous media after injection, the passivation of the porous surface, and the high cost of nanomaterials versus macro scale iron. In this study, we investigated transport of bare and polymer-coated 2-line ferrihydrite NPs (30-300 nm) in saturated aquifer sediments. The influence of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) polymer coatings was studied on the colloidal stability and transport in sediments packed column tests simulating groundwater flow in saturated sediments. In addition, the influence of calcium cations was investigated by transport measurements using sediments with calcium concentrations in the aqueous phase ranging from 0.5 (typical for most sediments) to 2 mM. Measurements were also made of zeta potential, hydrodynamic diameter, polymer adsorption and desorption properties, and bio-availability of PAA-coated NPs. We found that NP transport through the saturated aquifer sediments was improved by PAA coating and that the transport properties could be tuned by adjusting the polymer concentration. We further discovered that PAA coatings enhanced NP transport, compared to bare NPs, in all calcium-containing experiments tested, however, the presence of calcium always exhibited a negative effect on NP transport. In tests of bioavailability, the iron reduction rate of the coated and bare NPs by Geobacter sulfurreducens was the same, which shows that the PAA coating does not significantly reduce NP Fe(III) bioavailability. Our results demonstrate that much improved transport of iron oxide NP can be achieved in saturated aquifer sediments by introducing negatively charged polyelectrolytes and optimizing polymer concentrations, and furthermore, these coated NPs retain their bioavailability that is needed for applications in bio-environmental remediation.

  4. Pore-Scale Investigation of Micron-Size Polyacrylamide Elastic Microspheres (MPEMs) Transport and Retention in Saturated Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    Yao, Chuanjin

    2014-05-06

    Knowledge of micrometer-size polyacrylamide elastic microsphere (MPEM) transport and retention mechanisms in porous media is essential for the application of MPEMs as a smart sweep improvement and profile modification agent in improving oil recovery. A transparent micromodel packed with translucent quartz sand was constructed and used to investigate the pore-scale transport, surface deposition-release, and plugging deposition-remigration mechanisms of MPEMs in porous media. The results indicate that the combination of colloidal and hydrodynamic forces controls the deposition and release of MPEMs on pore-surfaces; the reduction of fluid salinity and the increase of Darcy velocity are beneficial to the MPEM release from pore-surfaces; the hydrodynamic forces also influence the remigration of MPEMs in pore-throats. MPEMs can plug pore-throats through the mechanisms of capture-plugging, superposition-plugging, and bridge-plugging, which produces resistance to water flow; the interception with MPEM particulate filters occurring in the interior of porous media can enhance the plugging effect of MPEMs; while the interception with MPEM particulate filters occurring at the surface of low-permeability layer can prevent the low-permeability layer from being damaged by MPEMs. MPEMs can remigrate in pore-throats depending on their elasticity through four steps of capture-plugging, elastic deformation, steady migration, and deformation recovery. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

  5. Single-source gamma radiation procedures for improved calibration and measurements in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oostrom, M.; Hofstee, C.; Dane, H.; Lenhard, R.J.

    1998-01-01

    When dual-energy gamma radiation systems are employed for measurements in porous media, count rates from both sources are often used to compute parameter values. However, for several applications, the count rates of just one source are insufficient. These applications include the determination of volumetric liquid content values in two-liquid systems and salt concentration values in water-saturated porous media. Single-energy gamma radiation procedures for three applications are described in this paper. Through an error analysis, single-source procedures are shown to reduce the probable error in the determinations considerably. Example calculations and simple column experiments were conducted for each application to compare the performance of the new single-source and standard dual-source methods. In all cases, the single-source methods provided more reliable data than the traditional dual-source methods. In addition, a single-source calibration procedure is proposed to determine incident count rates indirectly. This procedure, which requires packing under saturated conditions, can be used in all single- and dual-source applications and yields accurate porosity and dry bulk density values

  6. Non-Darcy Mixed Convection in a Doubly Stratified Porous Medium with Soret-Dufour Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Srinivasacharya

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the nonsimilarity solutions for mixed convection heat and mass transfer along a semi-infinite vertical plate embedded in a doubly stratified fluid saturated porous medium in the presence of Soret and Dufour effects. The flow in the porous medium is described by employing the Darcy-Forchheimer based model. The nonlinear governing equations and their associated boundary conditions are initially cast into dimensionless forms and then solved numerically. The influence of pertinent parameters on dimensionless velocity, temperature, concentration, heat, and mass transfer in terms of the local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers is discussed and presented graphically.

  7. Permeability model of sintered porous media: analysis and experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flórez Mera, Juan Pablo; Chiamulera, Maria E.; Mantelli, Marcia B. H.

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, the permeability of porous media fabricated from copper powder sintering process was modeled and measured, aiming the use of the porosity as input parameter for the prediction of the permeability of sintering porous media. An expression relating the powder particle mean diameter with the permeability was obtained, based on an elementary porous media cell, which is physically represented by a duct formed by the arrangement of spherical particles forming a simple or orthorhombic packing. A circular duct with variable section was used to model the fluid flow within the porous media, where the concept of the hydraulic diameter was applied. Thus, the porous is modeled as a converging-diverging duct. The electrical circuit analogy was employed to determine two hydraulic resistances of the cell: based on the Navier-Stokes equation and on the Darcýs law. The hydraulic resistances are compared between themselves and an expression to determine the permeability as function of average particle diameter is obtained. The atomized copper powder was sifted to reduce the size dispersion of the particles. The porosities and permeabilities of sintered media fabricated from powders with particle mean diameters ranging from 20 to 200 microns were measured, by means of the image analysis method and using an experimental apparatus. The permeability data of a porous media, made of copper powder and saturated with distilled water, was used to compare with the permeability model. Permeability literature models, which considers that powder particles have the same diameter and include porosity data as input parameter, were compared with the present model and experimental data. This comparison showed to be quite good.

  8. The Flow of Butane and Isobutene Vapors Near Saturation Through Porous Vycor Glass Membranes

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Loimer, T.; Uchytil, Petr; Petričkovič, Roman; Setničková, Kateřina

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 383, 1-2 (2011), s. 104-115 ISSN 0376-7388 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA104/09/1165; GA ČR GCP106/10/J038; GA MŠk ME 889 Grant - others:AIMC GmbH(AT) AES:09/2006 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : transport processes * porous media * inorganic membranes Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering Impact factor: 3.850, year: 2011

  9. Color image analysis of contaminants and bacteria transport in porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashidi, Mehdi; Dehmeshki, Jamshid; Daemi, Mohammad F.; Cole, Larry; Dickenson, Eric

    1997-10-01

    Transport of contaminants and bacteria in aqueous heterogeneous saturated porous systems have been studied experimentally using a novel fluorescent microscopic imaging technique. The approach involves color visualization and quantification of bacterium and contaminant distributions within a transparent porous column. By introducing stained bacteria and an organic dye as a contaminant into the column and illuminating the porous regions with a planar sheet of laser beam, contaminant and bacterial transport processes through the porous medium can be observed and measured microscopically. A computer controlled color CCD camera is used to record the fluorescent images as a function of time. These images are recorded by a frame accurate high resolution VCR and are then analyzed using a color image analysis code written in our laboratories. The color images are digitized this way and simultaneous concentration and velocity distributions of both contaminant and bacterium are evaluated as a function of time and pore characteristics. The approach provides a unique dynamic probe to observe these transport processes microscopically. These results are extremely valuable in in-situ bioremediation problems since microscopic particle-contaminant- bacterium interactions are the key to understanding and optimization of these processes.

  10. Hydrogen isotopic substitution experiments in nanostructured porous silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palacios, W.D.; Koropecki, R.R.; Arce, R.D.; Busso, A.

    2008-01-01

    Nanostructured porous silicon is usually prepared by electrochemical anodization of monocrystalline silicon using a fluorine-rich electrolyte. As a result of this process, the silicon atoms conserve their original crystalline location, and many of the dangling bonds appearing on the surface of the nanostructure are saturated by hydrogen coming from the electrolyte. This work presents an IR study of the effects produced by partial substitution of water in the electrolytic solution by deuterium oxide. The isotopic effects on the IR spectra are analyzed for the as-prepared samples and for the samples subjected to partial thermal effusion of hydrogen and deuterium. We demonstrate that, although deuterium is chemically indistinguishable from hydrogen, it presents a singular behaviour when used in porous silicon preparation. We found that deuterium preferentially bonds forming Si-DH groups. A possible explanation of the phenomenon is presented, based on the different diffusivities of hydrogen and deuterium

  11. Hydrogen isotopic substitution experiments in nanostructured porous silicon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palacios, W.D. [Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura - (UNNE), Avenida Libertad 5500, 3400 Corrientes (Argentina); Koropecki, R.R. [INTEC (CONICET-UNL), Gueemes 3450, 3000 Santa Fe (Argentina)], E-mail: rkoro@intec.ceride.gov.ar; Arce, R.D. [INTEC (CONICET-UNL), Gueemes 3450, 3000 Santa Fe (Argentina); Busso, A. [Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura - (UNNE), Avenida Libertad 5500, 3400 Corrientes (Argentina)

    2008-04-30

    Nanostructured porous silicon is usually prepared by electrochemical anodization of monocrystalline silicon using a fluorine-rich electrolyte. As a result of this process, the silicon atoms conserve their original crystalline location, and many of the dangling bonds appearing on the surface of the nanostructure are saturated by hydrogen coming from the electrolyte. This work presents an IR study of the effects produced by partial substitution of water in the electrolytic solution by deuterium oxide. The isotopic effects on the IR spectra are analyzed for the as-prepared samples and for the samples subjected to partial thermal effusion of hydrogen and deuterium. We demonstrate that, although deuterium is chemically indistinguishable from hydrogen, it presents a singular behaviour when used in porous silicon preparation. We found that deuterium preferentially bonds forming Si-DH groups. A possible explanation of the phenomenon is presented, based on the different diffusivities of hydrogen and deuterium.

  12. Water born pollutants sampling using porous suction samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baig, M.A.

    1997-01-01

    The common standard method of sampling water born pollutants in the vadoze zone is core sampling and it is followed by extraction of pore fluid. This method does not allow sampling at the same location next time and again later on. There is an alternative approach for sampling fluids (water born pollutants) from both saturated and unsaturated regions of vadose zone using porous suction samplers. There are three types of porous suction samplers, vacuum-operated, pressure-vacuum lysimeters, high pressure vacuum samples. The suction samples are operated in the range of 0-70 centi bars and usually consist of ceramic and polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). The operation range of PTFE is higher than ceramic cups. These samplers are well suited for in situ and repeated sampling form the same location. This paper discusses the physical properties and operating condition of such samplers to the utilized under our environmental sampling. (author)

  13. Comparison between the Gauss' law method and the zero current method to calculate multi-species ionic diffusion in saturated uncharged porous materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johannesson, Björn

    2010-01-01

    There exist, mainly, two different continuum approaches to calculate transient multi species ionic diffusion. One of them is based on explicitly assuming a zero current in the diffusing mixture together with an introduction of a streaming electrical potential in the constitutive equations...... of the coupled set of equation in favor of the staggering approach. A one step truly implicit time stepping scheme is adopted together with an implementation of a modified Newton-Raphson iterational scheme for search of equilibrium at each considered time step calculation. Results from the zero current case...... difference of the two types of potentials, that is, the streaming electrical potential and the electrical field is carefully examined. A novel numerical method based on the finite element approach is established for the zero current method case. The proposed numerical method uses the direct calculation...

  14. Hydraulic Properties of Porous Media Saturated with Nanoparticle-Stabilized Air-Water Foam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianglei Zheng

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The foam generated by the mixture of air and water has a much higher viscosity and lower mobility than those of pure water or gas that constitutes the air-water foam. The possibility of using the air-water foam as a flow barrier for the purpose of groundwater and soil remediation is explored in this paper. A nanoparticle-stabilized air-water foam was fabricated by vigorously stirring the nano-fluid in pressurized condition. The foam bubble size distribution was analyzed with a microscope. The viscosities of foams generated with the solutions with several nanoparticle concentrations were measured as a function of time. The breakthrough pressure of foam-saturated microfluidic chips and sand columns were obtained. The hydraulic conductivity of a foam-filled sand column was measured after foam breakthrough. The results show that: (1 bubble coalescence and the Ostwald ripening are believed to be the reason of bubble size distribution change; (2 the viscosity of nanoparticle-stabilized foam and the breakthrough pressures decreased with time once the foam was generated; (3 the hydraulic conductivity of the foam-filled sand column was almost two orders of magnitude lower than that of a water-saturated sand column even after the foam-breakthrough. Based on the results in this study, the nanoparticle-stabilized air-water foam could be injected into contaminated soils to generate vertical barriers for temporary hydraulic conductivity reduction.

  15. Pore-scale dynamics of salt transport and distribution in drying porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shokri, Nima

    2014-01-01

    Understanding the physics of water evaporation from saline porous media is important in many natural and engineering applications such as durability of building materials and preservation of monuments, water quality, and mineral-fluid interactions. We applied synchrotron x-ray micro-tomography to investigate the pore-scale dynamics of dissolved salt distribution in a three dimensional drying saline porous media using a cylindrical plastic column (15 mm in height and 8 mm in diameter) packed with sand particles saturated with CaI 2 solution (5% concentration by mass) with a spatial and temporal resolution of 12 μm and 30 min, respectively. Every time the drying sand column was set to be imaged, two different images were recorded using distinct synchrotron x-rays energies immediately above and below the K-edge value of Iodine. Taking the difference between pixel gray values enabled us to delineate the spatial and temporal distribution of CaI 2 concentration at pore scale. Results indicate that during early stages of evaporation, air preferentially invades large pores at the surface while finer pores remain saturated and connected to the wet zone at bottom via capillary-induced liquid flow acting as evaporating spots. Consequently, the salt concentration increases preferentially in finer pores where evaporation occurs. Higher salt concentration was observed close to the evaporating surface indicating a convection-driven process. The obtained salt profiles were used to evaluate the numerical solution of the convection-diffusion equation (CDE). Results show that the macro-scale CDE could capture the overall trend of the measured salt profiles but fail to produce the exact slope of the profiles. Our results shed new insight on the physics of salt transport and its complex dynamics in drying porous media and establish synchrotron x-ray tomography as an effective tool to investigate the dynamics of salt transport in porous media at high spatial and temporal resolution

  16. Experimental and numerical investigations on freeze-drying of porous media with prebuilt porosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wei; Yang, Jing; Hu, Dapeng; Pan, Yanqiu; Wang, Shihao; Chen, Guohua

    2018-05-01

    Freeze-drying of initially porous frozen material was investigated aimed at improving the process economics by reducing drying time and raising productivity. Experimental results showed that freeze-drying can be significantly enhanced by the frozen material with prebuilt porosity, and about 31% of drying time can be saved compared with the conventionally solid frozen material under the tested operating conditions. A multiphase transport model was formulated based on the local mass non-equilibrium assumption. Numerical results showed excellent agreements between measured and predicted drying curves. Analyses of saturation and temperature profiles displayed that volumetric sublimation-desorption can occur for the initially porous frozen material.

  17. A Bézier-Spline-based Model for the Simulation of Hysteresis in Variably Saturated Soil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremer, Clemens; Peche, Aaron; Thiele, Luisa-Bianca; Graf, Thomas; Neuweiler, Insa

    2017-04-01

    Most transient variably saturated flow models neglect hysteresis in the p_c-S-relationship (Beven, 2012). Such models tend to inadequately represent matrix potential and saturation distribution. Thereby, when simulating flow and transport processes, fluid and solute fluxes might be overestimated (Russo et al., 1989). In this study, we present a simple, computationally efficient and easily applicable model that enables to adequately describe hysteresis in the p_c-S-relationship for variably saturated flow. This model can be seen as an extension to the existing play-type model (Beliaev and Hassanizadeh, 2001), where scanning curves are simplified as vertical lines between main imbibition and main drainage curve. In our model, we use continuous linear and Bézier-Spline-based functions. We show the successful validation of the model by numerically reproducing a physical experiment by Gillham, Klute and Heermann (1976) describing primary drainage and imbibition in a vertical soil column. With a deviation of 3%, the simple Bézier-Spline-based model performs significantly better that the play-type approach, which deviates by 30% from the experimental results. Finally, we discuss the realization of physical experiments in order to extend the model to secondary scanning curves and in order to determine scanning curve steepness. {Literature} Beven, K.J. (2012). Rainfall-Runoff-Modelling: The Primer. John Wiley and Sons. Russo, D., Jury, W. A., & Butters, G. L. (1989). Numerical analysis of solute transport during transient irrigation: 1. The effect of hysteresis and profile heterogeneity. Water Resources Research, 25(10), 2109-2118. https://doi.org/10.1029/WR025i010p02109. Beliaev, A.Y. & Hassanizadeh, S.M. (2001). A Theoretical Model of Hysteresis and Dynamic Effects in the Capillary Relation for Two-phase Flow in Porous Media. Transport in Porous Media 43: 487. doi:10.1023/A:1010736108256. Gillham, R., Klute, A., & Heermann, D. (1976). Hydraulic properties of a porous

  18. Numerical analysis of gas transfer by natural convection in a fluid saturated porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akbal, S.; Filiz Baytas, A.

    2005-01-01

    The concentration distribution of a radioactive gas in a square porous cavity is investigated in this study. The decay of the radioactive gas is taken into account in the concentration equation. The governing equations are solved using alternating direction implicit method (ADI) and Finite volume method. Numerical results for velocity and concentration profiles are presented for an extensive range of parameter like Grashof number (Gr c ), Schmidt number (Sc) and the non-dimensional constant of radioactive decay. (authors)

  19. Numerical analysis of gas transfer by natural convection in a fluid saturated porous medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akbal, S. [Cekmece Nuclear Research and Training Center (Turkey); Filiz Baytas, A. [Istanbul Technical Univ. (Turkey). Inst. for Energy

    2005-07-01

    The concentration distribution of a radioactive gas in a square porous cavity is investigated in this study. The decay of the radioactive gas is taken into account in the concentration equation. The governing equations are solved using alternating direction implicit method (ADI) and Finite volume method. Numerical results for velocity and concentration profiles are presented for an extensive range of parameter like Grashof number (Gr{sub c}), Schmidt number (Sc) and the non-dimensional constant of radioactive decay. (authors)

  20. The Time-Dependency of Deformation in Porous Carbonate Rocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kibikas, W. M.; Lisabeth, H. P.; Zhu, W.

    2016-12-01

    Porous carbonate rocks are natural reservoirs for freshwater and hydrocarbons. More recently, due to their potential for geothermal energy generation as well as carbon sequestration, there are renewed interests in better understanding of the deformation behavior of carbonate rocks. We conducted a series of deformation experiments to investigate the effects of strain rate and pore fluid chemistry on rock strength and transport properties of porous limestones. Indiana limestone samples with initial porosity of 16% are deformed at 25 °C under effective pressures of 10, 30, and 50 MPa. Under nominally dry conditions, the limestone samples are deformed under 3 different strain rates, 1.5 x 10-4 s-1, 1.5 x 10-5 s-1 and 1.5 x 10-6 s-1 respectively. The experimental results indicate that the mechanical behavior is both rate- and pressure-dependent. At low confining pressures, post-yielding deformation changes from predominantly strain softening to strain hardening as strain rate decreases. At high confining pressures, while all samples exhibit shear-enhanced compaction, decreasing strain rate leads to an increase in compaction. Slower strain rates enhance compaction at all confining pressure conditions. The rate-dependence of deformation behaviors of porous carbonate rocks at dry conditions indicates there is a strong visco-elastic coupling for the degradation of elastic modulus with increasing plastic deformation. In fluid saturated samples, inelastic strain of limestone is partitioned among low temperature plasticity, cataclasis and solution transport. Comparison of inelastic behaviors of samples deformed with distilled water and CO2-saturated aqueous solution as pore fluids provide experimental constraints on the relative activities of the various mechanisms. Detailed microstructural analysis is conducted to take into account the links between stress, microstructure and the inelastic behavior and failure mechanisms.

  1. Transport and retention of 14C-perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in saturated limestone and sand porous media: Effects of input concentration, ionic strength and cation type

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xueyan, L.; Gao, B.; Sun, Y.; Wu, J.

    2017-12-01

    Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been used in a wide variety of industrial and consumer product applications. PFOA has been detected around the world at ng/L to μg/L levels in groundwater, and at ng/g levels in soil.The physicochemical properties of porous media were proven to play pivotal roles in determining the transport behavior of various pollutants. It is anticipated that physicochemical properties of porous media will strongly influence the transport behavior of PFOA. In addition, previous investigations have revealed that input concentration significantly influence the transport behavior of nanoparticles and antibiotics. Thus, this study was designed experimentally and fundamentally to gain insight into transport and retention of PFOA in various porous medias at different input concentrations, solution IS and cation type. Unlike in quartz sand porous media, the BTCs in limestone porous media exhibited increasing retention rate and high degree of tailing in limestone porous media. Results showed that higher relative retention occurred in limestone porous media than in quartz sand porous media under the same solution chemistry. This result was attributed to the less negative zeta-potentials, rougher surface and larger specific surface area, and the presence of hydroxyl groups and organic matters of limestone grains. Higher ionic strength and Ca2+ had little impact on the mobility of PFOA in quartz sand porous media, but significantly enhanced the retention of PFOA in limestone porous media. The difference is likely due to the compression of the electrical double layer, and the surface-charge neutralization and cation-bridging effect of Ca2+. Higher input concentration resulted in lower relative PFOA retention in limestone porous media, but the influence were insignificant in quartz sand porous media. This effect is likely because attachment sites in limestone responced to the variety of input concentration differently than quartz.

  2. THERMAL CONSOLIDATION OF LAYERED POROUS HALF-SPACE TO VARIABLE THERMAL LOADING

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    BAI Bing

    2006-01-01

    An analytical method was derived for the thermal consolidation of layered,saturated porous half-space to variable thermal loading with time. In the coupled governing equations of linear thermoelastic media, the influences of thermo-osmosis effect and thermal filtration effect were introduced. Solutions in Laplace transform space were first obtained and then numerically inverted. The responses of a double-layered porous space subjected to exponential decaying thermal loading were studied. The influences of the differences between the properties of the two layers (e.g., the coefficient of thermal consolidation, elastic modulus) on thermal consolidation were discussed. The studies show that the coupling effects of displacement and stress fields on temperature field can be completely neglected, however, thc thermo-osmosis effect has an obvious influence on thermal responses.

  3. Solute transport in aggregated and layered porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koch, S.

    1993-01-01

    This work is a contribution to research in soil physics dealing with solute transport in porous media. The influence of structural inhomogeneities on solute transport is investigated. Detailed experiments at the laboratory scale are used to enlighten distinct processes which cannot be studied separately at field scale. Two main aspects are followed up: (i) to show the influence of aggregation of a porous medium on breakthrough time and spreading of an inert tracer and consequences on the estimation of parameter values of models describing solute transport in aggregated systems, (ii) to investigate the influences on the dispersion process when stratification is perpendicular to the direction of flow. Several concepts of modelling solute transport in soil are discussed. Models based on the convection-dispersion equation (CDE) are emphasized because they are used here to model solute transport experiments conducted with aggregated porous media. Stochastic concepts are introduced to show the limitations of the deterministic CDE approaches. Experiments are done in columns containing two kinds of solid phases and were saturated with water. The solid phases are porous and solid glass beads exhibiting a distinctly unimodal or bimodal pore size distribution. Experimental breakthrough curves (BTCs) are modelled with the CDE, a bicontinuum model with a phenomenological mass transfer rate and a bicontinuum spherical diffusion model. Experiments are also done in columns that are unsaturated containing porous materials that are layered. Flow is made at a steady rate. It is shown that layer boundaries have a severe influence on lateral mixing. They may force streamlines to converge or cause a lateral redistribution of solutes. (author) figs., tabs., 122 refs

  4. Solid phase characterization and gas transfers through unsaturated porous media: experimental study and modeling applied diffusion of hydrogen through cement-based materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vu, T.H.

    2009-10-01

    This thesis documents the relationship between the porous microstructure of cement based materials and theirs gaseous diffusivity properties relative to the aqueous phase location and the global saturation level of the material. The materials studied are cement pastes and mortars. To meet the thesis objective, the materials are characterized in detail by means of several experimental methods: mercury intrusion porosimetry, water porosimetry, thermo-poro-metry, nitrogen sorption and water desorption. In addition, diffusion tests realized on materials maintained in controlled humidity chambers allow obtaining the effective hydrogen diffusivity as function of the microstructure and the saturation state of material with a gas chromatography. The experimental results are then used as a data base that is compared to a modeling approach. The model developed consists of a combination of ordinary diffusion (Fick regime) and Knudsen diffusion of hydrogen. The model also accounts for the effects of the liquid curtains, the impact of tortuosity on gas diffusion, and the saturation level of the porous system. (author)

  5. Direct laboratory observation of fluid distribution and its influence on acoustic properties of patchy saturated rocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebedev, M.; Clennell, B.; Pervukhina, M.; Shulakova, V.; Mueller, T.; Gurevich, B.

    2009-04-01

    Porous rocks in hydrocarbon reservoirs are often saturated with a mixture of two or more fluids. Interpretation of exploration seismograms requires understanding of the relationship between distribution of the fluids patches and acoustic properties of rocks. The sizes of patches as well as their distribution affect significantly the seismic response. If the size of the fluid patch is smaller than the diffusion wavelength then pressure equilibration is achieved and the bulk modulus of the rock saturated with a mixture is defined by the Gassmann equations (Gassmann, 1951) with the saturation-weighted average of the fluid bulk modulus given by Wood's law (Wood, 1955, Mavko et al., 1998). If the fluid patch size is much larger than the diffusion wavelength then there is no pressure communication between different patches. In this case, fluid-flow effects can be neglected and the overall rock may be considered equivalent to an elastic composite material consisting of homogeneous parts whose properties are given by Gassmann theory with Hill's equation for the bulk modulus (Hill, 1963, Mavko et al., 1998). At intermediate values of fluid saturation the velocity-saturation relationship is significantly affected by the fluid patch distribution. In order to get an improved understanding of factors influencing the patch distribution and the resulting seismic wave response we performed simultaneous measurements of P-wave velocities and rock sample CT imaging. The CT imaging allows us to map the fluid distribution inside rock sample during saturation (water imbibition). We compare the experimental results with theoretical predictions. In this paper we will present results of simultaneous measurements of longitudinal wave velocities and imaging mapping of fluid distribution inside rock sample during sample saturation. We will report results of two kinds of experiments: "dynamic" and "quasi static" saturation. In both experiments Casino Cores Otway Basin sandstone, Australia core

  6. Large scale modulation of high frequency acoustic waves in periodic porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutin, Claude; Rallu, Antoine; Hans, Stephane

    2012-12-01

    This paper deals with the description of the modulation at large scale of high frequency acoustic waves in gas saturated periodic porous media. High frequencies mean local dynamics at the pore scale and therefore absence of scale separation in the usual sense of homogenization. However, although the pressure is spatially varying in the pores (according to periodic eigenmodes), the mode amplitude can present a large scale modulation, thereby introducing another type of scale separation to which the asymptotic multi-scale procedure applies. The approach is first presented on a periodic network of inter-connected Helmholtz resonators. The equations governing the modulations carried by periodic eigenmodes, at frequencies close to their eigenfrequency, are derived. The number of cells on which the carrying periodic mode is defined is therefore a parameter of the modeling. In a second part, the asymptotic approach is developed for periodic porous media saturated by a perfect gas. Using the "multicells" periodic condition, one obtains the family of equations governing the amplitude modulation at large scale of high frequency waves. The significant difference between modulations of simple and multiple mode are evidenced and discussed. The features of the modulation (anisotropy, width of frequency band) are also analyzed.

  7. Migrations of 60-Co and 137-Cs in Saturated and unsaturated Soil at Serpong Nuclear Research Center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lubis, E; Untara

    1996-01-01

    The migrations of 60-Co and 137-Cs in saturated and unsaturated soil at Serpong Nuclear Research Center was investigated. The objectives of this investigation are to find the geological and hydrological parameters, especially for estimating the migrations of radionuclides in porous media with advection-dispersion equations. The result showed that the porosity (η) and density (ρ ) of saturated soil are 27.6% and 1.35 g/cm3, and in the unsaturated soil are 18.9% and 1.41 g/cm3. The coefficients distributions (Kd) of 60-Co and 137-Cs in saturated and unsaturated soil are 1.6 - 8.9 and 3.2 - 7.7 respectively. The hydrodinamic coefficients (Dx) and dispersivity (αx) of C0-60 in saturated and unsaturated soil are 0.85 cm2/second and 2.4 x 10-3 cm, and for 137-Cs are 0.91 cm2/second and 2.54 x 10E3 cm

  8. Investigation of physical properties of porous rocks and fluid flow phenomena in porous media using computer assisted tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kantzas, A.

    1990-01-01

    Computer assisted tomography is becoming a very attractive tool for petroleum engineers. The method can give an image of a core in two or three dimensions with a very fine resolution and high accuracy. The image data can be processed to give information about the physical properties of the core (density, porosity, mineralogy, heterogeneities) and the fluids within the core (saturation and saturation profiles). This paper presents a software package that uses the CAT scanner output data as input for petrographic and dynamic modelling of a porous rock. Core samples up to 10 cm in diameter are scanned at different x-ray energy levels using an EMI CT5005 full body scanner. The scanner computer is producing an array of normalized linear attenuation coefficients per scanned slice. The resolution is 0.75 mm x 0.75 mm while the slice thickness can vary from 15 mm down to 1 mm depending on the bulk density and size of the sample. The developed package analyzes the CAT scanner data for bulk and grain density, effective atomic number, static and dynamic porosity and fluid saturations for up to three fluids present. The capabilities and limitations of the presented algorithm are discussed and characteristic examples are presented

  9. Upscaling of Constitutive Relations In Unsaturated Heterogeneous Porous Media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, H. H.; Bodvarsson, G. S.

    2001-01-01

    When numerical model are used for modeling field scale flow and transport processes in the subsurface, the problem of ''upscaling'' arises. Typical scales, corresponding to spatial resolutions of subsurface heterogeneity in numerical models, are generally much larger than the measurement scale of the parameters and physical processes involved. The upscaling problems is, then, one of assigning parameters to gridblock scale based on parameter values measured on small scales. The focus of this study is to develop an approach to determine large-scale (upscaled) constitutive relations (relationships among relative permeability, capillary pressure and saturation) from small-scale measurements for porous media for a range of air entry values that are typical for the tuff matrix in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain. For porous media with large air entry values, capillary forces play a key role in determining spatial water distribution at large-scales. Therefore, a relatively uniform capillary pressure approximately exists even for a large gridblock scale under steady state flow conditions. Based on these reasoning, we developed formulations that relate upscaled constitutive relations to ones measured at core-scale. Numerical experiments with stochastically generated heterogeneous porous media were used to evaluate the upscaling formulations

  10. Pore network modeling of drainage process in patterned porous media: a quasi-static study

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Tao

    2015-04-17

    This work represents a preliminary investigation on the role of wettability conditions on the flow of a two-phase system in porous media. Since such effects have been lumped implicitly in relative permeability-saturation and capillary pressure-saturation relationships, it is quite challenging to isolate its effects explicitly in real porous media applications. However, within the framework of pore network models, it is easy to highlight the effects of wettability conditions on the transport of two-phase systems. We employ quasi-static investigation in which the system undergo slow movement based on slight increment of the imposed pressure. Several numerical experiments of the drainage process are conducted to displace a wetting fluid with a non-wetting one. In all these experiments the network is assigned different scenarios of various wettability patterns. The aim is to show that the drainage process is very much affected by the imposed pattern of wettability. The wettability conditions are imposed by assigning the value of contact angle to each pore throat according to predefined patterns.

  11. Effective Hydro-Mechanical Properties of Fluid-Saturated Fracture Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollmann, N.; Vinci, C.; Renner, J.; Steeb, H.

    2015-12-01

    Consideration of hydro-mechanical processes is essential for the characterization of liquid-resources as well as for many engineering applications. Furthermore, the modeling of seismic waves in fractured porous media finds application not only in geophysical exploration but also reservoir management. Fractures exhibit high-aspect-ratio geometries, i.e. they constitute thin and long hydraulic conduits. Motivated by this peculiar geometry, the investigation of the hydro-mechanically coupled processes is performed by means of a hybrid-dimensional modeling approach. The effective material behavior of domains including complex fracture patterns in a porous rock is assessed by investigating the fluid pressure and the solid displacement of the skeleton saturated by compressible fluids. Classical balance equations are combined with a Poiseuille-type flow in the dimensionally reduced fracture. In the porous surrounding rock, the classical Biot-theory is applied. For simple geometries, our findings show that two main fluid-flow processes occur, leak-off from fractures to the surrounding rock and fracture flow within and between the connected fractures. The separation of critical frequencies of the two flow processes is not straightforward, in particular for systems containing a large number of fractures. Our aim is to model three dimensional hydro-mechanically coupled processes within complex fracture patterns and in particular determine the frequency-dependent attenuation characteristics. Furthermore, the effect of asperities of the fracture surfaces on the fracture stiffness and on the hydraulic conductivity will be added to the approach.

  12. Diffusive–Dispersive and Reactive Fronts in Porous Media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haberer, Christina M.; Muniruzzaman, Muhammad; Grathwohl, Peter

    2015-01-01

    , across the unsaturated–saturated interface, under both conservative and reactive transport conditions. As reactive system we considered the abiotic oxidation of Fe2+ in the presence of O2. We studied the reaction kinetics in batch experiments and its coupling with diffusive and dispersive transport...... processes by means of one-dimensional columns and two-dimensional flow-through experiments, respectively. A noninvasive optode technique was used to track O2 transport into the initially anoxic porous medium at highly resolved spatial and temporal scales. The results show significant differences...

  13. Sample clean-up, enrichment and determination of s -triazine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In liquid membrane extraction, the uncharged triazine compounds from the flowing donor solution diffuse through a porous poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) membrane, containing a water immiscible organic solvent. The s-triazine molecules are then irreversibly trapped in the stagnant acidic acceptor phase since they ...

  14. Pore-Scale Investigation of Micron-Size Polyacrylamide Elastic Microspheres (MPEMs) Transport and Retention in Saturated Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    Yao, Chuanjin; Lei, Guanglun; Cathles, Lawrence M.; Steenhuis, Tammo S.

    2014-01-01

    Knowledge of micrometer-size polyacrylamide elastic microsphere (MPEM) transport and retention mechanisms in porous media is essential for the application of MPEMs as a smart sweep improvement and profile modification agent in improving oil recovery

  15. The enhanced local pressure model for the accurate analysis of fluid pressure driven fracture in porous materials

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Remij, E.W.; Remmers, J.J.C.; Huyghe, J.M.R.J.; Smeulders, D.M.J.

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we present an enhanced local pressure model for modelling fluid pressure driven fractures in porous saturated materials. Using the partition-of-unity property of finite element shape functions, we describe the displacement and pressure fields across the fracture as a strong

  16. Combined effect of thermal dispersion and variable viscosity of non-darcy convection heat transfer in a fluidsaturated porous medium

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed; Salama, Amgad; El-Amin, Ammaarah A.; Gorla, Rama Subba Reddy

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, the effects of thermal dispersion and variable viscosity on the non-Darcy free, mixed, and forced convection heat transfer along a vertical flat plate embedded in a fluid-saturated porous medium are investigated. Forchheimer extension

  17. Fabrication and characterization of nanostructured Ba-doped BiFeO3 porous ceramics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mostafavi E.

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Nanostructured barium doped bismuth ferrite, Bi₀.₈Ba₀.₂FeO₃ porous ceramics with a relatively high magnetic coercivity was fabricated via sacrificial pore former method. X-ray diffraction results showed that 20 wt.% Ba doping induces a structural phase transition from rhombohedral to distorted pseudo-cubic structure in the final porous samples. Moreover, utilizing Bi₀.₈Ba₀.₂FeO₃ as the starting powder reduces the destructive interactions between the matrix phase and pore former, leading to an increase in stability of bismuth ferrite phase in the final porous ceramics. Urea-derived Bi₀.₈Ba₀.₂FeO₃ porous ceramic exhibits density of 4.74 g/cm³ and porosity of 45 % owing the uniform distribution of interconnected pores with a mean pore size of 7.5 μm. Well defined nanostructured cell walls with a mean grain size of 90 nm were observed in the above sample, which is in a good accordance with the grain size obtained from BET measurements. Saturation magnetization decreased from 2.31 in the Bi₀.₈Ba₀.₂FeO₃ compact sample to 1.85 A m²/kg in urea-derived Bi₀.₈Ba₀.₂FeO₃ porous sample; moreover, coercivity increased from 284 to 380 kA/m.

  18. Analysis of a combined mixed finite element and discontinuous Galerkin method for incompressible two-phase flow in porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Kou, Jisheng; Sun, Shuyu

    2013-01-01

    We analyze a combined method consisting of the mixed finite element method for pressure equation and the discontinuous Galerkin method for saturation equation for the coupled system of incompressible two-phase flow in porous media. The existence and uniqueness of numerical solutions are established under proper conditions by using a constructive approach. Optimal error estimates in L2(H1) for saturation and in L∞(H(div)) for velocity are derived. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Analysis of a combined mixed finite element and discontinuous Galerkin method for incompressible two-phase flow in porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Kou, Jisheng

    2013-06-20

    We analyze a combined method consisting of the mixed finite element method for pressure equation and the discontinuous Galerkin method for saturation equation for the coupled system of incompressible two-phase flow in porous media. The existence and uniqueness of numerical solutions are established under proper conditions by using a constructive approach. Optimal error estimates in L2(H1) for saturation and in L∞(H(div)) for velocity are derived. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Impact of Redox Reactions on Colloid Transport in Saturated Porous Media: An Example of Ferrihydrite Colloids Transport in the Presence of Sulfide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Peng; Yuan, Songhu; Wang, Dengjun

    2016-10-18

    Transport of colloids in the subsurface is an important environmental process with most research interests centered on the transport in chemically stable conditions. While colloids can be formed under dynamic redox conditions, the impact of redox reactions on their transport is largely overlooked. Taking the redox reactions between ferrihydrite colloids and sulfide as an example, we investigated how and to what extent the redox reactions modulated the transport of ferrihydrite colloids in anoxic sand columns over a range of environmentally relevant conditions. Our results reveal that the presence of sulfide (7.8-46.9 μM) significantly decreased the breakthrough of ferrihydrite colloids in the sand column. The estimated travel distance of ferrihydrite colloids in the absence of sulfide was nearly 7-fold larger than that in the presence of 46.9 μM sulfide. The reduced breakthrough was primarily attributed to the reductive dissolution of ferrihydrite colloids by sulfide in parallel with formation of elemental sulfur (S(0)) particles from sulfide oxidation. Reductive dissolution decreased the total mass of ferrihydrite colloids, while the negatively charged S(0) decreased the overall zeta potential of ferrihydrite colloids by attaching onto their surfaces and thus enhanced their retention in the sand. Our findings provide novel insights into the critical role of redox reactions on the transport of redox-sensitive colloids in saturated porous media.

  1. Conjugate heat transfer in a porous cavity filled with nano-fluids and heated by a triangular thick wall

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chamkha, Ali J.; Ismael, Muneer A.

    2013-01-01

    The conjugate natural convection-conduction heat transfer in a square domain composed of nano-fluids filled porous cavity heated by a triangular solid wall is studied under steady-state conditions. The vertical and horizontal walls of the triangular solid wall are kept isothermal and at the same hot temperature Th. The other boundaries surrounding the porous cavity are kept adiabatic except the right vertical wall where it is kept isothermally at the lower temperature T c . Equations governing the heat transfer in the triangular wall and heat and nano-fluid flow, based on the Darcy model, in the nano-fluid-saturated porous medium together with the derived relation of the interface temperature are solved numerically using the over-successive relaxation finite-difference method. A temperature independent nano-fluids properties model is adopted. Three nano-particle types dispersed in one base fluid (water) are investigated. The investigated parameters are the nano-particles volume fraction φ (0-0.2), Rayleigh number Ra (10-1000), solid wall to base-fluid saturated porous medium thermal conductivity ratio K ro (0.44, 1, 23.8), and the triangular wall thickness D (0.1-1). The results are presented in the conventional form; contours of streamlines and isotherms and the local and average Nusselt numbers. At a very low Rayleigh number Ra = 10, a significant enhancement in heat transfer within the porous cavity with φ is observed. Otherwise, the heat transfer may be enhanced or deteriorated with φ depending on the wall thickness D and the Rayleigh number Ra. At high Rayleigh numbers and low conductivity ratios, critical values of D, regardless of 4, are observed and accounted. (authors)

  2. Some notes on experiments measuring diffusion of sorbed nuclides through porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lever, D.A.

    1986-11-01

    Various experimental techniques for measuring the important parameters governing diffusion of sorbed nuclides through water-saturated porous media are described, and the particular parameters obtained from each technique are discussed. Recent experiments in which diffusive transport takes place more rapidly than expected are reviewed. The author recommends that through-transport diffusion experiments are the most satisfactory method of determining whether this arises from surface diffusion of sorbed nuclides. (author)

  3. Calibration-free quantification of interior properties of porous media with x-ray computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussein, Esam M A; Agbogun, H M D; Al, Tom A

    2015-03-01

    A method is presented for interpreting the values of x-ray attenuation coefficients reconstructed in computed tomography of porous media, while overcoming the ambiguity caused by the multichromatic nature of x-rays, dilution by void, and material heterogeneity. The method enables determination of porosity without relying on calibration or image segmentation or thresholding to discriminate pores from solid material. It distinguishes between solution-accessible and inaccessible pores, and provides the spatial and frequency distributions of solid-matrix material in a heterogeneous medium. This is accomplished by matching an image of a sample saturated with a contrast solution with that saturated with a transparent solution. Voxels occupied with solid-material and inaccessible pores are identified by the fact that they maintain the same location and image attributes in both images, with voxels containing inaccessible pores appearing empty in both images. Fully porous and accessible voxels exhibit the maximum contrast, while the rest are porous voxels containing mixtures of pore solutions and solid. This matching process is performed with an image registration computer code, and image processing software that requires only simple subtraction and multiplication (scaling) processes. The process is demonstrated in dolomite (non-uniform void distribution, homogeneous solid matrix) and sandstone (nearly uniform void distribution, heterogeneous solid matrix) samples, and its overall performance is shown to compare favorably with a method based on calibration and thresholding. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Experimental study of mass boiling in a porous medium model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sapin, Paul

    2014-01-01

    This manuscript presents a pore-scale experimental study of convective boiling heat transfer in a two-dimensional porous medium. The purpose is to deepen the understanding of thermohydraulics of porous media saturated with multiple fluid phases, in order to enhance management of severe accidents in nuclear reactors. Indeed, following a long-lasting failure in the cooling system of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) or a boiling water reactor (BWR) and despite the lowering of the control rods that stops the fission reaction, residual power due to radioactive decay keeps heating up the core. This induces water evaporation, which leads to the drying and degradation of the fuel rods. The resulting hot debris bed, comparable to a porous heat-generating medium, can be cooled down by reflooding, provided a water source is available. This process involves intense boiling mechanisms that must be modelled properly. The experimental study of boiling in porous media presented in this thesis focuses on the influence of different pore-scale boiling regimes on local heat transfer. The experimental setup is a model porous medium made of a bundle of heating cylinders randomly placed between two ceramic plates, one of which is transparent. Each cylinder is a resistance temperature detector (RTD) used to give temperature measurements as well as heat generation. Thermal measurements and high-speed image acquisition allow the effective heat exchanges to be characterized according to the observed local boiling regimes. This provides precious indications precious indications for the type of correlations used in the non-equilibrium macroscopic model used to model reflooding process. (author) [fr

  5. Combining reflectometry and fluorescence microscopy: an assay for the investigation of leakage processes across lipid membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephan, Milena; Mey, Ingo; Steinem, Claudia; Janshoff, Andreas

    2014-02-04

    The passage of solutes across a lipid membrane plays a central role in many cellular processes. However, the investigation of transport processes remains a serious challenge in pharmaceutical research, particularly the transport of uncharged cargo. While translocation reactions of ions across cell membranes is commonly measured with the patch-clamp, an equally powerful screening method for the transport of uncharged compounds is still lacking. A combined setup for reflectometric interference spectroscopy (RIfS) and fluorescence microscopy measurements is presented that allows one to investigate the passive exchange of uncharged compounds across a free-standing membrane. Pore-spanning lipid membranes were prepared by spreading giant 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) vesicles on porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes, creating sealed attoliter-sized compartments. The time-resolved leakage of different dye molecules (pyranine and crystal violet) as well as avidin through melittin induced membrane pores and defects was investigated.

  6. Light Modulation and Water Splitting Enhancement Using a Composite Porous GaN Structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chao; Xi, Xin; Yu, Zhiguo; Cao, Haicheng; Li, Jing; Lin, Shan; Ma, Zhanhong; Zhao, Lixia

    2018-02-14

    On the basis of the laterally porous GaN, we designed and fabricated a composite porous GaN structure with both well-ordered lateral and vertical holes. Compared to the plane GaN, the composite porous GaN structure with the combination of the vertical holes can help to reduce UV reflectance and increase the saturation photocurrent during water splitting by a factor of ∼4.5. Furthermore, we investigated the underlying mechanism for the enhancement of the water splitting performance using a finite-difference time-domain method. The results show that the well-ordered vertical holes can not only help to open the embedded pore channels to the electrolyte at both sides and reduce the migration distance of the gas bubbles during the water splitting reactions but also help to modulate the light field. Using this composite porous GaN structure, most of the incident light can be modulated and trapped into the nanoholes, and thus the electric fields localized in the lateral pores can increase dramatically as a result of the strong optical coupling. Our findings pave a new way to develop GaN photoelectrodes for highly efficient solar water splitting.

  7. Modeling seismic stimulation: Enhanced non-aqueous fluid extraction from saturated porous media under pore-pressure pulsing at low frequencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Wei-Cheng; Sposito, Garrison; Huang, Yu-Han

    2012-03-01

    Seismic stimulation, the application of low-frequency stress-pulsing to the boundary of a porous medium containing water and a non-aqueous fluid to enhance the removal of the latter, shows great promise for both contaminated groundwater remediation and enhanced oil recovery, but theory to elucidate the underlying mechanisms lag significantly behind the progress achieved in experimental research. We address this conceptual lacuna by formulating a boundary-value problem to describe pore-pressure pulsing at seismic frequencies that is based on the continuum theory of poroelasticity for an elastic porous medium permeated by two immiscible fluids. An exact analytical solution is presented that is applied numerically using elasticity parameters and hydraulic data relevant to recent proof-of-principle laboratory experiments investigating the stimulation-induced mobilization of trichloroethene (TCE) in water flowing through a compressed sand core. The numerical results indicated that significant stimulation-induced increases of the TCE concentration in effluent can be expected from pore-pressure pulsing in the frequency range of 25-100 Hz, which is in good agreement with what was observed in the laboratory experiments. Sensitivity analysis of our numerical results revealed that the TCE concentration in the effluent increases with the porous medium framework compressibility and the pulsing pressure. Increasing compressibility also leads to an optimal stimulation response at lower frequencies, whereas changing the pulsing pressure does not affect the optimal stimulation frequency. Within the context of our model, the dominant physical cause for enhancement of non-aqueous fluid mobility by seismic stimulation is the dilatory motion of the porous medium in which the solid and fluid phases undergo opposite displacements, resulting in stress-induced changes of the pore volume.

  8. Unsaturated and Saturated Permeabilities of Fiber Reinforcement: Critics and Suggestions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chung Hae ePARK

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In general, permeability measurement results show a strong scattering according to the measurement method, the type of test fluid and the fluid injection condition, even though permeability is regarded as a unique property of porous medium. In particular, the discrepancy between the unsaturated and saturated permeabilities for the same fabric has been widely reported. In the literature, relative permeability has been adopted to model the unsaturated flow. This approach has some limits in the modeling of double-scale porosity medium. We address this issue of permeability measurement by rigorously examining the mass conservation condition. Finally, we identify that the pressure gradient is non-linear with positive curvature in the unsaturated flow and a misinterpretation of pressure gradient is the main reason for the difference between the saturated and unsaturated permeabilities of the same fiber reinforcement. We propose to use a fixed value of permeability and to modify the mass conservation equation if there are air voids which are entrapped inside the fiber tow. Finally, we also suggest some guidelines and future perspectives to obtain more consistent permeability measurement results.

  9. FLASH: A finite element computer code for variably saturated flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baca, R.G.; Magnuson, S.O.

    1992-05-01

    A numerical model was developed for use in performance assessment studies at the INEL. The numerical model, referred to as the FLASH computer code, is designed to simulate two-dimensional fluid flow in fractured-porous media. The code is specifically designed to model variably saturated flow in an arid site vadose zone and saturated flow in an unconfined aquifer. In addition, the code also has the capability to simulate heat conduction in the vadose zone. This report presents the following: description of the conceptual frame-work and mathematical theory; derivations of the finite element techniques and algorithms; computational examples that illustrate the capability of the code; and input instructions for the general use of the code. The FLASH computer code is aimed at providing environmental scientists at the INEL with a predictive tool for the subsurface water pathway. This numerical model is expected to be widely used in performance assessments for: (1) the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study process and (2) compliance studies required by the US Department of Energy Order 5820.2A

  10. Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of uncharged catechol derivatives as selective inhibitors of PTP1B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiang-Qian; Xu, Qi; Luo, Jiao; Wang, Li-Jun; Jiang, Bo; Zhang, Ren-Shuai; Shi, Da-Yong

    2017-08-18

    Protein tyrosine phosphatases 1B (PTP1B) is a promising and validated therapeutic target to effectively treat T2DM and obesity. However, the development of charged PTP1B inhibitors was restricted due to their low cell permeability and poor bioavailability. Based on active natural products, two series of uncharged catechol derivatives were identified as PTP1B inhibitors by targeting a secondary aryl phosphate-binding site as well as the catalytic site. The most potent inhibitor 22 showed an IC 50 of 0.487 μM against PTP1B and strong selectivity (27-fold) over TCPTP. Kinetic studies were also performed that 22 act as a competitive PTP1B inhibitor. The treatment of C2C12 myotubes with 22 markedly increased the phosphorylation levels of IRβ, Akt and IRS1 phosphorylation. The similarity of its action profiling with that produced by insulin suggested its potential as a new non-insulin-dependent drug candidate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. Natural convection in porous media with heat generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hardee, H.C. Jr.; Nilson, R.H.

    1976-12-01

    Heat transfer characteristics of a fluid saturated porous media are investigated for the case of uniform internal heat generation with cooling from above. Analytical models of conduction and single phase cellular convection show good agreement with previous Rayleigh number correlations and with experimental data obtained by Joule heating of salt water in a sand bed. An approximate dryout criterion is also derived for two phase boiling heat transfer in a fixed bed which is neither channeled nor fluidized. Correlation of dryout data using this criterion is encouraging, especially considering the analytical rather than correlational basis of the criterion

  12. Natural convection flow and heat transfer between a fluid layer and a porous layer inside a rectangular enclosure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beckermann, C.; Ramadhyani, S.; Viskanta, R.

    1986-01-01

    A numerical and experimental study is performed to analyze the steady-state natural convection fluid flow and heat transfer in a vertical rectangular enclosure that is partially filled with a vertical layer of a fluid-saturated porous medium. The flow in the porous layer is modeled utilizing the Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended Darcy equations. The numerical model is verified by conducting a number of experiments with spherical glass beads as the porous medium and water and glycerin as the fluids in rectangular test-cells. The agreement between the flow visualization results and temperature measurements and the numerical model is, in general, good. It is found that the amount of fluid penetrating from the fluid region into the porous layer depends strongly on the Darcy (Da) and Rayleigh (Ra) numbers. For a relatively low product of Ra x Da, the flow takes place primarily in the fluid layer, and heat transfer in the porous layer is by conduction only. On the other hand, fluid penetrating into a relatively highly permeable porous layer has a significant impact on the natural convection flow patterns in the entire enclosure

  13. Diffusion with condensation and evaporation in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu, L.; Plumb, O.A.; Ho, C.K.; Webb, S.W.

    1998-03-01

    Vapor phase transport in porous media is important in a number of environmental and industrial processes: soil moisture transport, vapor phase transport in the vadose zone, transport in the vicinity of buried nuclear waste, and industrial processes such as drying. The diffusion of water vapor in a packed bed containing residual liquid is examined experimentally. The objective is to quantify the effect of enhanced vapor diffusion resulting from evaporation/condensation in porous media subjected to a temperature gradient. Isothermal diffusion experiments in free-space were conducted to qualify the experimental apparatus and techniques. For these experiments measured diffusion coefficients are within 3.6% of those reported in the literature for the temperature range from 25 C to 40 C. Isothermal experiments in packed beds of glass beads were used to determine the tortuosity coefficient resulting in τ = 0.78 ± 0.028, which is also consistent with previously reported results. Nonisothermal experiments in packed beds in which condensation occurs were conducted to examine enhanced vapor diffusion. The interpretation of the results for these experiments is complicated by a gradual, but continuous, build-up of condensate in the packed beds during the course of the experiment. Results indicate diffusion coefficients which increase as a function of saturation resulting in enhancement of the vapor-phase transport by a factor of approximately four compared to a dry porous medium

  14. Homogenization of one-dimensional draining through heterogeneous porous media including higher-order approximations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Daniel M.; McLaughlin, Richard M.; Miller, Cass T.

    2018-02-01

    We examine a mathematical model of one-dimensional draining of a fluid through a periodically-layered porous medium. A porous medium, initially saturated with a fluid of a high density is assumed to drain out the bottom of the porous medium with a second lighter fluid replacing the draining fluid. We assume that the draining layer is sufficiently dense that the dynamics of the lighter fluid can be neglected with respect to the dynamics of the heavier draining fluid and that the height of the draining fluid, represented as a free boundary in the model, evolves in time. In this context, we neglect interfacial tension effects at the boundary between the two fluids. We show that this problem admits an exact solution. Our primary objective is to develop a homogenization theory in which we find not only leading-order, or effective, trends but also capture higher-order corrections to these effective draining rates. The approximate solution obtained by this homogenization theory is compared to the exact solution for two cases: (1) the permeability of the porous medium varies smoothly but rapidly and (2) the permeability varies as a piecewise constant function representing discrete layers of alternating high/low permeability. In both cases we are able to show that the corrections in the homogenization theory accurately predict the position of the free boundary moving through the porous medium.

  15. TOURGHREACT: A Simulation Program for Non-isothermal Multiphase Reactive Geochemical Transport in Variably Saturated Geologic Media

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, Tianfu; Sonnenthal, Eric; Spycher, Nicolas; Pruess, Karsten

    2004-01-01

    TOUGHREACT is a numerical simulation program for chemically reactive non-isothermal flows of multiphase fluids in porous and fractured media. The program was written in Fortran 77 and developed by introducing reactive geochemistry into the multiphase fluid and heat flow simulator TOUGH2. A variety of subsurface thermo-physical-chemical processes are considered under a wide range of conditions of pressure, temperature, water saturation, ionic strength, and pH and Eh. Interactions between ...

  16. Mixture of fuels for solution combustion synthesis of porous Fe3O4 powders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parnianfar, H.; Masoudpanah, S. M.; Alamolhoda, S.; Fathi, H.

    2017-06-01

    The solution combustion synthesis of porous magnetite (Fe3O4) powders by a mixture of glycine and urea fuels was investigated concerning the thermodynamic aspects and powder characteristics. The adiabatic combustion temperature and combusted species were thermodynamically calculated as a function of the fuel to oxidant molar ratio (ϕ). The combustion behavior, phase evolution, porous structure and magnetic properties were characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry, N2 adsorption-desorption, electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques. Nearly single phase Fe3O4 powders were synthesized by the mixture of fuels at ϕ values of 0.75 and 1. The as-combusted Fe3O4 powders at ϕ = 1 exhibited porous structure with the specific surface area of 83.4 m2/g. The highest saturation magnetization of 75.5 emu/g and the lowest coercivity of 84 Oe were achieved at ϕ = 1, due to the high purity and large crystallite size, inducing from the highest adiabatic combustion temperature.

  17. Immobilization of plutonium from solutions on porous matrices by the method of high temperature sorption

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nardova, A.K.; Filippov, E.A. [All Research Institute of Chemical Technologies, Moscow (Russian Federation); Glagolenko, Y.B. [and others

    1996-05-01

    This report presents the results of investigations of plutonium immobilization from solutions on inorganic matrices with the purpose of producing a solid waste form. High-temperature sorption is described which entails the adsorption of radionuclides from solutions on porous, inorganic matrices, as for example silica gel. The solution is brought to a boil with additional thermal process (calcination) of the saturated granules.

  18. A gravitational procedure to measure the diffusion coefficient of mater in porous materials : a case study on concrete

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zanden, van der A.J.J.; Taher, A.

    2014-01-01

    A new procedure is presented with which the diffusion coefficient of water in partially saturated porous materials can be measured. The first step in the procedure is the creation of a non-equilibrium situation inside a sample by placing it into a centrifuge. In the second step, the mass of the

  19. The foam drainage equation for drainage dynamics in unsaturated porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmann, P.; Hoogland, F.; Assouline, S.; Or, D.

    2017-07-01

    Similarity in liquid-phase configuration and drainage dynamics of wet foam and gravity drainage from unsaturated porous media expands modeling capabilities for capillary flows and supplements the standard Richards equation representation. The governing equation for draining foam (or a soil variant termed the soil foam drainage equation—SFDE) obviates the need for macroscopic unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function by an explicit account of diminishing flow pathway sizes as the medium gradually drains. The study provides new and simple analytical expressions for drainage rates and volumes from unsaturated porous media subjected to different boundary conditions. Two novel analytical solutions for saturation profile evolution were derived and tested in good agreement with a numerical solution of the SFDE. The study and the proposed solutions rectify the original formulation of foam drainage dynamics of Or and Assouline (2013). The new framework broadens the scope of methods available for quantifying unsaturated flow in porous media, where the intrinsic conductivity and geometrical representation of capillary drainage could improve understanding of colloid and pathogen transport. The explicit geometrical interpretation of flow pathways underlying the hydraulic functions used by the Richards equation offers new insights that benefit both approaches.

  20. On the Onset of Thermal Convection in a Layer of Oldroydian Visco-Elastic Fluid Saturated by Brinkman–Darcy Porous Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chand Ramesh

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Thermal instability in a horizontal layer of Oldroydian visco-elastic fluid in a porous medium is investigated. For porous medium the Brinkman–Darcy model is considered. A linear stability analysis based upon perturbation method and normal mode technique is used to find solution of the fluid layer confined between two free-free boundaries. The onset criterion for stationary and oscillatory convection is derived analytically. The influence of the Brinkman–Darcy, Prandtl–Darcy number, stress relaxation parameter on the stationary and oscillatory convection is studied both analytically and graphically. The sufficient condition for the validity of PES has also been derived.

  1. NUMERICAL STUDY OF NON-DARCIAN NATURAL CONVECTION HEAT TRANSFER IN A RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE FILLED WITH POROUS MEDIUM SATURATED WITH VISCOUS FLUID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmood H. Ali

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available A numerical study of non-Darcian natural convection heat transfer in a rectangular enclosure filled with porous medium saturated with viscous fluid was carried out. The effects of medium Rayleigh number, porosity, particle to fluid thermal conductivity ratio, Darcy number and enclosure aspect ratio on heat transfer were examined to demonstrate the ability of using this construction in thermal insulation of buildings walls.A modified Brinkman-Forchheimer-extended Darcy flow model was used and no-slip boundary conditions were imposed for velocity at the walls and the governing equations were expressed in dimensionless stream function, vorticity, and temperature formulation. The resulting algebraic equations obtained from finite difference discritization of vorticity and temperature equations are solved using (ADI method which uses Three Diagonal Matrix Algorithm (TDMA in each direction, while that of the stream function equation solved using successive iteration method.The study was done for the range of enclosure aspect ratio ( which is in the tall layers region at medium Rayleigh number ( , Darcy number (Da=10-3, 10-4, 10-5 , porosity (e=0.35, 0.45, 0.55, particle to fluid thermal conductivity (kS/kf=5.77, 38.5, 1385.5.The results showed that the Nusselt number is direct proportional to medium Rayleigh number and porosity and reversely proportional to Darcy number, ratio of particle to fluid thermal conductivity and enclosure aspect ratio. The variables that affect the heat transfer in the above arrangement was correlated in a mathematical equation that account better for their affects on heat transfer which is represented by mean Nusselt number (Nu.

  2. Numerical Treatment of Two-phase Flow in Porous Media Including Specific Interfacial Area

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed

    2015-06-01

    In this work, we present a numerical treatment for the model of two-phase flow in porous media including specific interfacial area. For numerical discretization we use the cell-centered finite difference (CCFD) method based on the shifting-matrices method which can reduce the time-consuming operations. A new iterative implicit algorithm has been developed to solve the problem under consideration. All advection and advection-like terms that appear in saturation equation and interfacial area equation are treated using upwind schemes. Selected simulation results such as pc–Sw–awn surface, capillary pressure, saturation and specific interfacial area with various values of model parameters have been introduced. The simulation results show a good agreement with those in the literature using either pore network modeling or Darcy scale modeling.

  3. Hydrocarbons biodegradation in unsaturated porous medium; Biodegradation des hydrocarbures en milieu poreux insature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gautier, C

    2007-12-15

    Biological processes are expected to play an important role in the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated soils. However, factors influencing the kinetics of biodegradation are still not well known, especially in the unsaturated zone. To address these biodegradation questions in the unsaturated zone an innovative experimental set up based on a physical column model was developed. This experimental set up appeared to be an excellent tool for elaboration of a structured porous medium, with well defined porous network and adjusted water/oil saturations. Homogeneous repartition of both liquid phases (i.e., aqueous and non aqueous) in the soil pores, which also contain air, was achieved using ceramic membranes placed at the bottom of the soil column. Reproducible interfaces (and connectivity) are developed between gas, and both non mobile water and NAPL phases, depending on the above-defined characteristics of the porous media and on the partial saturations of these three phases (NAPL, water and gas). A respirometric apparatus was coupled to the column. Such experimental set up have been validated with hexadecane in dilution in an HMN phase. This approach allowed detailed information concerning n-hexadecane biodegradation, in aerobic condition, through the profile of the oxygen consumption rate. We have taken benefit of this technique, varying experimental conditions, to determine the main parameters influencing the biodegradation kinetics and compositional evolution of hydrocarbons, under steady state unsaturated conditions and with respect to aerobic metabolism. Impacts of the nitrogen quantity and of three different grain sizes have been examined. Biodegradation of petroleum cut, as diesel cut and middle distillate without aromatic fraction, were, also studied. (author)

  4. Effect of the Wavy permeable Interface on Double Diffusive Natural Convection in a Partially Porous Cavity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Mehdaoui

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Two-dimensional, double diffusion, natural convection in a partially porous cavity satured with a binary fluid is investigated numerically. Multiple motions are driven by the external temperature and concentration differences imposed across vertical walls. The wavy interface between fluid and porous layer is horizontal. The equations which describe the fluid flow and heat and mass transfer are described by the Navier-Stokes equations (fluid region, Darcy-Brinkman equation (porous region and energy and mass equations. The finite element method was applied to solve the governing equations. The fluid flow and heat and mass transfer has been investigated for different values of the amplitude and the wave number of the interface and the buoyancy ratio. The results obtained in the form of isotherms, stream lines, isoconcentrations and the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers; show that the wavy interface has a significant effect on the flow and heat and mass transfer.

  5. Optical performance of hybrid porous silicon-porous alumina multilayers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cencha, L. G.; Antonio Hernández, C.; Forzani, L.; Urteaga, R.; Koropecki, R. R.

    2018-05-01

    In this work, we study the optical response of structures involving porous silicon and porous alumina in a multi-layered hybrid structure. We performed a rational design of the optimal sequence necessary to produce a high transmission and selective filter, with potential applications in chemical and biosensors. The combination of these porous materials can be used to exploit its distinguishing features, i.e., high transparency of alumina and high refractive index of porous silicon. We assembled hybrid microcavities with a central porous alumina layer between two porous silicon Bragg reflectors. In this way, we constructed a Fabry-Perot resonator with high reflectivity and low absorption that improves the quality of the filter compared to a microcavity built only with porous silicon or porous alumina. We explored a simpler design in which one of the Bragg reflectors is replaced by the aluminium that remains bound to the alumina after its fabrication. We theoretically explored the potential of the proposal and its limitations when considering the roughness of the layers. We found that the quality of a microcavity made entirely with porous silicon shows a limit in the visible range due to light absorption. This limitation is overcome in the hybrid scheme, with the roughness of the layers determining the ultimate quality. Q-factors of 220 are experimentally obtained for microcavities supported on aluminium, while Q-factors around 600 are reached for microcavities with double Bragg reflectors, centred at 560 nm. This represents a four-fold increase with respect to the optimal porous silicon microcavity at this wavelength.

  6. Effects of Solution Chemistry on Nano-Bubbles Transport in Saturated Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamamoto, S.; Takemura, T.; Suzuki, K.; Nihei, N.; Nishimura, T.

    2017-12-01

    Nano-bubbles (NBs) have a considerable potential for the remediation of soil and groundwater contaminated by organic compounds, especially when used in conjunction with bioremediation technologies. Understanding the transport mechanisms of NBs in soils is essential to optimize NB-based remediation techniques. In this study, one-dimensional column transport experiments using glass beads with 0.1 mm size were conducted, where NBs created by oxygen gas at different pH and ionic strength were injected to the column at the constant flow rate. The NBs concentration in the effluent was quantified using a resonant mass measurement technique. Effects of solution chemistry of the NBs water on NB transport in the porous media were investigated. The results showed that attachment of NBs was enhanced under higher ionic strength and lower pH conditions, caused by the reduced repulsive force between NBs and glass beads. In addition, bubble size distributions in the effluents showed that relatively larger NBs were retained in the column. This trend was more significant at lower pH condition.

  7. History independence of steady state in simultaneous two-phase flow through two-dimensional porous media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erpelding, Marion; Sinha, Santanu; Tallakstad, Ken Tore; Hansen, Alex; Flekkøy, Eirik Grude; Måløy, Knut Jørgen

    2013-11-01

    It is well known that the transient behavior during drainage or imbibition in multiphase flow in porous media strongly depends on the history and initial condition of the system. However, when the steady-state regime is reached and both drainage and imbibition take place at the pore level, the influence of the evolution history and initial preparation is an open question. Here, we present an extensive experimental and numerical work investigating the history dependence of simultaneous steady-state two-phase flow through porous media. Our experimental system consists of a Hele-Shaw cell filled with glass beads which we model numerically by a network of disordered pores transporting two immiscible fluids. From measurements of global pressure evolution, histograms of saturation, and cluster-size distributions, we find that when both phases are flowing through the porous medium, the steady state does not depend on the initial preparation of the system or on the way it has been reached.

  8. Mobility of engineered inorganic nanoparticles in porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metreveli, George; Heidmann, Ilona; Schaumann, Gabriele Ellen

    2013-04-01

    Besides the excellent properties and great potential for various industrial, medical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and life science applications, engineered inorganic nanoparticles (EINP) can show also disadvantages concerning increasing risk potential with increasing application, if they are released in the environmental systems. EINP can influence microbial activity and can show toxic effects (Fabrega et al., 2009). Similar to the inorganic natural colloids, EINP can be transported in soil and groundwater systems (Metreveli et al., 2005). Furthermore, due to the large surface area and high sorption and complex formation capacity, EINP can facilitate transport of different contaminants. In this study the mobility behaviour of EINP and their effect on the transport of different metal(loid) species in water saturated porous media was investigated. For these experiments laboratory column system was used. The column was filled with quartz sand. The interactions between EINP and metal(loid)s were characterised by coupling of asymmetrical flow field flow fractionation (AF4) with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). As EINP laponite (synthetic three layer clay mineral), and as metal(loid)s Cu, Pb, Zn, Pt and As were used. In AF4 experiments sorption of metal(loid)s on the surface of EINP could be observed. The extent of interactions was influenced by pH value and was different for different metal(loid)s. Laboratory column experiments showed high mobility of EINP, which facilitated transport of most of metal(loid)s in water saturated porous media. Furthermore the migration of synthetic silver nanoparticles in natural soil columns was determined in leaching experiments. Acknowledgement Financial support by German Research Council (DFG) and Max-Buchner-Research Foundation (MBFSt) is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for the opportunity to perform the column and AF4 experiments. References: Fabrega, J., Fawcett, S. R

  9. Chaotic convection of viscoelastic fluids in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sheu, L.-J. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: ljsheu@chu.edu.tw; Tam, L.-M. [Department of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Macau, Macau (China)], E-mail: fstlmt@umac.mo; Chen, J.-H. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: chen@chu.edu.tw; Chen, H.-K. [Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Hsiuping Institute of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: kanechen@giga.net.tw; Lin, K.-T. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: willie@nanya.edu.tw; Kang Yuan [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: yk@cycu.edu.tw

    2008-07-15

    Buoyancy-induced convection in a viscoelastic fluid-saturated porous medium was analyzed using an Oldroydian-type constitutive relation. An autonomous system with four differential equations was deduced by applying the truncated Galerkin expansion to the momentum and heat transfer equations. The four-dimensional system can be reduced to many systems provided in the literature such as the Lorenz system, Vadasz system, Khayat system, and Akhatov system. Depending on the flow parameters, the asymptotic behavior can be stationary, periodic, or chaotic. Generation of a four-scroll, or two-'butterfly', chaotic attractor was observed. Results also show that stress relaxation tends to precipitate the onset of chaos.

  10. Heat Transfer and Flows of Thermal Convection in a Fluid-Saturated Rotating Porous Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianhong Kang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Thermal convection at the steady state for high Rayleigh number in a rotating porous half space is investigated. Taking into account the effect of rotation, Darcy equation is extended to incorporate the Coriolis force term in a rotating reference frame. The velocity and temperature fields of thermal convection are obtained by using the homotopy analysis method. The influences of Taylor number and Rayleigh number on the Nusselt number, velocity profile, and temperature distribution are discussed in detail. It is found that the Nusselt number decreases rapidly with the increase of Taylor number but tends to have an asymptotic value. Besides, the rotation can give rise to downward flow in contrast with the upward thermal convection.

  11. Transport of Nanoparticles of Zerovalent Copper, Zinc Oxide, and Titanium Dioxide in Saturated Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Column tests show nanoparticles (NPs) of Cu(0) and ZnO were immobile at neutral pH in saturated sand.They became mobile in the presence of trizma, humic/fulvic, and citric/oxalic/formic acids. Copper NPs were mobile at pH 9. The deposition rates of TiO2 NP aggregates in both KCl ...

  12. Morphology and properties of silica/novolac hybrid xerogels synthesized using sol–gel polymerization at solvent vapor-saturated atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seraji, Mohamad Mehdi; Seifi, Azadeh; Bahramian, Ahmad Reza

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Sol–gel polymerization in vapor of solvent saturated atmosphere is developed. • Highly porous novolac–silica hybrid xerogels are successfully synthesized. • Novolac–silica hybrid gel was dried in ambient condition with low shrinkage. • Required time for preparation of gel reduced from 5 days to about 5 h. • By incorporation of silica into the novolac xerogel structure, the pore size decreases. - Abstract: Highly porous novolac–silica hybrid xerogels were successfully synthesized via the novel method of sol–gel polymerization in solvent vapor-saturated atmosphere. This method removes the need for supercritical drying and yields the hybrid xerogels with reduced shrinkage in comparison with conventional sol–gel process. Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) was used as the precursor of silica-based inorganic phase. The chemical and structural characterization of the prepared hybrid xerogels were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, respectively. Thermal and mechanical properties of the hybrid samples were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and compressive strength analysis. The resultant hybrid xerogels show a nanostructured colloidal hybrid network with high porosity (above 80%) and low density (below 0.25 g cm −3 ). Si mapping images shows the good distribution of silica phase throughout the hybrid structure

  13. Computed tomography for the quantitative characterization of flow through a porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Auzerais, F.M.; Dussan, E.B.; Reischer, A.J.

    1991-01-01

    X-ray computer tomography (CT) has become an increasingly popular research tool in petroleum engineering for characterizing porous media. Its highly detailed images have been used to construct maps of porosity, saturation and atomic composition, and to visualize the displacement of fluids. However, extracting data necessary to characterize flow through porous media is both time consuming and dependent on the availability of extensive computational resources - - a consequence of the large size of the image files. The authors of this paper applied to known technique, based upon the ability to recognize regions with similar features, which avoids these difficulties. It allows the authors to substitute for the image, the pixel location of the boundaries of the recognized regions, reducing considerably the computer storage requirements. The authors this technique to study the dynamics of two miscible liquids of different densities flowing through a porous medium where buoyancy plays an important role. The authors' specific concern is the movement of mud filtrate as it penetrates a permeable formation in the vicinity of a recently drilled wellbore. The authors quantify the manner in which impermeable horizontal barriers influence the movement of the filtrate

  14. Visualization and quantification of capillary drainage in the pore space of laminated sandstone by a porous plate method using differential imaging X-ray microtomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Qingyang; Bijeljic, Branko; Rieke, Holger; Blunt, Martin J.

    2017-08-01

    The experimental determination of capillary pressure drainage curves at the pore scale is of vital importance for the mapping of reservoir fluid distribution. To fully characterize capillary drainage in a complex pore space, we design a differential imaging-based porous plate (DIPP) method using X-ray microtomography. For an exemplar mm-scale laminated sandstone microcore with a porous plate, we quantify the displacement from resolvable macropores and subresolution micropores. Nitrogen (N2) was injected as the nonwetting phase at a constant pressure while the porous plate prevented its escape. The measured porosity and capillary pressure at the imaged saturations agree well with helium measurements and experiments on larger core samples, while providing a pore-scale explanation of the fluid distribution. We observed that the majority of the brine was displaced by N2 in macropores at low capillary pressures, followed by a further brine displacement in micropores when capillary pressure increases. Furthermore, we were able to discern that brine predominantly remained within the subresolution micropores, such as regions of fine lamination. The capillary pressure curve for pressures ranging from 0 to 1151 kPa is provided from the image analysis compares well with the conventional porous plate method for a cm-scale core but was conducted over a period of 10 days rather than up to few months with the conventional porous plate method. Overall, we demonstrate the capability of our method to provide quantitative information on two-phase saturation in heterogeneous core samples for a wide range of capillary pressures even at scales smaller than the micro-CT resolution.

  15. On-bead combinatorial synthesis and imaging of chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging agents to identify factors that influence water exchange.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napolitano, Roberta; Soesbe, Todd C; De León-Rodríguez, Luis M; Sherry, A Dean; Udugamasooriya, D Gomika

    2011-08-24

    The sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents is highly dependent on the rate of water exchange between the inner sphere of a paramagnetic ion and bulk water. Normally, identifying a paramagnetic complex that has optimal water exchange kinetics is done by synthesizing and testing one compound at a time. We report here a rapid, economical on-bead combinatorial synthesis of a library of imaging agents. Eighty different 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecan-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)-tetraamide peptoid derivatives were prepared on beads using a variety of charged, uncharged but polar, hydrophobic, and variably sized primary amines. A single chemical exchange saturation transfer image of the on-bead library easily distinguished those compounds having the most favorable water exchange kinetics. This combinatorial approach will allow rapid screening of libraries of imaging agents to identify the chemical characteristics of a ligand that yield the most sensitive imaging agents. This technique could be automated and readily adapted to other types of MRI or magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography agents as well.

  16. SHAFT-79, 2 Phase Flow in Porous Media for Geothermic Energy System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pruess, K; Schroeder, R C [Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

    1981-11-20

    1 - Description of problem or function: SHAFT79 (Simultaneous Heat And Fluid Transport) is an integrated finite difference program for computing two-phase non-isothermal flow in porous media. Although designed for simulating production and injection in geothermal reservoirs, it is, or can be readily modified to be, applicable to other two-phase problems. SHAFT79 solves coupled mass and energy balance equations based on the following major assumptions: the physical system is a system of porous rock saturated with a one-component fluid in liquid and vapor form; all rock properties, except porosity, i.e., density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, and absolute permeability are independent of temperature, pressure, or vapor saturation: and liquid, vapor, and rock matrix are at the same temperature and pressure at all times. Capillary pressure is neglected. 2 - Method of solution: The solution method is an explicit-implicit integrated finite difference approach which allows a flexible geometric description because it does not distinguish between one-, two-, or three-dimensional regular or irregular geometries. The non-linear finite difference equations are solved using the Newton- Raphson method. In SHAFT79 a fluid table is used to provide the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of the fluid filling the void space - temperature, pressure, vapor saturation, heat conductivity, liquid and vapor viscosities, densities, specific interval energies - as functions of fluid density and fluid specific internal energy. All thermodynamic information including derivatives is obtained from the fluid table by bivariate interpolation. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: SHAFT79 has been developed only for systems of water and rock. The fluid table covers most of the equation of state of water substance in the temperature range of 5 to 400 degrees C and the pressure range of 0.5 to 220 bar, which is adequate for most geothermal applications

  17. SHAFT-79, 2 Phase Flow in Porous Media for Geothermic Energy System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pruess, K.; Schroeder, R.C.

    1981-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: SHAFT79 (Simultaneous Heat And Fluid Transport) is an integrated finite difference program for computing two-phase non-isothermal flow in porous media. Although designed for simulating production and injection in geothermal reservoirs, it is, or can be readily modified to be, applicable to other two-phase problems. SHAFT79 solves coupled mass and energy balance equations based on the following major assumptions: the physical system is a system of porous rock saturated with a one-component fluid in liquid and vapor form; all rock properties, except porosity, i.e., density, specific heat, thermal conductivity, and absolute permeability are independent of temperature, pressure, or vapor saturation: and liquid, vapor, and rock matrix are at the same temperature and pressure at all times. Capillary pressure is neglected. 2 - Method of solution: The solution method is an explicit-implicit integrated finite difference approach which allows a flexible geometric description because it does not distinguish between one-, two-, or three-dimensional regular or irregular geometries. The non-linear finite difference equations are solved using the Newton- Raphson method. In SHAFT79 a fluid table is used to provide the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of the fluid filling the void space - temperature, pressure, vapor saturation, heat conductivity, liquid and vapor viscosities, densities, specific interval energies - as functions of fluid density and fluid specific internal energy. All thermodynamic information including derivatives is obtained from the fluid table by bivariate interpolation. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: SHAFT79 has been developed only for systems of water and rock. The fluid table covers most of the equation of state of water substance in the temperature range of 5 to 400 degrees C and the pressure range of 0.5 to 220 bar, which is adequate for most geothermal applications

  18. The Parabolic Variational Inequalities for Variably Saturated Water Flow in Heterogeneous Fracture Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuyang Ye

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Fractures are ubiquitous in geological formations and have a substantial influence on water seepage flow in unsaturated fractured rocks. While the matrix permeability is small enough to be ignored during the partially saturated flow process, water seepage in heterogeneous fracture systems may occur in a non-volume-average manner as distinguished from a macroscale continuum model. This paper presents a systematic numerical method which aims to provide a better understanding of the effect of fracture distribution on the water seepage behavior in such media. Based on the partial differential equation (PDE formulations with a Signorini-type complementary condition on the variably saturated water flow in heterogeneous fracture networks, the equivalent parabolic variational inequality (PVI formulations are proposed and the related numerical algorithm in the context of the finite element scheme is established. With the application to the continuum porous media, the results of the numerical simulation for one-dimensional infiltration fracture are compared to the analytical solutions and good agreements are obtained. From the application to intricate fracture systems, it is found that water seepage flow can move rapidly along preferential pathways in a nonuniform fashion and the variably saturated seepage behavior is intimately related to the geometrical characteristics orientation of fractures.

  19. Effect of capillary forces on immiscible two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    van Duijn, C.J.; Molenaar, J.; de Neef, M.J.

    1994-12-31

    We consider the one-dimensional two-phase flow including capillary effects through a heterogeneous porous medium. The heterogeneity is due to the spatial variation of the absolute permeability and the porosity. Both these quantities are assumed to be piecewise constant. At interfaces where the rock properties are discontinuous, we derive, by a regularization technique, conditions to match the values of the saturation on both sides. There are two conditions: a flux condition and an extended pressure condition. Applying these conditions we show that trapping of the wetting phase may occur near hetergeneities. To illustrate the behavior of the saturation we consider a time-dependent diffusion problem without convection, a stationary convection-diffusion problem, and the full time-dependent convection-diffusion problem (numerically). In particular the last two problems explicitly show the trapping behavior.

  20. SITE-SCALE SATURATED ZONE TRANSPORT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    S. KELLER

    2004-01-01

    This work provides a site-scale transport model for calculating radionuclide transport in the saturated zone (SZ) at Yucca Mountain, for use in the abstractions model in support of ''Total System Performance Assessment for License Application'' (TSPA-LA). The purpose of this model report is to provide documentation for the components of the site-scale SZ transport model in accordance with administrative procedure AP-SIII.10Q, Models. The initial documentation of this model report was conducted under the ''Technical Work Plan For: Saturated Zone Flow and Transport Modeling and Testing'' (BSC 2003 [DIRS 163965]). The model report has been revised in accordance with the ''Technical Work Plan For: Natural System--Saturated Zone Analysis and Model Report Integration'', Section 2.1.1.4 (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171421]) to incorporate Regulatory Integration Team comments. All activities listed in the technical work plan that are appropriate to the transport model are documented in this report and are described in Section 2.1.1.4 (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171421]). This report documents: (1) the advection-dispersion transport model including matrix diffusion (Sections 6.3 and 6.4); (2) a description and validation of the transport model (Sections 6.3 and 7); (3) the numerical methods for simulating radionuclide transport (Section 6.4); (4) the parameters (sorption coefficient, Kd ) and their uncertainty distributions used for modeling radionuclide sorption (Appendices A and C); (5) the parameters used for modeling colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport (Table 4-1, Section 6.4.2.6, and Appendix B); and (6) alternative conceptual models and their dispositions (Section 6.6). The intended use of this model is to simulate transport in saturated fractured porous rock (double porosity) and alluvium. The particle-tracking method of simulating radionuclide transport is incorporated in the finite-volume heat and mass transfer numerical analysis (FEHM) computer code, (FEHM V2.20, STN: 10086

  1. Porous organic cages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tozawa, Tomokazu; Jones, James T. A.; Swamy, Shashikala I.; Jiang, Shan; Adams, Dave J.; Shakespeare, Stephen; Clowes, Rob; Bradshaw, Darren; Hasell, Tom; Chong, Samantha Y.; Tang, Chiu; Thompson, Stephen; Parker, Julia; Trewin, Abbie; Bacsa, John; Slawin, Alexandra M. Z.; Steiner, Alexander; Cooper, Andrew I.

    2009-12-01

    Porous materials are important in a wide range of applications including molecular separations and catalysis. We demonstrate that covalently bonded organic cages can assemble into crystalline microporous materials. The porosity is prefabricated and intrinsic to the molecular cage structure, as opposed to being formed by non-covalent self-assembly of non-porous sub-units. The three-dimensional connectivity between the cage windows is controlled by varying the chemical functionality such that either non-porous or permanently porous assemblies can be produced. Surface areas and gas uptakes for the latter exceed comparable molecular solids. One of the cages can be converted by recrystallization to produce either porous or non-porous polymorphs with apparent Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface areas of 550 and 23m2g-1, respectively. These results suggest design principles for responsive porous organic solids and for the modular construction of extended materials from prefabricated molecular pores.

  2. Rapid Generation of Superheated Steam Using a Water-containing Porous Material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mori, Shoji; Okuyama, Kunito

    Heat treatment by superheated steam has been utilized in several industrial fields including sterilization, desiccation, and cooking. In particular, cooking by superheated steam is receiving increased attention because it has advantages of reducing the salt and fat contents in foods as well as suppressing the oxidation of vitamin C and fat. In this application, quick startup and cut-off responses are required. Most electrically energized steam generators require a relatively long time to generate superheated steam due to the large heat capacities of the water in container and of the heater. Zhao and Liao (2002) introduced a novel process for rapid vaporization of subcooled liquid, in which a low-thermal-conductivity porous wick containing water is heated by a downward-facing grooved heating block in contact with the upper surface of the wick structure. They showed that saturated steam is generated within approximately 30 seconds from room-temperature water at a heat flux 41.2 kW⁄m2. In order to quickly generate superheated steam of approximately 300°C, which is required for cooking, the heat capacity of the heater should be as small as possible and the imposed heat flux should be so high enough that the porous wick is able to dry out in the vicinity of the contact with the heater and that the resulting heater temperature becomes much higher than the saturation temperature. The present paper proposes a simple structured generator to quickly produce superheated steam. Only a fine wire heater is contacted spirally on the inside wall in a hollow porous material. The start-up, cut-off responses and the rate of energy conversion for input power are investigated experimentally. Superheated steam of 300°C is produced in approximately 19 seconds from room-temperature water for an input power of 300 W. The maximum rate of energy conversion in the steady state is approximately 0.9.

  3. Definition of a facility for experimental studies of two-phase flows and heat transfer in porous materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reda, D.C.; Eaton, R.R.

    1981-01-01

    A facility-development effort is currently underway at Sandia National Laboratories in order to create an experimental capability for the study of two-phase, steam/water flows through a variety of porous media. The facility definition phase of this project is described. Equations are derived for the steady, adiabatic, macroscopically-linear two-phase flow of a single-component fluid through a porous medium, including energy transfer both by convection and conduction. These equations are then solved to give relative permeabilities for the steam and water phases as functions of known and/or measurable quantities. A viable experimental approach was thereby formulated, leading to the definition of facility components and instrumentation requirements, including the application of gamma-beam densitometry for the measurement of liquid-saturation distributions in porous media. Finally, a state-of-the-art computer code was utilized to numerically simulate the proposed experiments, providing an estimate of the facility operating envelope

  4. Modeling and simulation of nanoparticles transport in a two-phase flow in porous media

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed; Salama, Amgad; Sun, Shuyu

    2012-01-01

    In the current paper, a mathematical model to describe the nanoparticles transport carried by a two-phase flow in a porous medium is presented. Both capillary forces as well as Brownian diffusion are considered in the model. A numerical example of countercurrent water-oil imbibition is considered. We monitor the changing of the fluid and solid properties due to the addition of the nanoparticles using numerical experiments. Variation of water saturation, nanoparticles concentration and porosity ratio are investigated.

  5. Geochemical thermodynamic and kinetic modeling that take into account the mass transfer phenomena in saturated porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerard, Frederic

    1996-01-01

    The mass transport mechanisms (advection. mechanical dispersion and molecular diffusion) have been introduced into the thermodynamic and kinetic geochemical code KINDIS. This innovative approach to couple chemical and transport mass transfers has allowed us to develop a reactive transport or hydrochemical code named KIRMAT, which naturally preserve the comprehensive geochemical functions of KINDIS. Mass transport phenomena through the total connected porosity of a water-saturated porous medium are solved over one spatial dimension (ID). The finite difference method is used. An explicit or forward time scheme is computed. The advective finite difference expression may be either centered or upstream weighted. Thus, ail of the hydrodynamic conditions may be modeled (from the pure advection to pure diffusion). The mass transport and geochemical flux are solved simultaneously (one-step algorithm). Moreover. the code KIRMAT is designed to quantify reactive mass transport through a double or dual porosity medium, in which the flow porosity (filled by free water) and the diffusion porosity (containing stagnant water) are viewed as two distinct sub mediums or Systems. Under some given conditions, the need to solve one or the other mass transport equation is a function of the water-rock System size. The accuracy of the kinetic constraint has been improved in KIRMAT. Two new kinetic rate laws have been introduced for the dissolution of the most abundant silicates (alkali feldspars, silica. etc.). These rate laws integrate the quantitatively important inhibitor and catalytic effects involved with some dissolved chemical elements that are ubiquitous in natural aqueous solutions. The basic step. the numerical verification of the code, has been tackled with two complementary approaches. The numerical results from KIRMAT have been compared to those calculated from an exact solution and a new method has been developed and used. We have compared the numerical results of KIRMAT in

  6. Modeling of two-phase flow in membranes and porous media in microgravity as applied to plant irrigation in space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scovazzo, P.; Illangasekare, T. H.; Hoehn, A.; Todd, P.

    2001-01-01

    In traditional applications in soil physics it is convention to scale porous media properties, such as hydraulic conductivity, soil water diffusivity, and capillary head, with the gravitational acceleration. In addition, the Richards equation for water flux in partially saturated porous media also contains a gravity term. With the plans to develop plant habitats in space, such as in the International Space Station, it becomes necessary to evaluate these properties and this equation under conditions of microgravitational acceleration. This article develops models for microgravity steady state two-phase flow, as found in irrigation systems, that addresses critical design issues. Conventional dimensionless groups in two-phase mathematical models are scaled with gravity, which must be assigned a value of zero for microgravity modeling. The use of these conventional solutions in microgravity, therefore, is not possible. This article therefore introduces new dimensionless groups for two-phase models. The microgravity models introduced here determined that in addition to porous media properties, important design factors for microgravity systems include applied water potential and the ratio of inner to outer radii for cylindrical and spherical porous media systems.

  7. Numerical evaluation of the water saturation in a high level radioactive waste disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benet, L.V.; Bouillet, Ch.; Tulita, C.; Wendling, J.

    2010-01-01

    Document available in extended abstract form only. This work is a contribution of the ANDRA's program of numerical simulations of the evolution in time of hydrogeological flows in a radioactive waste repository in deep clay formations. This study aims at evaluating the water contact areas with steel for corrosion modeling in a High-Level radioactive waste disposal, from the building to the total saturation, more than 100 000 years later [HSPA6b]. Energy release by radioactive spent fuel and thermal expansion of the interstitial water is taken into account in the models. Thermal transfers in the porous media and free convection in the gaps (Navier-Stokes equations) are computed with a linear Finite Element scheme. The mass transfers in the porous media are solved with a P0-P1 Mixed Finite Element method (Richard's equations during exploitation and two phases flow equations after the closure). All numerical simulations are performed with the Cast3M code (http://wwwcast3m. cea.fr/). During the exploitation, the H-L radioactive waste storage cell is not supposed to be hermetically closed. The pressure in the storage cell remains atmospheric and mass transfers towards the main gallery are possible. So a seepage boundary condition is used on excavation surface in order to provide evolution in time of saturation limit along the storage cell. For each cell of the boundary mesh: - No water flux is imposed in contact with unsaturated media. - Atmospheric pressure is imposed in contact with saturated media. A relative humidity of 50% is imposed for the atmosphere in the gallery. Vapour diffusive flux is implemented in Richard's equations with a suction pressure formula according to Kelvin law. Temperature impact on vapour flux is neglected. Vapour diffusive flux is significant in the concrete wall of gallery due to the ventilation. The free convection steady state in the gap is solved at different times of the thermal transient to evaluate location of

  8. Transport, retention, and size perturbation of graphene oxide in saturated porous media: Effects of input concentration and grain size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accurately predicting the fate and transport of graphene oxide (GO) in porous media is critical to assess its environmental impact. In this work, sand column experiments were conducted to determine the effect of input concentration and grain size on transport, retention, and size perturbation of GO ...

  9. Reflection of processes of non-equilibrium two-phase filtration in oil-saturated hierarchical medium in data of active wave geophysical monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hachay, Olga; Khachay, Andrey; Khachay, Oleg

    2016-04-01

    The processes of oil extraction from deposit are linked with the movement of multi-phase multi-component media, which are characterized by non-equilibrium and non-linear rheological features. The real behavior of layered systems is defined by the complexity of the rheology of moving fluids and the morphology structure of the porous medium, and also by the great variety of interactions between the fluid and the porous medium [Hasanov and Bulgakova, 2003]. It is necessary to take into account these features in order to informatively describe the filtration processes due to the non-linearity, non-equilibrium and heterogeneity that are features of real systems. In this way, new synergetic events can be revealed (namely, a loss of stability when oscillations occur, and the formation of ordered structures). This allows us to suggest new methods for the control and management of complicated natural systems that are constructed on account of these phenomena. Thus the layered system, from which it is necessary to extract the oil, is a complicated dynamical hierarchical system. A comparison is provided of non-equilibrium effects of the influence of independent hydrodynamic and electromagnetic induction on an oil layer and the medium which it surrounds. It is known that by drainage and steeping the hysteresis effect on curves of the relative phase permeability in dependence on the porous medium's water saturation in some cycles of influence (drainage-steep-drainage) is observed. Using the earlier developed 3D method of induction electromagnetic frequency geometric monitoring, we showed the possibility of defining the physical and structural features of a hierarchical oil layer structure and estimating the water saturation from crack inclusions. This effect allows managing the process of drainage and steeping the oil out of the layer by water displacement. An algorithm was constructed for 2D modeling of sound diffraction on a porous fluid-saturated intrusion of a hierarchical

  10. Modeling variably saturated multispecies reactive groundwater solute transport with MODFLOW-UZF and RT3D

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Ryan T.; Morway, Eric D.; Niswonger, Richard G.; Gates, Timothy K.

    2013-01-01

    A numerical model was developed that is capable of simulating multispecies reactive solute transport in variably saturated porous media. This model consists of a modified version of the reactive transport model RT3D (Reactive Transport in 3 Dimensions) that is linked to the Unsaturated-Zone Flow (UZF1) package and MODFLOW. Referred to as UZF-RT3D, the model is tested against published analytical benchmarks as well as other published contaminant transport models, including HYDRUS-1D, VS2DT, and SUTRA, and the coupled flow and transport modeling system of CATHY and TRAN3D. Comparisons in one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional variably saturated systems are explored. While several test cases are included to verify the correct implementation of variably saturated transport in UZF-RT3D, other cases are included to demonstrate the usefulness of the code in terms of model run-time and handling the reaction kinetics of multiple interacting species in variably saturated subsurface systems. As UZF1 relies on a kinematic-wave approximation for unsaturated flow that neglects the diffusive terms in Richards equation, UZF-RT3D can be used for large-scale aquifer systems for which the UZF1 formulation is reasonable, that is, capillary-pressure gradients can be neglected and soil parameters can be treated as homogeneous. Decreased model run-time and the ability to include site-specific chemical species and chemical reactions make UZF-RT3D an attractive model for efficient simulation of multispecies reactive transport in variably saturated large-scale subsurface systems.

  11. Development of finite element code for the analysis of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behaviors of saturated-unsaturated medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohnishi, Y.; Shibata, H.; Kobayashi, A.

    1985-01-01

    A model is presented which describes fully coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of porous geologic medium. The mathematical formulation for the model utilizes the Biot theory for the consolidation and the energy balance equation. The medium is in the condition of saturated-unsaturated flow, then the free surfaces are taken into consideration in the model. The model, incorporated in a finite element numerical procedure, was implemented in a two-dimensional computer code. The code was developed under the assumptions that the medium is poro-elastic and in plane strain condition; water in the ground does not change its phase; heat is transferred by conductive and convective flow. Analytical solutions pertaining to consolidation theory for soils and rocks, thermoelasticity for solids and hydrothermal convection theory provided verification of stress and fluid flow couplings, respectively in the coupled model. Several types of problems are analyzed. The one is a study of some of the effects of completely coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior on the response of a saturated-unsaturated porous rock containing a buried heat source. Excavation of an underground opening which has radioactive wastes at elevated temperatures is modeled and analyzed. The results shows that the coupling phenomena can be estimated at some degree by the numerical procedure. The computer code has a powerful ability to analyze of the repository the complex nature of the repository

  12. On a multigrid method for the coupled Stokes and porous media flow problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, P.; Rodrigo, C.; Gaspar, F. J.; Oosterlee, C. W.

    2017-07-01

    The multigrid solution of coupled porous media and Stokes flow problems is considered. The Darcy equation as the saturated porous medium model is coupled to the Stokes equations by means of appropriate interface conditions. We focus on an efficient multigrid solution technique for the coupled problem, which is discretized by finite volumes on staggered grids, giving rise to a saddle point linear system. Special treatment is required regarding the discretization at the interface. An Uzawa smoother is employed in multigrid, which is a decoupled procedure based on symmetric Gauss-Seidel smoothing for velocity components and a simple Richardson iteration for the pressure field. Since a relaxation parameter is part of a Richardson iteration, Local Fourier Analysis (LFA) is applied to determine the optimal parameters. Highly satisfactory multigrid convergence is reported, and, moreover, the algorithm performs well for small values of the hydraulic conductivity and fluid viscosity, that are relevant for applications.

  13. Saturated Switching Systems

    CERN Document Server

    Benzaouia, Abdellah

    2012-01-01

    Saturated Switching Systems treats the problem of actuator saturation, inherent in all dynamical systems by using two approaches: positive invariance in which the controller is designed to work within a region of non-saturating linear behaviour; and saturation technique which allows saturation but guarantees asymptotic stability. The results obtained are extended from the linear systems in which they were first developed to switching systems with uncertainties, 2D switching systems, switching systems with Markovian jumping and switching systems of the Takagi-Sugeno type. The text represents a thoroughly referenced distillation of results obtained in this field during the last decade. The selected tool for analysis and design of stabilizing controllers is based on multiple Lyapunov functions and linear matrix inequalities. All the results are illustrated with numerical examples and figures many of them being modelled using MATLAB®. Saturated Switching Systems will be of interest to academic researchers in con...

  14. Dynamics of foam flow in porous media in the presence of oil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shokri, N.; Osei-Bonsu, K.

    2016-12-01

    Foams demonstrate great potential for fluid displacement in porous media which is important in a number of subsurface operations such as the enhanced oil recovery and soil remediation. The application of foam in these processes is down to its unique ability to reduce gas mobility by increasing its effective viscosity and to divert gas to un-swept low permeability zones in porous media [1-4]. To investigate the fundamental aspects of foam flow in porous media, we have conducted a systematic series of experiment using a well-characterised porous medium manufactured by a high resolution 3D printer. This enabled us to design and control the properties of porous media with high accuracy. The model porous medium was initially saturated with oil. Then the pre-generated foam was injected into the model at well-defined injection rates to displace oil. The dynamics of foam-oil displacement in porous media was recorded using a digital camera controlled by a computer [5]. The recorded images were analysed in MATLAB to determine the dynamics of foam-oil displacement under different boundary conditions. Effects of the type of oil, foam quality and foam flow rate were investigated. Our results reveal that generation of stable foam is delayed in the presence of light oil in the porous medium compared to the heavy oil. Furthermore, higher foam quality appears to be less stable in the presence of oil lowering its recovery efficiency. Pore-scale inspection of foam-oil patterns formed during displacement revealed formation of a more stable front in the case of lower foam quality which affected the oil recovery efficiency. This study extends the physical understanding of governing mechanisms controlling oil displacement by foam in porous media. Grassia, P., E. Mas-Hernandez, N. Shokri, S.J. Cox, G. Mishuris, W.R. Rossen (2014), J. Fluid Mech., 751, 346-405. Grassia, P., C. Torres-Ulloa, S. Berres, E. Mas-Hernandez, N. Shokri (2016), European Physical Journal E, 39 (4), 42. Mas

  15. Multiphase porous media modelling: A novel approach to predicting food processing performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Md Imran H; Joardder, M U H; Kumar, Chandan; Karim, M A

    2018-03-04

    The development of a physics-based model of food processing is essential to improve the quality of processed food and optimize energy consumption. Food materials, particularly plant-based food materials, are complex in nature as they are porous and have hygroscopic properties. A multiphase porous media model for simultaneous heat and mass transfer can provide a realistic understanding of transport processes and thus can help to optimize energy consumption and improve food quality. Although the development of a multiphase porous media model for food processing is a challenging task because of its complexity, many researchers have attempted it. The primary aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the multiphase models available in the literature for different methods of food processing, such as drying, frying, cooking, baking, heating, and roasting. A critical review of the parameters that should be considered for multiphase modelling is presented which includes input parameters, material properties, simulation techniques and the hypotheses. A discussion on the general trends in outcomes, such as moisture saturation, temperature profile, pressure variation, and evaporation patterns, is also presented. The paper concludes by considering key issues in the existing multiphase models and future directions for development of multiphase models.

  16. Porous nanoparticles of Al and Ti generated by laser ablation in liquids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuzmin, P.G. [Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov Street, 119991, Moscow (Russian Federation); Shafeev, G.A., E-mail: shafeev@kapella.gpi.ru [Wave Research Center of A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov Street, 119991, Moscow (Russian Federation); Viau, G. [Universite de Toulouse, INSA, LPCNO, 135 avenue de Rangueil, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 4 (France); Warot-Fonrose, B. [CEMES, UPR CNRS 8011, 29, rue Jeanne Marvig, BP 94347, 31055 Toulouse Cedex4 (France); Barberoglou, M.; Stratakis, E.; Fotakis, C. [Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (IESL-FORTH), P.O. Box 1527, Heraklion 711 10 (Greece)

    2012-09-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanoparticles of either Al or Ti are generated by laser ablation in hydrogen-saturated liquids. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nanoparticles contain cavities. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The morphology of generated particles depends on the laser pulse duration. - Abstract: Experimental results are presented on the generation of porous nanoparticles of either Al or Ti by laser ablation of solid targets in ethanol, water, and n-propanol saturated with hydrogen. The nanoparticles are characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR TEM) and optical absorption spectroscopy. Saturation of the liquid with gaseous hydrogen leads to the formation of internal cavities in nanoparticles. In the case of short laser pulses (180 fs, Ti:sapphire laser at 800 nm wavelength), the nanoparticles are mostly spherical with the size of 30-50 nm at concentration about 10{sup 15} cm{sup -3}. The cavity occupies from 20 to 50% of the particle volume. Longer laser pulses (70 ns, Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm wavelength) generate facetted nanoparticles with facetted cavities inside. The mechanism of formation of cavities is discussed on the basis of temperature-dependent solubility of hydrogen in metals.

  17. Flow and fracture in water-saturated, unconstrained granular beds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Germán eVaras

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The injection of gas in a liquid-saturated granular bed gives rise to a wide variety of invasion patterns. Many studies have focused on constrained porous media, in which the grains are fixed in the bed and only the interstitial fluid flows when the gas invades the system. With a free upper boundary, however, the grains can be entrained by the ascending gas or fluid motion, and the competition between the upward motion of grains and sedimentation leads to new patterns. We propose a brief review of the experimental investigation of the dynamics of air rising through a water-saturated, unconstrained granular bed, in both two and three dimensions. After describing the invasion pattern at short and long time, a tentative regime-diagram is proposed. We report original results showing a dependence of the fluidized zone shape, at long times, on the injection flow rate and grain size. A method based on image analysis makes it possible to detect not only the fluidized zone profile in the stationary regime, but also to follow the transient dynamics of its formation. Finally, we describe the degassing dynamics inside the fluidized zone, in the stationary regime. Depending on the experimental conditions, regular bubbling, continuous degassing, intermittent regime or even spontaneous flow-to-fracture transition are observed.

  18. Transient current distributions in porous zinc electrodes in KOH electrolyte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, M.B.; Yamazaki, Y.; Cook, G.M.; Yao, N.P.

    1981-02-01

    A zero-resistance ammeter circuit with a 10-channel operational amplifier was used to measure the current distribution during a discharge of 10 to 100 mA with simulated zinc porous electrodes in 7.24 M KOH saturated with ZnO. The reaction distribution was found to be highly nonuniform, with 70 to 78% of the charge transfer reaction completed in a depth of 0.01 cm. The high nonuniformity of the initial reaction profile was believed to be due to low conductivity of the electrolyte in the electrode pores. The current distribution changes during passivation of the electrode were experimentally obtained. A mathematical model based upon a macroscope averaging technique was used to predict the time dependence of charge transfer reaction profiles. With mathematical model, current distributions and overpotentials were predicted as a function of time for the segmented zinc electrode discharged at a current of 10 to 100 mA; for these predictions, assumed values of both precipitation rate constants for porous ZnO and diffusion coefficients for hydroxide and zincate ions were used. A gradual decrease in the specific conductivity of the pore electrolyte to 20% of the initial value during discharge yields predictions of current distributions and overpotentials in good agreement with the experimental data. The extent of reduction in the specific conductivity of the pore electrolyte implies a supersaturation of zincate of four times chemical saturation, which was been observed experimentally.At high discharge current (25 to 100 mA), the passivation behavior of the electrode has been simulated. The results of the experiments and mathematical model show that the effective reaction penetration depth is less than 0.02 cm.

  19. Evaluation of water transfer from saturated lightweight aggregate to cement paste matrix by neutron radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maruyama, I.; Kanematsu, M.; Noguchi, T.; Iikura, H.; Teramoto, A.; Hayano, H.

    2009-01-01

    In high-strength concrete with low water-cement ratio, self-desiccation occurs due to cement hydration and causes shrinkage and an increased risk of cracking. While high-strength concrete has a denser matrix than normal-strength concrete, resulting in lower permeability, early-age cracks would cancel out this advantage. For the mitigation of this self-desiccation and resultant shrinkage, water-saturated porous aggregate, such as artificial lightweight aggregate, may be used in high-strength concrete. In this contribution, for the purpose of clarification of the volume change of high-strength concrete containing water-saturated lightweight aggregate, water transfer from the lightweight aggregate to cement paste matrix is visualized by neutron radiography. As a result, it is clear that water was supplied to the cement paste matrix in the range 3-8 mm from the surface of the aggregate, and the osmotic forces may yield water transfer around lightweight aggregate in a few hours after mixing.

  20. Imaging and Measurements of Flow Phenomena and Impact of Soil Associated Constituents Through Unsaturated Porous Media in a 2D System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pales, A. R.; Li, B.; Clifford, H.; Edayilam, N.; Montgomery, D.; Dogan, M.; Tharayil, N.; Martinez, N. E.; Moysey, S. M.; Darnault, C. J. G.

    2016-12-01

    This research aims to build upon past two-dimension (2D) tank light transmission methods to quantify real-time flow in unsaturated porous media (ASTM silica sand; US Silica, Ottawa, IL, USA) and how exudates effect unstable flow patterns. A 2D tank light transmission method was created using a transparent flow through tank coupled with a random rainfall simulator; a commercial LED light and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor digital single lens reflex (CMOS DSLR) Nikon D5500 camera were used to capture the real-time flow images. The images were broken down from red-green-blue (RGB) into hue-saturation-intensity (HVI) and analyzed in Matlab to produce quantifiable data about finger formation and water saturation distribution. Contact angle and surface tension of the chemical plant exudate solutions was measured using a Kruss EasyDrop FM40Mk2 (Kruss GmbH Germany). The exudates (oxalate, citrate, tannic acid, and Suwannee River Natural Organic Matter) had an increased wettability effect compared to control rain water (0.01M NaCl). This resulted in variable finger formation and speed of finger propagation; dependent on exudate type and concentration. Water saturation along the vertical and horizontal profile (Matlab) was used to quantify the finger more objectively than by eye assessment alone. The changes in finger formation and speed of propagation between the control rain water (0.01M NaCl) and the solutions containing plant exudates illustrates that the plant exudates increased the wettability (mobility) of water moving through unsaturated porous media. This understanding of plant exudates effect on unsaturated flow is important for future works in this study to analyze how plants, their roots and exudates, may affect the mobility of radionuclides in unsaturated porous media.

  1. Reactivity of dolomite in water-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide: Significance for carbon capture and storage and for enhanced oil and gas recovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiuyu; Alvarado, Vladimir; Swoboda-Colberg, Norbert; Kaszuba, John P.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Dolomite reactivity with wet and dry supercritical CO 2 were evaluated. ► Dolomite does not react with dry CO 2 . ► H 2 O-saturated supercritical CO 2 dissolves dolomite and precipitates carbonate mineral. ► Temperature/reaction time control morphology and extent of carbonate mineralization. ► Reaction with wet CO 2 may impact trapping, caprock integrity, and CCS/EOR injectivity. - Abstract: Carbon dioxide injection in porous reservoirs is the basis for carbon capture and storage, enhanced oil and gas recovery. Injected carbon dioxide is stored at multiple scales in porous media, from the pore-level as a residual phase to large scales as macroscopic accumulations by the injection site, under the caprock and at reservoir internal capillary pressure barriers. These carbon dioxide saturation zones create regions across which the full spectrum of mutual CO 2 –H 2 O solubility may occur. Most studies assume that geochemical reaction is restricted to rocks and carbon dioxide-saturated formation waters, but this paradigm ignores injection of anhydrous carbon dioxide against brine and water-alternating-gas flooding for enhanced oil recovery. A series of laboratory experiments was performed to evaluate the reactivity of the common reservoir mineral dolomite with water-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide. Experiments were conducted at reservoir conditions (55 and 110 °C, 25 MPa) and elevated temperature (220 °C, 25 MPa) for approximately 96 and 164 h (4 and 7 days). Dolomite dissolves and new carbonate mineral precipitates by reaction with water-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide. Dolomite does not react with anhydrous supercritical carbon dioxide. Temperature and reaction time control the composition, morphology, and extent of formation of new carbonate minerals. Mineral dissolution and re-precipitation due to reaction with water-saturated carbon dioxide may affect the contact line between phases, the carbon dioxide contact angle, and the

  2. Tailored Porous Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    BARTON,THOMAS J.; BULL,LUCY M.; KLEMPERER,WALTER G.; LOY,DOUGLAS A.; MCENANEY,BRIAN; MISONO,MAKOTO; MONSON,PETER A.; PEZ,GUIDO; SCHERER,GEORGE W.; VARTULI,JAMES C.; YAGHI,OMAR M.

    1999-11-09

    Tailoring of porous materials involves not only chemical synthetic techniques for tailoring microscopic properties such as pore size, pore shape, pore connectivity, and pore surface reactivity, but also materials processing techniques for tailoring the meso- and the macroscopic properties of bulk materials in the form of fibers, thin films and monoliths. These issues are addressed in the context of five specific classes of porous materials: oxide molecular sieves, porous coordination solids, porous carbons, sol-gel derived oxides, and porous heteropolyanion salts. Reviews of these specific areas are preceded by a presentation of background material and review of current theoretical approaches to adsorption phenomena. A concluding section outlines current research needs and opportunities.

  3. The nonlinear interaction of convection modes in a box of a saturated porous medium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florio, Brendan J.; Bassom, Andrew P.; Fowkes, Neville; Judd, Kevin; Stemler, Thomas

    2015-05-01

    A plethora of convection modes may occur within a confined box of porous medium when the associated dimensionless Rayleigh number R is above some critical value dependent on the geometry. In many cases the crucial Rayleigh number Rc for onset is different for each mode, and in practice the mode with the lowest associated Rc is likely to be the dominant one. For particular sizes of box, however, it is possible for multiple modes (typically three) to share a common Rc. For box shapes close to these special geometries the modes interact and compete nonlinearly near the onset of convection. Here this mechanism is explored and it is shown that generically the dynamics of the competition takes on one of two possible structures. A specific example of each is described, while the general properties of the system enables us to compare our results with some previous calculations for particular box dimensions.

  4. Graded/Gradient Porous Biomaterials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xigeng Miao

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Biomaterials include bioceramics, biometals, biopolymers and biocomposites and they play important roles in the replacement and regeneration of human tissues. However, dense bioceramics and dense biometals pose the problem of stress shielding due to their high Young’s moduli compared to those of bones. On the other hand, porous biomaterials exhibit the potential of bone ingrowth, which will depend on porous parameters such as pore size, pore interconnectivity, and porosity. Unfortunately, a highly porous biomaterial results in poor mechanical properties. To optimise the mechanical and the biological properties, porous biomaterials with graded/gradient porosity, pores size, and/or composition have been developed. Graded/gradient porous biomaterials have many advantages over graded/gradient dense biomaterials and uniform or homogenous porous biomaterials. The internal pore surfaces of graded/gradient porous biomaterials can be modified with organic, inorganic, or biological coatings and the internal pores themselves can also be filled with biocompatible and biodegradable materials or living cells. However, graded/gradient porous biomaterials are generally more difficult to fabricate than uniform or homogenous porous biomaterials. With the development of cost-effective processing techniques, graded/gradient porous biomaterials can find wide applications in bone defect filling, implant fixation, bone replacement, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.

  5. Benchmark problems for repository siting models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, B.; Mercer, J.W.; Thomas, S.D.; Lester, B.H.

    1982-12-01

    This report describes benchmark problems to test computer codes used in siting nuclear waste repositories. Analytical solutions, field problems, and hypothetical problems are included. Problems are included for the following types of codes: ground-water flow in saturated porous media, heat transport in saturated media, ground-water flow in saturated fractured media, heat and solute transport in saturated porous media, solute transport in saturated porous media, solute transport in saturated fractured media, and solute transport in unsaturated porous media

  6. TRUST: A Computer Program for Variably Saturated Flow in Multidimensional, Deformable Media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reisenauer, A. E.; Key, K. T.; Narasimhan, T. N.; Nelson, R. W.

    1982-01-01

    The computer code, TRUST. provides a versatile tool to solve a wide spectrum of fluid flow problems arising in variably saturated deformable porous media. The governing equations express the conservation of fluid mass in an elemental volume that has a constant volume of solid. Deformation of the skeleton may be nonelastic. Permeability and compressibility coefficients may be nonlinearly related to effective stress. Relationships between permeability and saturation with pore water pressure in the unsaturated zone may include hysteresis. The code developed by T. N. Narasimhan grew out of the original TRUNP code written by A. L. Edwards. The code uses an integrated finite difference algorithm for numerically solving the governing equation. Narching in time is performed by a mixed explicit-implicit numerical procedure in which the time step is internally controlled. The time step control and related feature in the TRUST code provide an effective control of the potential numerical instabilities that can arise in the course of solving this difficult class of nonlinear boundary value problem. This document brings together the equations, theory, and users manual for the code as well as a sample case with input and output.

  7. Monitoring of degradation of porous silicon photonic crystals using digital photography

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    We report the monitoring of porous silicon (pSi) degradation in aqueous solutions using a consumer-grade digital camera. To facilitate optical monitoring, the pSi samples were prepared as one-dimensional photonic crystals (rugate filters) by electrochemical etching of highly doped p-type Si wafers using a periodic etch waveform. Two pSi formulations, representing chemistries relevant for self-reporting drug delivery applications, were tested: freshly etched pSi (fpSi) and fpSi coated with the biodegradable polymer chitosan (pSi-ch). Accelerated degradation of the samples in an ethanol-containing pH 10 aqueous basic buffer was monitored in situ by digital imaging with a consumer-grade digital camera with simultaneous optical reflectance spectrophotometric point measurements. As the nanostructured porous silicon matrix dissolved, a hypsochromic shift in the wavelength of the rugate reflectance peak resulted in visible color changes from red to green. While the H coordinate in the hue, saturation, and value (HSV) color space calculated using the as-acquired photographs was a good monitor of degradation at short times (t  pSi-ch. PMID:25242902

  8. pH-metric solubility. 2: correlation between the acid-base titration and the saturation shake-flask solubility-pH methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avdeef, A; Berger, C M; Brownell, C

    2000-01-01

    The objective of this study was to compare the results of a normal saturation shake-flask method to a new potentiometric acid-base titration method for determining the intrinsic solubility and the solubility-pH profiles of ionizable molecules, and to report the solubility constants determined by the latter technique. The solubility-pH profiles of twelve generic drugs (atenolol, diclofenac.Na, famotidine, flurbiprofen, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, labetolol.HCl, naproxen, phenytoin, and propranolol.HCl), with solubilities spanning over six orders of magnitude, were determined both by the new pH-metric method and by a traditional approach (24 hr shaking of saturated solutions, followed by filtration, then HPLC assaying with UV detection). The 212 separate saturation shake-flask solubility measurements and those derived from 65 potentiometric titrations agreed well. The analysis produced the correlation equation: log(1/S)titration = -0.063(+/- 0.032) + 1.025(+/- 0.011) log(1/S)shake-flask, s = 0.20, r2 = 0.978. The potentiometrically-derived intrinsic solubilities of the drugs were: atenolol 13.5 mg/mL, diclofenac.Na 0.82 microg/mL, famotidine 1.1 mg/ mL, flurbiprofen 10.6 microg/mL, furosemide 5.9 microg/mL, hydrochlorothiazide 0.70 mg/mL, ibuprofen 49 microg/mL, ketoprofen 118 microg/mL, labetolol.HCl 128 microg/mL, naproxen 14 microg/mL, phenytoin 19 microg/mL, and propranolol.HCl 70 microg/mL. The new potentiometric method was shown to be reliable for determining the solubility-pH profiles of uncharged ionizable drug substances. Its speed compared to conventional equilibrium measurements, its sound theoretical basis, its ability to generate the full solubility-pH profile from a single titration, and its dynamic range (currently estimated to be seven orders of magnitude) make the new pH-metric method an attractive addition to traditional approaches used by preformulation and development scientists. It may be useful even to discovery

  9. Numerical investigations of two-phase flow with dynamic capillary pressure in porous media via a moving mesh method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hong; Zegeling, Paul Andries

    2017-09-01

    Motivated by observations of saturation overshoot, this paper investigates numerical modeling of two-phase flow in porous media incorporating dynamic capillary pressure. The effects of the dynamic capillary coefficient, the infiltrating flux rate and the initial and boundary values are systematically studied using a traveling wave ansatz and efficient numerical methods. The traveling wave solutions may exhibit monotonic, non-monotonic or plateau-shaped behavior. Special attention is paid to the non-monotonic profiles. The traveling wave results are confirmed by numerically solving the partial differential equation using an accurate adaptive moving mesh solver. Comparisons between the computed solutions using the Brooks-Corey model and the laboratory measurements of saturation overshoot verify the effectiveness of our approach.

  10. Onset of Vibrational Convection in a Binary Fluid Saturated Non-Darcy Porous Layer Heated from Above

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saravanan S.

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available A linear stability analysis is used to investigate the influence of mechanical vibration on the onset of thermosolutal convection in a horizontal porous layer heated and salted from above. Vibrations are considered with arbitrary amplitude and frequency. The Brinkman extended Darcy model is used to describe the flow and the Oberbeck-Boussinesq approximation is employed. Continued fraction method and Floquet theory are used to determine the convective instability threshold. It is found that the solutal Rayleigh number has the stabilizing effect. The existence of a closed disconnected loop of synchronous mode is predicted in the marginal curve for moderate values of solutal Rayleigh number and vibration amplitude.

  11. Modeling coupled nanoparticle aggregation and transport in porous media: a Lagrangian approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taghavy, Amir; Pennell, Kurt D; Abriola, Linda M

    2015-01-01

    Changes in nanoparticle size and shape due to particle-particle interactions (i.e., aggregation or agglomeration) may significantly alter particle mobility and retention in porous media. To date, however, few modeling studies have considered the coupling of transport and particle aggregation processes. The majority of particle transport models employ an Eulerian modeling framework and are, consequently, limited in the types of collisions and aggregate sizes that can be considered. In this work, a more general Lagrangian modeling framework is developed and implemented to explore coupled nanoparticle aggregation and transport processes. The model was verified through comparison of model simulations to published results of an experimental and Eulerian modeling study (Raychoudhury et al., 2012) of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-modified nano-sized zero-valent iron particle (nZVI) transport and retention in water-saturated sand columns. A model sensitivity analysis reveals the influence of influent particle concentration (ca. 70 to 700 mg/L), primary particle size (10-100 nm) and pore water velocity (ca. 1-6 m/day) on particle-particle, and, consequently, particle-collector interactions. Model simulations demonstrate that, when environmental conditions promote particle-particle interactions, neglecting aggregation effects can lead to under- or over-estimation of nanoparticle mobility. Results also suggest that the extent to which higher order particle-particle collisions influence aggregation kinetics will increase with the fraction of primary particles. This work demonstrates the potential importance of time-dependent aggregation processes on nanoparticle mobility and provides a numerical model capable of capturing/describing these interactions in water-saturated porous media. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Numerical study for enhancing the thermal conductivity of phase change material (PCM) storage using high thermal conductivity porous matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mesalhy, Osama; Lafdi, Khalid; Elgafy, Ahmed; Bowman, Keith

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, the melting process inside an irregular geometry filled with high thermal conductivity porous matrix saturated with phase change material PCM is investigated numerically. The numerical model is resting on solving the volume averaged conservation equations for mass, momentum and energy with phase change (melting) in the porous medium. The convection motion of the liquid phase inside the porous matrix is solved considering the Darcy, Brinkman and Forchiemer effects. A local thermal non-equilibrium assumption is considered due to the large difference in thermal properties between the solid matrix and PCM by applying a two energy equation model. The numerical code shows good agreement for pure PCM melting with another published numerical work. Through this study it is found that the presence of the porous matrix has a great effect on the heat transfer and melting rate of the PCM energy storage. Decreasing the porosity of the matrix increases the melting rate, but it also damps the convection motion. It is also found that the best technique to enhance the response of the PCM storage is to use a solid matrix with high porosity and high thermal conductivity

  13. Irreversibility analysis of hydromagnetic flow of couple stress fluid with radiative heat in a channel filled with a porous medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.S. Eegunjobi

    Full Text Available Numerical analysis of the intrinsic irreversibility of a mixed convection hydromagnetic flow of an electrically conducting couple stress fluid through upright channel filled with a saturated porous medium and radiative heat transfer was carried out. The thermodynamics first and second laws were employed to examine the problem. We obtained the dimensionless nonlinear differential equations and solves numerically with shooting procedure joined with a fourth order Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg integration scheme. The temperature and velocity obtained, used to analyse the entropy generation rate together with some various physical parameters of the flow. Our results are presented graphically and talk over. Keywords: MHD channel flow, Couple stress fluid, Porous medium, Thermal radiation, Entropy generation, Injection/suction

  14. Microscopic analysis of saturable absorbers: Semiconductor saturable absorber mirrors versus graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hader, J.; Moloney, J. V. [Nonlinear Control Strategies, Inc., 3542 N. Geronimo Ave., Tucson, Arizona 85705 (United States); College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (United States); Yang, H.-J.; Scheller, M. [College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (United States); Koch, S. W. [Department of Physics and Materials Sciences Center, Philipps Universität Marburg, Renthof 5, 35032 Marburg (Germany)

    2016-02-07

    Fully microscopic many-body calculations are used to study the influence of strong sub-picosecond pulses on the carrier distributions and corresponding optical response in saturable absorbers used for mode-locking—semiconductor (quantum well) saturable absorber mirrors (SESAMs) and single layer graphene based saturable absorber mirrors (GSAMs). Unlike in GSAMs, the saturation fluence and recovery time in SESAMs show a strong spectral dependence. While the saturation fluence in the SESAM is minimal at the excitonic bandgap, the optimal recovery time and least pulse distortion due to group delay dispersion are found for excitation higher in the first subband. For excitation near the SESAM bandgap, the saturation fluence is about one tenth of that in the GSAM. At energies above the bandgap, the fluences in both systems become similar. A strong dependence of the saturation fluence on the pulse width in both systems is caused by carrier relaxation during the pulse. The recovery time in graphene is found to be about two to four times faster than that in the SESAMs. The occurrence of negative differential transmission in graphene is shown to be caused by dopant related carriers. In SESAMs, a negative differential transmission is found when exciting below the excitonic resonance where excitation induced dephasing leads to an enhancement of the absorption. Comparisons of the simulation data to the experiment show a very good quantitative agreement.

  15. Thermal convection at low Rayleigh number from concentrated sources in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hickox, C.E.

    1980-01-01

    A simple mathematical theory is proposed for the analysis of natural convective motion, at low Rayleigh number, from a concentrated source of heat in a fluid-saturated porous medium. The theory consists of retaining only the leading terms of series expansions of the dependent variables in terms of the Rayleigh number, is thus linear, and is valid only in the limit of small Rayleigh number. Based on fundamental results for a variety of isolated sources, superposition is used to provide solutions for situations of practical interest. Special emphasis is given to the analysis of sub-seabed disposal of nuclear waste. 8 figures

  16. Monoanionic 99mTc-tricarbonyl-aminopolycarboxylate complexes with uncharged pendant groups: Radiosynthesis and evaluation as potential renal tubular tracers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipowska, Malgorzata; Klenc, Jeffrey; Jarkas, Nashwa; Marzilli, Luigi G; Taylor, Andrew T

    2017-04-01

    99m Tc(CO) 3 -nitrilotriacetic acid, 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA), is a new renal tubular agent with pharmacokinetic properties comparable to those of 131 I-OIH but the clearance of 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) and 131 I-OIH is still less than the clearance of PAH, the gold standard for the measurement of effective renal plasma flow. At physiological pH, dianionic 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) has a mononegative inner metal-coordination sphere and a mononegative uncoordinated carboxyl group. To evaluate alternate synthetic approaches, we assessed the importance of an uncoordinated carboxyl group, long considered essential for tubular transport, by evaluating the pharmacokinetics of three analogs with the 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) metal-coordination sphere but with uncharged pendant groups. 99m Tc(CO) 3 complexes with N-(2-acetamido)iminodiacetic acid (ADA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)iminodiacetic acid (HDA) and N-(fluoroethyl)iminodiacetic acid (FEDA) were prepared using a tricarbonyl kit and isolated by HPLC. The pharmacokinetics were evaluated in Sprague-Dawley rats, with 131 I-OIH as an internal control; urine was analyzed for metabolites. Plasma protein binding and erythrocyte uptake were determined from the 10min blood samples. Re(CO) 3 (FEDA), the analog of 99m Tc(CO) 3 (FEDA), was prepared and characterized. 99m Tc(CO) 3 (ADA), 99m Tc(CO) 3 (HDA) and 99m Tc(CO) 3 (FEDA) were efficiently prepared as a single species with high radiochemical purities (>99%). These new monoanionic 99m Tc(CO) 3 tracers with uncharged dangling groups all showed rapid blood clearance and high specificity for renal excretion. Activity in the urine, as a percent of 131 I-OIH at 10 and 60min, was 96% and 99% for ADA, 96% and 100% for HDA, and 100% and 99% for FEDA, respectively. Each new tracer was excreted unchanged in the urine. The Re(CO) 3 (FEDA) structure adds compelling evidence that such 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) analogs have metal-coordination spheres identical to that of 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA). New tracers lacking the negatively

  17. Monoanionic 99mTc-tricarbonyl-aminopolycarboxylate complexes with uncharged pendant groups: Radiosynthesis and evaluation as potential renal tubular tracers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lipowska, Malgorzata; Klenc, Jeffrey; Jarkas, Nashwa; Marzilli, Luigi G.; Taylor, Andrew T.

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: 99m Tc(CO) 3 -nitrilotriacetic acid, 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA), is a new renal tubular agent with pharmacokinetic properties comparable to those of 131 I-OIH but the clearance of 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) and 131 I-OIH is still less than the clearance of PAH, the gold standard for the measurement of effective renal plasma flow. At physiological pH, dianionic 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) has a mononegative inner metal-coordination sphere and a mononegative uncoordinated carboxyl group. To evaluate alternate synthetic approaches, we assessed the importance of an uncoordinated carboxyl group, long considered essential for tubular transport, by evaluating the pharmacokinetics of three analogs with the 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) metal-coordination sphere but with uncharged pendant groups. Methods: 99m Tc(CO) 3 complexes with N-(2-acetamido)iminodiacetic acid (ADA), N-(2-hydroxyethyl)iminodiacetic acid (HDA) and N-(fluoroethyl)iminodiacetic acid (FEDA) were prepared using a tricarbonyl kit and isolated by HPLC. The pharmacokinetics were evaluated in Sprague–Dawley rats, with 131 I-OIH as an internal control; urine was analyzed for metabolites. Plasma protein binding and erythrocyte uptake were determined from the 10 min blood samples. Re(CO) 3 (FEDA), the analog of 99m Tc(CO) 3 (FEDA), was prepared and characterized. Results: 99m Tc(CO) 3 (ADA), 99m Tc(CO) 3 (HDA) and 99m Tc(CO) 3 (FEDA) were efficiently prepared as a single species with high radiochemical purities (>99%). These new monoanionic 99m Tc(CO) 3 tracers with uncharged dangling groups all showed rapid blood clearance and high specificity for renal excretion. Activity in the urine, as a percent of 131 I-OIH at 10 and 60 min, was 96% and 99% for ADA, 96% and 100% for HDA, and 100% and 99% for FEDA, respectively. Each new tracer was excreted unchanged in the urine. The Re(CO) 3 (FEDA) structure adds compelling evidence that such 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA) analogs have metal-coordination spheres identical to that of 99m Tc(CO) 3 (NTA

  18. Integrated compartmental model for describing the transport of solute in a fractured porous medium. [FRACPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeAngelis, D.L.; Yeh, G.T.; Huff, D.D.

    1984-10-01

    This report documents a model, FRACPORT, that simulates the transport of a solute through a fractured porous matrix. The model should be useful in analyzing the possible transport of radionuclides from shallow-land burial sites in humid environments. The use of the model is restricted to transport through saturated zones. The report first discusses the general modeling approach used, which is based on the Integrated Compartmental Method. The basic equations of solute transport are then presented. The model, which assumes a known water velocity field, solves these equations on two different time scales; one related to rapid transport of solute along fractures and the other related to slower transport through the porous matrix. FRACPORT is validated by application to a simple example of fractured porous medium transport that has previously been analyzed by other methods. Then its utility is demonstrated in analyzing more complex cases of pulses of solute into a fractured matrix. The report serves as a user's guide to FRACPORT. A detailed description of data input, along with a listing of input for a sample problem, is provided. 16 references, 18 figures, 3 tables.

  19. Sensitivity and inversion of full seismic waveforms in stratified porous medium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barros, L. de

    2007-12-01

    Characterization of porous media parameters, and particularly the porosity, permeability and fluid properties are very useful in many applications (hydrologic, natural hazards or oil industry). The aim of my research is to evaluate the possibility to determine these properties from the full seismic wave fields. First, I am interested in the useful parameters and the specific properties of the seismic waves in the poro-elastic theory, often called Biot (1956) theory. I then compute seismic waves propagation in fluid saturated stratified porous media with a reflectivity method coupled with the discrete wavenumber integration method. I first used this modeling to study the possibilities to determine the carbon dioxide concentration and localization thanks to the reflected P-waves in the case of the deep geological storage of Sleipner (North Sea). The sensitivity of the seismic response to the poro-elastic parameters are then generalized by the analytical computation of the Frechet derivatives which are expressed in terms of the Green's functions of the unperturbed medium. The numerical tests show that the porosity and the consolidation are the main parameters to invert. The sensitivity operators are then introduced in a inversion algorithm based on iterative modeling of the full waveform. The classical algorithm of generalized least-square inverse problem is solved by the quasi-Newton technique (Tarantola, 1984). The inversion of synthetic data show that we can invert for the porosity and the fluid and solid parameters (densities and mechanical modulus, or volume rate of fluid and mineral) can be correctly rebuilt if the other parameters are well known. However, the strong seismic coupling of the porous parameters leads to difficulties to invert simultaneously for several parameters. One way to get round these difficulties is to use additional information and invert for one single parameter for the fluid properties (saturating rate) or for the lithology. An other way

  20. A facile method for preparing porous, optically active, magnetic Fe3 O4 @poly(N-acryloyl-leucine) inverse core/shell composite microspheres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Dong; Deng, Jianping; Yang, Wantai

    2014-01-01

    The first synthesis of porous, optically active, magnetic Fe3 O4 @poly(N-acryloyl-leucine) inverse core/shell composite microspheres is reported, in which the core is constructed of chiral polymer and the shell is constructed of Fe3 O4 NPs. The microspheres integrate three significant concepts, "porosity", "chirality", and "magneticity", in one single microspheric entity. The microspheres consist of Fe3 O4 nanoparticles and porous optically active microspheres, and thus combine the advantages of both magnetic nanoparticles and porous optically active microspheres. The pore size and specific surface area of the microspheres are characterized by N2 adsorption, from which it is found that the composite microspheres possess a desirable porous structure. Circular dichroism and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that the microspheres exhibit the expected optical activity. The microspheres also have high saturation magnetization of 14.7 emu g(-1) and rapid magnetic responsivity. After further optimization, these novel microspheres may potentially find applications in areas such as asymmetric catalysis, chiral adsorption, etc. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. Thermo-diffusion effect on free convection heat and mass transfer in a thermally linearly stratified non-darcy porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Murthy, P.V.S.N.

    2011-12-26

    Thermo-diffusion effect on free convection heat and mass transfer from a vertical surface embedded in a liquid saturated thermally stratified non - Darcy porous medium has been analyzed using a local non-similar procedure. The wall temperature and concentration are constant and the medium is linearly stratified in the vertical direction with respect to the thermal conditions. The fluid flow, temperature and concentration fields are affected by the complex interactions among the diffusion ratio Le, buoyancy ratio N, thermo-diffusion parameter Sr and stratification parameter ?. Non-linear interactions of all these parameters on the convective transport has been analyzed and variation of heat and mass transfer coefficients with thermo-diffusion parameter in the thermally stratified non-Darcy porous media is presented through computer generated plots.

  2. Thermo-diffusion effect on free convection heat and mass transfer in a thermally linearly stratified non-darcy porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Murthy, P.V.S.N.; El-Amin, Mohamed

    2011-01-01

    Thermo-diffusion effect on free convection heat and mass transfer from a vertical surface embedded in a liquid saturated thermally stratified non - Darcy porous medium has been analyzed using a local non-similar procedure. The wall temperature and concentration are constant and the medium is linearly stratified in the vertical direction with respect to the thermal conditions. The fluid flow, temperature and concentration fields are affected by the complex interactions among the diffusion ratio Le, buoyancy ratio N, thermo-diffusion parameter Sr and stratification parameter ?. Non-linear interactions of all these parameters on the convective transport has been analyzed and variation of heat and mass transfer coefficients with thermo-diffusion parameter in the thermally stratified non-Darcy porous media is presented through computer generated plots.

  3. The effect of temperature and concentration on the corrosion inhibition mechanism of an amphiphilic amido-amine in CO2 saturated solution

    OpenAIRE

    Desimone, Paula Mariela; Gordillo, Gabriel Jorge; Simison, Silvia Noemi

    2017-01-01

    The corrosion inhibition mechanism of the N-[2-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]ethyl]-9-octadecenamide on mild steel surface in CO2-saturated 5% NaCl solution has been studied. The inhibition efficiency decreases with increasing temperature. Adsorption of the inhibitor studied is found to follow the Frumkin adsorption isotherm. EIS results show that the mechanism of its corrosion inhibition at concentrations higher than critical micelle concentration is by forming a protective porous bi-layer. The a...

  4. Rapid Reduction of Alkenes and Alkynes over Pd Nanoparticles Supported on Sulfonated Porous Carbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arash Shokrolahi

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel method has been introduced for rapid reduction of alkenes and alkynes, which may be attractive for chemical industries. This method has some advantages such as simplicity and low cost of reactants. Pd supported on sulfonated porous carbon (SPC was used as a new catalyst for reduction of alkenes and alkynes to the corresponding alkanes using sodium borohydride. The heterogeneous reaction was conducted in open air at room temperature to produce the desired saturated compounds in high yields (over 96% and in short reaction time (15 minutes.

  5. Numerical modelling of two phase flow with hysteresis in heterogeneous porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abreu, E. [Instituto Nacional de Matematica Pura e Aplicada (IMPA), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Furtado, F.; Pereira, F. [University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States). Dept. of Mathematicsatics; Souza, G. [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    Numerical simulators are necessary for the understanding of multiphase flow in porous media in order to optimize hydrocarbon recovery. In this work, the immiscible flow of two incompressible phases, a problem very common in waterflooding of petroleum reservoirs, is considered and numerical simulation techniques are presented. The system of equations which describe this type of flow form a coupled, highly nonlinear system of time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs). The equation for the saturation of the invading fluid is a convection-dominated, degenerate parabolic PDE whose solutions typically exhibit sharp fronts (i.e., internal layers with strong gradients) and is very difficult to approximate numerically. It is well known that accurate modeling of convective and diffusive processes is one of the most daunting tasks in the numerical approximation of PDEs. Particularly difficult is the case where convection dominates diffusion. Specifically, we consider the injection problem for a model of two-phase (water/oil) flow in a core sample of porous rock, taking into account hysteresis effects in the relative permeability of the oil phase. (author)

  6. Mobility Effect on Poroelastic Seismic Signatures in Partially Saturated Rocks With Applications in Time-Lapse Monitoring of a Heavy Oil Reservoir

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Luanxiao; Yuan, Hemin; Yang, Jingkang; Han, De-hua; Geng, Jianhua; Zhou, Rui; Li, Hui; Yao, Qiuliang

    2017-11-01

    Conventional seismic analysis in partially saturated rocks normally lays emphasis on estimating pore fluid content and saturation, typically ignoring the effect of mobility, which decides the ability of fluids moving in the porous rocks. Deformation resulting from a seismic wave in heterogeneous partially saturated media can cause pore fluid pressure relaxation at mesoscopic scale, thereby making the fluid mobility inherently associated with poroelastic reflectivity. For two typical gas-brine reservoir models, with the given rock and fluid properties, the numerical analysis suggests that variations of patchy fluid saturation, fluid compressibility contrast, and acoustic stiffness of rock frame collectively affect the seismic reflection dependence on mobility. In particular, the realistic compressibility contrast of fluid patches in shallow and deep reservoir environments plays an important role in determining the reflection sensitivity to mobility. We also use a time-lapse seismic data set from a Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage producing heavy oil reservoir to demonstrate that mobility change coupled with patchy saturation possibly leads to seismic spectral energy shifting from the baseline to monitor line. Our workflow starts from performing seismic spectral analysis on the targeted reflectivity interface. Then, on the basis of mesoscopic fluid pressure diffusion between patches of steam and heavy oil, poroelastic reflectivity modeling is conducted to understand the shift of the central frequency toward low frequencies after the steam injection. The presented results open the possibility of monitoring mobility change of a partially saturated geological formation from dissipation-related seismic attributes.

  7. An Iterative Implicit Scheme for Nanoparticles Transport with Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed

    2016-06-01

    In this paper, we introduce a mathematical model to describe the nanoparticles transport carried by a two-phase flow in a porous medium including gravity, capillary forces and Brownian diffusion. Nonlinear iterative IMPES scheme is used to solve the flow equation, and saturation and pressure are calculated at the current iteration step and then the transport equation is solved implicitly. Therefore, once the nanoparticles concentration is computed, the two equations of volume of the nanoparticles available on the pore surfaces and the volume of the nanoparticles entrapped in pore throats are solved implicitly. The porosity and the permeability variations are updated at each time step after each iteration loop. Numerical example for regular heterogenous permeability is considered. We monitor the changing of the fluid and solid properties due to adding the nanoparticles. Variation of water saturation, water pressure, nanoparticles concentration and porosity are presented graphically.

  8. Direct electron transfer from glucose oxidase immobilized on a nano-porous glassy carbon electrode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haghighi, Behzad; Tabrizi, Mahmoud Amouzadeh

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → A direct electron transfer reaction of glucose oxidase was observed on the surface of a nano-porous glassy carbon electrode. → A pair of well-defined and reversible redox peaks was observed at the formal potential of approximately -0.439 V. → The apparent electron transfer rate constant was measured to be 5.27 s -1 . → A mechanism for the observed direct electron transfer reaction was proposed, which consists of a two-electron and a two-proton transfer. - Abstract: A pair of well-defined and reversible redox peaks was observed for the direct electron transfer (DET) reaction of an immobilized glucose oxidase (GOx) on the surface of a nano-porous glassy carbon electrode at the formal potential (E o ') of -0.439 V versus Ag/AgCl/saturated KCl. The electron transfer rate constant (k s ) was calculated to be 5.27 s -1 . The dependence of E o ' on pH indicated that the direct electron transfer of the GOx was a two-electron transfer process, coupled with two-proton transfer. The results clearly demonstrate that the nano-porous glassy carbon electrode is a cost-effective and ready-to-use scaffold for the fabrication of a glucose biosensor.

  9. Direct electron transfer from glucose oxidase immobilized on a nano-porous glassy carbon electrode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haghighi, Behzad, E-mail: haghighi@iasbs.ac.ir [Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, P.O. Box 45195-1159, Gava Zang, Zanjan (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Tabrizi, Mahmoud Amouzadeh [Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences, P.O. Box 45195-1159, Gava Zang, Zanjan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2011-11-30

    Highlights: > A direct electron transfer reaction of glucose oxidase was observed on the surface of a nano-porous glassy carbon electrode. > A pair of well-defined and reversible redox peaks was observed at the formal potential of approximately -0.439 V. > The apparent electron transfer rate constant was measured to be 5.27 s{sup -1}. > A mechanism for the observed direct electron transfer reaction was proposed, which consists of a two-electron and a two-proton transfer. - Abstract: A pair of well-defined and reversible redox peaks was observed for the direct electron transfer (DET) reaction of an immobilized glucose oxidase (GOx) on the surface of a nano-porous glassy carbon electrode at the formal potential (E{sup o}') of -0.439 V versus Ag/AgCl/saturated KCl. The electron transfer rate constant (k{sub s}) was calculated to be 5.27 s{sup -1}. The dependence of E{sup o}' on pH indicated that the direct electron transfer of the GOx was a two-electron transfer process, coupled with two-proton transfer. The results clearly demonstrate that the nano-porous glassy carbon electrode is a cost-effective and ready-to-use scaffold for the fabrication of a glucose biosensor.

  10. Influence of gas hydrates crystals or ice crystals on the permeability of a porous medium; Influence de cristaux d'hydrates de gaz ou de glace sur la permeabilite d'un milieu poreux

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonnefoy, O

    2005-03-15

    The first part is a bibliographic study. We study the conditions for thermodynamic equilibrium of the hydrates as a bulk medium and the composition of the liquid and solid phases. We then describe the basics of fluid dynamics in a porous medium. Eventually, we merge the two approaches and study the influence of the porous medium on the hydrate stability. An off-shore hydrate field (Blake Ridge) and an on-shore field (Mallik) are precisely described. The latter will be used as a reference case for subsequent numerical simulations. The second part is devoted to the experiments. Their goal is to measure the permeability of a sediment containing crystals. To get closer to natural geologic conditions, crystals are synthesized in absence of free gas. It turns out that hydrates form in a very heterogeneous way in the porous medium, which makes the measurements non representative. We believe that this result has a general character and that, at the laboratory time-scale, it is difficult, to say the least to achieve a uniform distribution of gas hydrates grown from dissolved gas. To circumvent this difficulty, we show, with a theoretical approach, that ice crystals behave much the same way as the hydrate crystals, concerning the Van der Waals forces that govern the agglomeration. This allows us to calculate the Hamaker constant of the hydrates. The second series of experiments focuses on the permeability of a non consolidated porous medium under mechanical stress, where the pores are filled with ice crystals. Two silica beads populations are used to form a porous medium: 3 mm and 0.2 mm. With the large grains, results show two thresholds: for saturations below the lower threshold, the presence of crystals does not modify the permeability. For saturations above the upper threshold, the permeability vanishes almost completely (percolation phenomenon). Between these two limits, the permeability decreases exponentially with the saturation. With the fine grains, the permeability

  11. Anomalous water absorption in porous materials

    CERN Document Server

    Lockington, D A

    2003-01-01

    The absorption of fluid by unsaturated, rigid porous materials may be characterized by the sorptivity. This is a simple parameter to determine and is increasingly being used as a measure of a material's resistance to exposure to fluids (especially moisture and reactive solutes) in aggressive environments. The complete isothermal absorption process is described by a nonlinear diffusion equation, with the hydraulic diffusivity being a strongly nonlinear function of the degree of saturation of the material. This diffusivity can be estimated from the sorptivity test. In a typical test the cumulative absorption is proportional to the square root of time. However, a number of researchers have observed deviation from this behaviour when the infiltrating fluid is water and there is some potential for chemo-mechanical interaction with the material. In that case the current interpretation of the test and estimation of the hydraulic diffusivity is no longer appropriate. Kuentz and Lavallee (2001) discuss the anomalous b...

  12. Nonlinearly preconditioned semismooth Newton methods for variational inequality solution of two-phase flow in porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Haijian

    2016-12-10

    Most existing methods for solving two-phase flow problems in porous media do not take the physically feasible saturation fractions between 0 and 1 into account, which often destroys the numerical accuracy and physical interpretability of the simulation. To calculate the solution without the loss of this basic requirement, we introduce a variational inequality formulation of the saturation equilibrium with a box inequality constraint, and use a conservative finite element method for the spatial discretization and a backward differentiation formula with adaptive time stepping for the temporal integration. The resulting variational inequality system at each time step is solved by using a semismooth Newton algorithm. To accelerate the Newton convergence and improve the robustness, we employ a family of adaptive nonlinear elimination methods as a nonlinear preconditioner. Some numerical results are presented to demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm. A comparison is also included to show the superiority of the proposed fully implicit approach over the classical IMplicit Pressure-Explicit Saturation (IMPES) method in terms of the time step size and the total execution time measured on a parallel computer.

  13. Nonlinearly preconditioned semismooth Newton methods for variational inequality solution of two-phase flow in porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Haijian; Sun, Shuyu; Yang, Chao

    2016-01-01

    Most existing methods for solving two-phase flow problems in porous media do not take the physically feasible saturation fractions between 0 and 1 into account, which often destroys the numerical accuracy and physical interpretability of the simulation. To calculate the solution without the loss of this basic requirement, we introduce a variational inequality formulation of the saturation equilibrium with a box inequality constraint, and use a conservative finite element method for the spatial discretization and a backward differentiation formula with adaptive time stepping for the temporal integration. The resulting variational inequality system at each time step is solved by using a semismooth Newton algorithm. To accelerate the Newton convergence and improve the robustness, we employ a family of adaptive nonlinear elimination methods as a nonlinear preconditioner. Some numerical results are presented to demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm. A comparison is also included to show the superiority of the proposed fully implicit approach over the classical IMplicit Pressure-Explicit Saturation (IMPES) method in terms of the time step size and the total execution time measured on a parallel computer.

  14. Pore structure and mechanical properties of directionally solidified porous aluminum alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Komissarchuk Olga

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Porous aluminum alloys produced by the metal-gas eutectic method or GASAR process need to be performed under a certain pressure of hydrogen, and to carry over melt to a tailor-made apparatus that ensures directional solidification. Hydrogen is driven out of the melt, and then the quasi-cylindrical pores normal to the solidification front are usually formed. In the research, the effects of processing parameters (saturation pressure, solidification pressure, temperature, and holding time on the pore structure and porosity of porous aluminum alloys were analyzed. The mechanical properties of Al-Mg alloys were studied by the compressive tests, and the advantages of the porous structure were indicated. By using the GASAR method, pure aluminum, Al-3wt.%Mg, Al-6wt.%Mg and Al-35wt.%Mg alloys with oriented pores have been successfully produced under processing conditions of varying gas pressure, and the relationship between the final pore structure and the solidification pressure, as well as the influences of Mg quantity on the pore size, porosity and mechanical properties of Al-Mg alloy were investigated. The results show that a higher pressure of solidification tends to yield smaller pores in aluminum and its alloys. In the case of Al-Mg alloys, it was proved that with the increasing of Mg amount, the mechanical properties of the alloys sharply deteriorate. However, since Al-3%Mg and Al-6wt.%Mg alloys are ductile metals, their porous samples have greater compressive strength than that of the dense samples due to the existence of pores. It gives the opportunity to use them in industry at the same conditions as dense alloys with savings in weight and material consumption.

  15. Transport of Intrinsic Plutonium Colloids in Saturated Porous Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, D.; Abdel-Fattah, A.; Boukhalfa, H.; Ware, S. D.; Tarimala, S.; Keller, A. A.

    2011-12-01

    Actinide contaminants were introduced to the subsurface environment as a result of nuclear weapons development and testing, as well as for nuclear power generation and related research activities for defense and civilian applications. Even though most actinide species were believed to be fairly immobile once in the subsurface, recent studies have shown the transport of actinides kilometers away from their disposal sites. For example, the treated liquid wastes released into Mortandad Canyon at the Los Alamos National Laboratory were predicted to travel less than a few meters; however, plutonium and americium have been detected 3.4 km away from the waste outfall. A colloid-facilitated mechanism has been suggested to account for this unexpected transport of these radioactive wastes. Clays, oxides, organic matters, and actinide hydroxides have all been proposed as the possible mobile phase. Pu ions associated with natural colloids are often referred to as pseudo-Pu colloids, in contrast with the intrinsic Pu colloids that consist of Pu oxides. Significant efforts have been made to investigate the role of pseudo-Pu colloids, while few studies have evaluated the environmental behavior of the intrinsic Pu colloids. Given the fact that Pu (IV) has extremely low solubility product constant, it can be inferred that the transport of Pu in the intrinsic form is highly likely at suitable environmental conditions. This study investigates the transport of intrinsic Pu colloids in a saturated alluvium material packed in a cylindrical column (2.5-cm Dia. x 30-cm high) and compares the results to previous data on the transport of pseudo Pu colloids in the same material. A procedure to prepare a stable intrinsic Pu colloid suspension that produced consistent and reproducible electrokinetic and stability data was developed. Electrokinetic properties and aggregation stability were characterized. The Pu colloids, together with trillium as a conservative tracer, were injected into the

  16. Forced convection on a heated horizontal flat plate with finite thermal conductivity in a non-Darcian porous medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luna, N. [Direccion de Operacion Petrolera, Direccion General de Exploracion y Explotacion de Hidrocarburos, Secretaria de Energia, 03100 Mexico DF (Mexico); Mendez, F. [Facultad de Ingenieria, UNAM, 04510 Mexico DF (Mexico)

    2005-07-01

    The steady-state analysis of conjugated heat transfer process for the hydrodynamically developed forced convection flow on a heated flat plate embedded in a porous medium is studied. The governing equations for the fluid-saturated porous medium are solved analytically using the integral boundary layer approximation. This integral solution is coupled to the energy equation for the flat plate, where the longitudinal heat conduction effects are taken into account. The resulting equations are then reduced to an integro-differential equation which is solved by regular perturbation techniques and numerical methods. The analytical and numerical predictions for the temperature profile of the plate and appropriate local and average Nusselt numbers are plotted for finite values of the conduction parameter, {alpha}, which represents the presence of the longitudinal heat conduction effects. (authors)

  17. Numerical investigation of nanoparticles transport in anisotropic porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Salama, Amgad

    2015-07-13

    In this work the problem related to the transport of nanoparticles in anisotropic porous media is investigated numerically using the multipoint flux approximation. Anisotropy of porous media properties are an essential feature that exist almost everywhere in subsurface formations. In anisotropic media, the flux and the pressure gradient vectors are no longer collinear and therefore interesting patterns emerge. The transport of nanoparticles in subsurface formations is affected by several complex processes including surface charges, heterogeneity of nanoparticles and soil grain collectors, interfacial dynamics of double-layer and many others. We use the framework of the theory of filtration in this investigation. Processes like particles deposition, entrapment, as well as detachment are accounted for. From the numerical methods point of view, traditional two-point flux finite difference approximation cannot handle anisotropy of media properties. Therefore, in this work we use the multipoint flux approximation (MPFA). In this technique, the flux components are affected by more neighboring points as opposed to the mere two points that are usually used in traditional finite volume methods. We also use the experimenting pressure field approach which automatically constructs the global system of equations by solving multitude of local problems. This approach facilitates to a large extent the construction of the global system. A set of numerical examples is considered involving two-dimensional rectangular domain. A source of nanoparticles is inserted in the middle of the anisotropic layer. We investigate the effects of both anisotropy angle and anisotropy ratio on the transport of nanoparticles in saturated porous media. It is found that the concentration plume and porosity contours follow closely the principal direction of anisotropy of permeability of the central domain.

  18. Numerical investigation of nanoparticles transport in anisotropic porous media

    KAUST Repository

    Salama, Amgad; Negara, Ardiansyah; El Amin, Mohamed; Sun, Shuyu

    2015-01-01

    In this work the problem related to the transport of nanoparticles in anisotropic porous media is investigated numerically using the multipoint flux approximation. Anisotropy of porous media properties are an essential feature that exist almost everywhere in subsurface formations. In anisotropic media, the flux and the pressure gradient vectors are no longer collinear and therefore interesting patterns emerge. The transport of nanoparticles in subsurface formations is affected by several complex processes including surface charges, heterogeneity of nanoparticles and soil grain collectors, interfacial dynamics of double-layer and many others. We use the framework of the theory of filtration in this investigation. Processes like particles deposition, entrapment, as well as detachment are accounted for. From the numerical methods point of view, traditional two-point flux finite difference approximation cannot handle anisotropy of media properties. Therefore, in this work we use the multipoint flux approximation (MPFA). In this technique, the flux components are affected by more neighboring points as opposed to the mere two points that are usually used in traditional finite volume methods. We also use the experimenting pressure field approach which automatically constructs the global system of equations by solving multitude of local problems. This approach facilitates to a large extent the construction of the global system. A set of numerical examples is considered involving two-dimensional rectangular domain. A source of nanoparticles is inserted in the middle of the anisotropic layer. We investigate the effects of both anisotropy angle and anisotropy ratio on the transport of nanoparticles in saturated porous media. It is found that the concentration plume and porosity contours follow closely the principal direction of anisotropy of permeability of the central domain.

  19. Gluon saturation in a saturated environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kopeliovich, B. Z.; Potashnikova, I. K.; Schmidt, Ivan

    2011-01-01

    A bootstrap equation for self-quenched gluon shadowing leads to a reduced magnitude of broadening for partons propagating through a nucleus. Saturation of small-x gluons in a nucleus, which has the form of transverse momentum broadening of projectile gluons in pA collisions in the nuclear rest frame, leads to a modification of the parton distribution functions in the beam compared with pp collisions. In nucleus-nucleus collisions all participating nucleons acquire enhanced gluon density at small x, which boosts further the saturation scale. Solution of the reciprocity equations for central collisions of two heavy nuclei demonstrate a significant, up to several times, enhancement of Q sA 2 , in AA compared with pA collisions.

  20. A generalized power-law scaling law for a two-phase imbibition in a porous medium

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed

    2013-11-01

    Dimensionless time is a universal parameter that may be used to predict real field behavior from scaled laboratory experiments in relation to imbibition processes in porous media. Researchers work to nondimensionalize the time has been through the use of parameters that are inherited to the properties of the moving fluids and the porous matrix, which may be applicable to spontaneous imbibition. However, in forced imbibition, the dynamics of the process depends, in addition, on injection velocity. Therefore, we propose the use of scaling velocity in the form of a combination of two velocities, the first of which (the characteristic velocity) is defined by the fluid and the porous medium parameters and the second is the injection velocity, which is a characteristic of the process. A power-law formula is suggested for the scaling velocity such that it may be used as a parameter to nondimensionalize time. This may reduce the complexities in characterizing two-phase imbibition through porous media and works well in both the cases of spontaneous and forced imbibition. The proposed scaling-law is tested against some oil recovery experimental data from the literature. In addition, the governing partial differential equations are nondimensionalized so that the governing dimensionless groups are manifested. An example of a one-dimensional countercurrent imbibition is considered numerically. The calculations are carried out for a wide range of Ca and Da to illustrate their influences on water saturation as well as relative water/oil permeabilities. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

  1. A generalized power-law scaling law for a two-phase imbibition in a porous medium

    KAUST Repository

    El-Amin, Mohamed; Salama, Amgad; Sun, Shuyu

    2013-01-01

    Dimensionless time is a universal parameter that may be used to predict real field behavior from scaled laboratory experiments in relation to imbibition processes in porous media. Researchers work to nondimensionalize the time has been through the use of parameters that are inherited to the properties of the moving fluids and the porous matrix, which may be applicable to spontaneous imbibition. However, in forced imbibition, the dynamics of the process depends, in addition, on injection velocity. Therefore, we propose the use of scaling velocity in the form of a combination of two velocities, the first of which (the characteristic velocity) is defined by the fluid and the porous medium parameters and the second is the injection velocity, which is a characteristic of the process. A power-law formula is suggested for the scaling velocity such that it may be used as a parameter to nondimensionalize time. This may reduce the complexities in characterizing two-phase imbibition through porous media and works well in both the cases of spontaneous and forced imbibition. The proposed scaling-law is tested against some oil recovery experimental data from the literature. In addition, the governing partial differential equations are nondimensionalized so that the governing dimensionless groups are manifested. An example of a one-dimensional countercurrent imbibition is considered numerically. The calculations are carried out for a wide range of Ca and Da to illustrate their influences on water saturation as well as relative water/oil permeabilities. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

  2. Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, Methods Of Making Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, And Methods Of Using Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon

    KAUST Repository

    Chaieb, Sahraoui

    2015-04-09

    Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of making a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of using a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, and the like.

  3. Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, Methods Of Making Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon, And Methods Of Using Colloidal Photoluminescent Amorphous Porous Silicon

    KAUST Repository

    Chaieb, Saharoui; Mughal, Asad Jahangir

    2015-01-01

    Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of making a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, methods of using a colloidal photoluminescent amorphous porous silicon particle suspension, and the like.

  4. Lipid order, saturation and surface property relationships: a study of human meibum saturation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mudgil, Poonam; Borchman, Douglas; Yappert, Marta C; Duran, Diana; Cox, Gregory W; Smith, Ryan J; Bhola, Rahul; Dennis, Gary R; Whitehall, John S

    2013-11-01

    Tear film stability decreases with age however the cause(s) of the instability are speculative. Perhaps the more saturated meibum from infants may contribute to tear film stability. The meibum lipid phase transition temperature and lipid hydrocarbon chain order at physiological temperature (33 °C) decrease with increasing age. It is reasonable that stronger lipid-lipid interactions could stabilize the tear film since these interactions must be broken for tear break up to occur. In this study, meibum from a pool of adult donors was saturated catalytically. The influence of saturation on meibum hydrocarbon chain order was determined by infrared spectroscopy. Meibum is in an anhydrous state in the meibomian glands and on the surface of the eyelid. The influence of saturation on the surface properties of meibum was determined using Langmuir trough technology. Saturation of native human meibum did not change the minimum or maximum values of hydrocarbon chain order so at temperatures far above or below the phase transition of human meibum, saturation does not play a role in ordering or disordering the lipid hydrocarbon chains. Saturation did increase the phase transition temperature in human meibum by over 20 °C, a relatively high amount. Surface pressure-area studies showing the late take off and higher maximum surface pressure of saturated meibum compared to native meibum suggest that the saturated meibum film is quite molecularly ordered (stiff molecular arrangement) and elastic (molecules are able to rearrange during compression and expansion) compared with native meibum films which are more fluid agreeing with the infrared spectroscopic results of this study. In saturated meibum, the formation of compacted ordered islands of lipids above the surfactant layer would be expected to decrease the rate of evaporation compared to fluid and more loosely packed native meibum. Higher surface pressure observed with films of saturated meibum compared to native meibum

  5. Porous carbons

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    Abstract. Carbon in dense as well as porous solid form is used in a variety of applications. Activated porous carbons are made through pyrolysis and activation of carbonaceous natural as well as synthetic precursors. Pyrolysed woods replicate the structure of original wood but as such possess very low surface areas and ...

  6. Water movement in glass bead porous media: 1. Experiments of capillary rise and hysteresis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, T. X.; Biggar, J. W.; Nielsen, D. R.

    1994-12-01

    Experimental observations of capillary rise and hysteresis of water or ethanol in glass beads are presented to improve our understanding of those physical processes in porous media. The results provide evidence that capillary rise into porous media cannot be fully explained by a model of cylinders. They further demonstrate that the "Ink bottle" model does not provide an adequate explanation of hysteresis. Glass beads serving as a model for ideal soil are enclosed in a rectangular glass chamber model. A TV camera associated with a microscope was used to record the processes of capillary rise and drainage. It is clearly shown during capillary rise that the fluid exhibits a "jump" behavior at the neck of the pores in an initially dry profile or at the bottom of the water film in an initially wet profile. Under an initially dry condition, the jump initiates at the particle with smallest diameter. The jump process continues to higher elevations until at equilibrium the surface tensile force is balanced by the hydrostatic force. The wetting front at that time is readily observed as flat and saturated. Under an initially wet condition, capillary rise occurs as a water film thickening process associated with the jump process. Trapped air behind the wetting front renders the wetting front irregular and unsaturated. The capillary rise into an initially wet porous medium can be higher than that into an initially dry profile. During the drying process, large surface areas associated with the gas-liquid interface develop, allowing the porous medium to retain more water than during the wetting process at the same pressure. That mechanism explains better the hysteresis phenomenon in porous media in contrast to other mechanisms that now prevail.

  7. Porous media fracturing dynamics: stepwise crack advancement and fluid pressure oscillations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Toan D.; Hussain, Fazle; Schrefler, Bernhard A.

    2018-02-01

    We present new results explaining why fracturing in saturated porous media is not smooth and continuous but is a distinct stepwise process concomitant with fluid pressure oscillations. All exact solutions and almost all numerical models yield smooth fracture advancement and fluid pressure evolution, while recent experimental results, mainly from the oil industry, observation from geophysics and a very few numerical results for the quasi-static case indeed reveal the stepwise phenomenon. We summarize first these new experiments and these few numerical solutions for the quasi-static case. Both mechanical loading and pressure driven fractures are considered because their behaviours differ in the direction of the pressure jumps. Then we explore stepwise crack tip advancement and pressure fluctuations in dynamic fracturing with a hydro-mechanical model of porous media based on the Hybrid Mixture Theory. Full dynamic analyses of examples dealing with both hydraulic fracturing and mechanical loading are presented. The stepwise fracture advancement is confirmed in the dynamic setting as well as in the pressure fluctuations, but there are substantial differences in the frequency contents of the pressure waves in the two loading cases. Comparison between the quasi-static and fully dynamic solutions reveals that the dynamic response gives much more information such as the type of pressure oscillations and related frequencies and should be applied whenever there is a doubt about inertia forces playing a role - the case in most fracturing events. In the absence of direct relevant dynamic tests on saturated media some experimental results on dynamic fracture in dry materials, a fast hydraulic fracturing test and observations from geophysics confirm qualitatively the obtained results such as the type of pressure oscillations and the substantial difference in the behaviour under the two loading cases.

  8. Deep convolutional neural networks for estimating porous material parameters with ultrasound tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lähivaara, Timo; Kärkkäinen, Leo; Huttunen, Janne M. J.; Hesthaven, Jan S.

    2018-02-01

    We study the feasibility of data based machine learning applied to ultrasound tomography to estimate water-saturated porous material parameters. In this work, the data to train the neural networks is simulated by solving wave propagation in coupled poroviscoelastic-viscoelastic-acoustic media. As the forward model, we consider a high-order discontinuous Galerkin method while deep convolutional neural networks are used to solve the parameter estimation problem. In the numerical experiment, we estimate the material porosity and tortuosity while the remaining parameters which are of less interest are successfully marginalized in the neural networks-based inversion. Computational examples confirms the feasibility and accuracy of this approach.

  9. Uniqueness of Specific Interfacial Area–Capillary Pressure–Saturation Relationship Under Non-Equilibrium Conditions in Two-Phase Porous Media Flow

    KAUST Repository

    Joekar-Niasar, Vahid; Hassanizadeh, S. Majid

    2012-01-01

    The capillary pressure-saturation (P c-S w) relationship is one of the central constitutive relationships used in two-phase flow simulations. There are two major concerns regarding this relation. These concerns are partially studied in a

  10. Fractal analysis of the hydraulic conductivity on a sandy porous media reproduced in a laboratory facility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Bartolo, S.; Fallico, C.; Straface, S.; Troisi, S.; Veltri, M.

    2009-04-01

    The complexity characterization of the porous media structure, in terms of the "pore" phase and the "solid" phase, can be carried out by means of the fractal geometry which is able to put in relationship the soil structural properties and the water content. It is particularly complicated to describe analytically the hydraulic conductivity for the irregularity of the porous media structure. However these can be described by many fractal models considering the soil structure as the distribution of particles dimensions, the distribution of the solid aggregates, the surface of the pore-solid interface and the fractal mass of the "pore" and "solid" phases. In this paper the fractal model of Yu and Cheng (2002) and Yu and Liu (2004), for a saturated bidispersed porous media, was considered. This model, using the Sierpinsky-type gasket scheme, doesn't contain empiric constants and furnishes a well accord with the experimental data. For this study an unconfined aquifer was reproduced by means of a tank with a volume of 10 Ã- 7 Ã- 3 m3, filled with a homogeneous sand (95% of SiO2), with a high percentage (86.4%) of grains between 0.063mm and 0.125mm and a medium-high permeability. From the hydraulic point of view, 17 boreholes, a pumping well and a drainage ring around its edge were placed. The permeability was measured utilizing three different methods, consisting respectively in pumping test, slug test and laboratory analysis of an undisturbed soil cores, each of that involving in the measurement a different support volume. The temporal series of the drawdown obtained by the pumping test were analyzed by the Neuman-type Curve method (1972), because the saturated part above the bottom of the facility represents an unconfined aquifer. The data analysis of the slug test were performed by the Bouwer & Rice (1976) method and the laboratory analysis were performed on undisturbed saturated soil samples utilizing a falling head permeameter. The obtained values either of the

  11. Influence of gas hydrates crystals or ice crystals on the permeability of a porous medium; Influence de cristaux d'hydrates de gaz ou de glace sur la permeabilite d'un milieu poreux

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonnefoy, O.

    2005-03-15

    The first part is a bibliographic study. We study the conditions for thermodynamic equilibrium of the hydrates as a bulk medium and the composition of the liquid and solid phases. We then describe the basics of fluid dynamics in a porous medium. Eventually, we merge the two approaches and study the influence of the porous medium on the hydrate stability. An off-shore hydrate field (Blake Ridge) and an on-shore field (Mallik) are precisely described. The latter will be used as a reference case for subsequent numerical simulations. The second part is devoted to the experiments. Their goal is to measure the permeability of a sediment containing crystals. To get closer to natural geologic conditions, crystals are synthesized in absence of free gas. It turns out that hydrates form in a very heterogeneous way in the porous medium, which makes the measurements non representative. We believe that this result has a general character and that, at the laboratory time-scale, it is difficult, to say the least to achieve a uniform distribution of gas hydrates grown from dissolved gas. To circumvent this difficulty, we show, with a theoretical approach, that ice crystals behave much the same way as the hydrate crystals, concerning the Van der Waals forces that govern the agglomeration. This allows us to calculate the Hamaker constant of the hydrates. The second series of experiments focuses on the permeability of a non consolidated porous medium under mechanical stress, where the pores are filled with ice crystals. Two silica beads populations are used to form a porous medium: 3 mm and 0.2 mm. With the large grains, results show two thresholds: for saturations below the lower threshold, the presence of crystals does not modify the permeability. For saturations above the upper threshold, the permeability vanishes almost completely (percolation phenomenon). Between these two limits, the permeability decreases exponentially with the saturation. With the fine grains, the permeability

  12. On the viscous dissipation modeling of thermal fluid flow in a porous medium

    KAUST Repository

    Salama, Amgad

    2011-02-24

    The problem of viscous dissipation and thermal dispersion in saturated porous medium is numerically investigated for the case of non-Darcy flow regime. The fluid is induced to flow upward by natural convection as a result of a semi-infinite vertical wall that is immersed in the porous medium and is kept at constant higher temperature. The boundary layer approximations were used to simplify the set of the governing, nonlinear partial differential equations, which were then non-dimensionalized and solved using the finite elements method. The results for the details of the governing parameters are presented and investigated. It is found that the irreversible process of transforming the kinetic energy of the moving fluid to heat energy via the viscosity of the moving fluid (i.e.; viscous dissipation) resulted in insignificant generation of heat for the range of parameters considered in this study. On the other hand, thermal dispersion has shown to disperse heat energy normal to the wall more effectively compared with the normal diffusion mechanism. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

  13. Seismic attenuation in fractured porous media: insights from a hybrid numerical and analytical model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ekanem, A M; Li, X Y; Chapman, M; Main, I G

    2015-01-01

    Seismic attenuation in fluid-saturated porous rocks can occur by geometric spreading, wave scattering or the internal dissipation of energy, most likely due to the squirt-flow mechanism. In principle, the pattern of seismic attenuation recorded on an array of sensors contains information about the medium, in terms of material heterogeneity and anisotropy, as well as material properties such as porosity, crack density, and pore-fluid composition and mobility. In practice, this inverse problem is challenging. Here we provide some insights into the effects of internal dissipation by analysing synthetic data produced by a hybrid numerical and analytical model for seismic wave propagation in a fractured medium embedded within a layered geological structure. The model is made up of one anisotropic and three isotropic horizontal layers. The anisotropic layer consists of a porous, fluid-saturated material containing vertically aligned inclusions representing a set of fractures. This combination allows squirt-flow to occur between the pores in the matrix and the model fractures. Our results show that the fluid mobility and the associated relaxation time of the fluid-pressure gradient control the frequency range over which attenuation occurs. This induced attenuation increases with incidence angle and azimuth away from the fracture strike-direction. Azimuthal variations in the induced attenuation are elliptical allowing the fracture orientations to be obtained from the axes of the ellipse. These observations hold out the potential of using seismic attenuation as an additional diagnostic in the characterisation of rock formations for a variety of applications including hydrocarbon exploration and production, subsurface storage of CO 2 , and geothermal energy extraction. (paper)

  14. Modeling of the pollutant transport in fissured-porous media under consideration of colloids using the transport codes FRAME and COFRAME; Modellierung des Schadstofftransports in geklueftet-poroesen Medien unter Beruecksichtigung von Kolloiden mit den Transportprogrammen FRAME und COFRAME

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reiche, Tatiana; Noseck, Ulrich; Wolf, Jens Wilhelm

    2014-05-15

    For the long-term safety analysis of final nuclear waste repositories the transport of pollutants from the repository into the biosphere three mostly independent subsystems are considered: the near field, the geosphere and the biosphere. Normally rocks include fissures or other disturbances. Porous materials in the rock matrix have usually a high water content and acts as storage for pollutants due to sorption and diffusion processes. The aim of the project is the development of calculation modules for the code RepoTREND that simulate the pollutant transport in saturated fissured-porous media taking into account the effect of colloids. FRAME describes the pollutant dispersion in a fissured-porous medium and COFRAME the colloid influenced transport in a fissured-porous medium.

  15. Solidification of porous medium saturated with aqueous solution in a rectangular cell. ; Discussion on influence of initial concentration of solution and mean diameter of beads. Kukei sonai no suiyoeki de mitasareta takoshitsutai no gyoko. ; Shoki nodo to beads no heikin chokkei no eikyo ni kansuru kento

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsumoto, K [Miyazaki University, Miyazaki (Japan). Faculty of engineering; Okada, M [Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo (Japan). School of Science and Engineering; Murakami, M [Toshiba Corp., Tokyo (Japan); Yabushita, Y [Sony Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

    1993-11-25

    Studies have been made for the purpose of analyzing solidification phenomenon of ground in relation to freezing construction method used in subway, water supply, and sewage constructions. Experimental studies have been carried out on solidification process of porous medium saturated with aqueous solution to discover influence of initial concentration of the solution and diameter of beads that constitute a porous medium. The experiment was performed by solidifying the porous medium sequentially from a side wall with lower temperature in a rectangular experimental tank with a height and a width of 100 mm filled with NaCl aqueous solution and beads. As a result, it was discovered that, if the initial concentration is low, the temperature difference is little between the upper part and the lower part of the experimental tank, and natural convection in the liquid-phase region is suppressed because of rising solidification temperature; the natural convection is suppressed in the liquid-phase region; and the boundary face between the mushy region and the liquid-phase region moves quickly. Further, the concentration rise in the liquid-phase region has slowed down despite that the solidification region is large enough. The smaller the mean diameter of beads, the faster the growth rate on the boundary face, hence the natural convection in the tank has been suppressed, and the growth rate on the boundary face has increased. In addition, the concentration stratification in the liquid-phase region does not expand, but is formed only on the bottom. 6 refs., 12 figs.

  16. Formation of Defect-Free Latex Films on Porous Fiber Supports

    KAUST Repository

    Lively, Ryan P.

    2011-09-28

    We present here the creation of a defect-free polyvinylidene chloride barrier layer on the lumen-side of a hollow fiber sorbent. Hollow fiber sorbents have previously been shown to be promising materials for enabling low-cost CO 2 capture, provided a defect-free lumen-side barrier layer can be created. Film experiments examined the effect of drying rate, latex age, substrate porosity (porous vs nonporous), and substrate hydrophobicity/ hydrophilicity. Film studies show that in ideal conditions (i.e., slow drying, fresh latex, and smooth nonporous substrate), a defect-free film can be formed, whereas the other permutations of the variables investigated led to defective films. These results were extended to hollow fiber sorbents, and despite using fresh latex and relatively slow drying conditions, a defective lumen-side layer resulted. XRD and DSC indicate that polyvinylidene chloride latex develops crystallinity over time, thereby inhibiting proper film formation as confirmed by SEM and gas permeation. This and other key additional challenges associated with the porous hollow fiber substrate vs the nonporous flat substrate were overcome. By employing a toluene-vapor saturated drying gas (a swelling solvent for polyvinylidene chloride) a defect-free lumen-side barrier layer was created, as investigated by gas and water vapor permeation. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

  17. Biot Critical Frequency Applied to Description of Failure and Yield of Highly Porous Chalk with Different Pore Fluids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreassen, Katrine Alling; Fabricius, Ida Lykke

    2010-01-01

    Injection of water into chalk hydrocarbon reservoirs has led to mechanical yield and failure. Laboratory experiments on chalk samples correspondingly show that the mechanical properties of porous chalk depend on pore fluid and temperature. In case of water-saturated samples, the concentration...... is controlled by solid-fluid friction. The reference frequency is thus a measure of this friction, and we propose that the fluid effect on mechanical properties of chalk may be the result of liquid-solid friction. We reviewed 622 published experiments on mechanical properties of porous chalk. The data include...... chalk samples that were tested at temperatures from 20 °C to 130 °C with the following pore fluids: fresh water, synthetic seawater, glycol, and oil of varying viscosity. The critical frequency is calculated for each experiment. For each specimen, we calculate the thickness to the slipping plane outside...

  18. Mechanics of non-saturated soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coussy, O.; Fleureau, J.M.

    2002-01-01

    This book presents the different ways to approach the mechanics of non saturated soils, from the physico-chemical aspect to the mechanical aspect, from the experiment to the theoretical modeling, from the laboratory to the workmanship, and from the microscopic scale to the macroscopic one. Content: water and its representation; experimental bases of the behaviour of non-saturated soils; transfer laws in non-saturated environment; energy approach of the behaviour of non-saturated soils; homogenization for the non-saturated soils; plasticity and hysteresis; dams and backfilling; elaborated barriers. (J.S.)

  19. Modeling contaminant transport in porous media in relation to nuclear-waste disposal: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grove, D.B.; Kipp, K.L.

    1980-01-01

    The modeling of solute transport in saturated porous media is reviewed as it is applied to the movement of radioactive waste in the subsurface. Those processes, both physical and chemical, that affect radionuclide movement are discussed and the references that best illustrate these processes listed. Movement is separated into convection, convection-dispersion, and convection-dispersion and chemical reactions. Solutions of equations describing such movement are divided into one-, two-, and three-dimensional analytical and numerical examples. Discussions of recent work in the area of stochastic modeling are followed by discussions of applications of the models to selected field sites

  20. Boiling in porous media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    This conference day of the French society of thermal engineers was devoted to the analysis of heat transfers and fluid flows during boiling phenomena in porous media. This book of proceedings comprises 8 communications entitled: 'boiling in porous medium: effect of natural convection in the liquid zone'; 'numerical modeling of boiling in porous media using a 'dual-fluid' approach: asymmetrical characteristic of the phenomenon'; 'boiling during fluid flow in an induction heated porous column'; 'cooling of corium fragment beds during a severe accident. State of the art and the SILFIDE experimental project'; 'state of knowledge about the cooling of a particulates bed during a reactor accident'; 'mass transfer analysis inside a concrete slab during fire resistance tests'; 'heat transfers and boiling in porous media. Experimental analysis and modeling'; 'concrete in accidental situation - influence of boundary conditions (thermal, hydric) - case studies'. (J.S.)

  1. Porous-shaped silicon carbide ultraviolet photodetectors on porous silicon substrates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Naderi, N., E-mail: naderi.phd@gmail.com [Nano-Optoelectronics Research Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang (Malaysia); Hashim, M.R. [Nano-Optoelectronics Research Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang (Malaysia)

    2013-03-05

    Highlights: ► Porous-shaped silicon carbide thin film was deposited on porous silicon substrate. ► Thermal annealing was followed to enhance the physical properties of samples. ► Metal–semiconductor-metal ultraviolet detectors were fabricated on samples. ► The effect of annealing temperature on electrical performance of devices was studied. ► The efficiency of photodetectors was enhanced by annealing at elevated temperatures. -- Abstract: A metal–semiconductor-metal (MSM) ultraviolet photodetector was fabricated based on a porous-shaped structure of silicon carbide (SiC). For increasing the surface roughness of SiC and hence enhancing the light absorption effect in fabricated devices, porous silicon (PS) was chosen as a template; SiC was deposited on PS substrates via radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Therefore, the deposited layers followed the structural pattern of PS skeleton and formed a porous-shaped SiC layer on PS substrate. The structural properties of samples showed that the as-deposited SiC was amorphous. Thus, a post-deposition annealing process with elevated temperatures was required to convert its amorphous phase to crystalline phase. The morphology of the sputtered samples was examined via scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. The grain size and roughness of the deposited layers clearly increased upon an increase in the annealing temperature. The optical properties of sputtered SiC were enhanced due to applying high temperatures. The most intense photoluminescence peak was observed for the sample with 1200 °C of annealing temperature. For the metallization of the SiC substrates to fabricate MSM photodetectors, two interdigitated Schottky contacts of Ni with four fingers for each electrode were deposited onto all the porous substrates. The optoelectronic characteristics of MSM UV photodetectors with porous-shaped SiC substrates were studied in the dark and under UV illumination. The electrical characteristics of fabricated

  2. Porous-shaped silicon carbide ultraviolet photodetectors on porous silicon substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naderi, N.; Hashim, M.R.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Porous-shaped silicon carbide thin film was deposited on porous silicon substrate. ► Thermal annealing was followed to enhance the physical properties of samples. ► Metal–semiconductor-metal ultraviolet detectors were fabricated on samples. ► The effect of annealing temperature on electrical performance of devices was studied. ► The efficiency of photodetectors was enhanced by annealing at elevated temperatures. -- Abstract: A metal–semiconductor-metal (MSM) ultraviolet photodetector was fabricated based on a porous-shaped structure of silicon carbide (SiC). For increasing the surface roughness of SiC and hence enhancing the light absorption effect in fabricated devices, porous silicon (PS) was chosen as a template; SiC was deposited on PS substrates via radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Therefore, the deposited layers followed the structural pattern of PS skeleton and formed a porous-shaped SiC layer on PS substrate. The structural properties of samples showed that the as-deposited SiC was amorphous. Thus, a post-deposition annealing process with elevated temperatures was required to convert its amorphous phase to crystalline phase. The morphology of the sputtered samples was examined via scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. The grain size and roughness of the deposited layers clearly increased upon an increase in the annealing temperature. The optical properties of sputtered SiC were enhanced due to applying high temperatures. The most intense photoluminescence peak was observed for the sample with 1200 °C of annealing temperature. For the metallization of the SiC substrates to fabricate MSM photodetectors, two interdigitated Schottky contacts of Ni with four fingers for each electrode were deposited onto all the porous substrates. The optoelectronic characteristics of MSM UV photodetectors with porous-shaped SiC substrates were studied in the dark and under UV illumination. The electrical characteristics of fabricated

  3. Modeling of water and solute transport under variably saturated conditions: state of the art

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lappala, E.G.

    1980-01-01

    This paper reviews the equations used in deterministic models of mass and energy transport in variably saturated porous media. Analytic, quasi-analytic, and numerical solution methods to the nonlinear forms of transport equations are discussed with respect to their advantages and limitations. The factors that influence the selection of a modeling method are discussed in this paper; they include the following: (1) the degree of coupling required among the equations describing the transport of liquids, gases, solutes, and energy; (2) the inclusion of an advection term in the equations; (3) the existence of sharp fronts; (4) the degree of nonlinearity and hysteresis in the transport coefficients and boundary conditions; (5) the existence of complex boundaries; and (6) the availability and reliability of data required by the models

  4. Continued development of a semianalytical solution for two-phase fluid and heat flow in a porous medium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doughty, C.; Pruess, K. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)

    1991-06-01

    Over the past few years the authors have developed a semianalytical solution for transient two-phase water, air, and heat flow in a porous medium surrounding a constant-strength linear heat source, using a similarity variable {eta} = r/{radical}t. Although the similarity transformation approach requires a simplified geometry, all the complex physical mechanisms involved in coupled two-phase fluid and heat flow can be taken into account in a rigorous way, so that the solution may be applied to a variety of problems of current interest. The work was motivated by adverse to predict the thermohydrological response to the proposed geologic repository for heat-generating high-level nuclear wastes at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in a partially saturated, highly fractured volcanic formation. The paper describes thermal and hydrologic conditions near the heat source; new features of the model; vapor pressure lowering; and the effective-continuum representation of a fractured/porous medium.

  5. Percolation theory for flow in porous media

    CERN Document Server

    Hunt, Allen; Ghanbarian, Behzad

    2014-01-01

    This monograph presents, for the first time, a unified and comprehensive introduction to some of the basic transport properties of porous media, such as electrical and hydraulic conductivity, air permeability and diffusion. The approach is based on critical path analysis and the scaling of transport properties, which are individually described as functions of saturation. At the same time, the book supplies a tutorial on percolation theory for hydrologists, providing them with the tools for solving actual problems. In turn, a separate chapter serves to introduce physicists to some of the language and complications of groundwater hydrology necessary for successful modeling. The end-of-chapter problems often indicate open questions, which young researchers entering the field can readily start working on. This significantly revised and expanded third edition includes in particular two new chapters: one on advanced fractal-based models, and one devoted to the discussion of various open issues such as the role of d...

  6. Porous Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Frameworks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Fei Han

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Ordered porous solid-state architectures constructed via non-covalent supramolecular self-assembly have attracted increasing interest due to their unique advantages and potential applications. Porous metal-coordination organic frameworks (MOFs are generated by the assembly of metal coordination centers and organic linkers. Compared to MOFs, porous hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs are readily purified and recovered via simple recrystallization. However, due to lacking of sufficiently ability to orientate self-aggregation of building motifs in predictable manners, rational design and preparation of porous HOFs are still challenging. Herein, we summarize recent developments about porous HOFs and attempt to gain deeper insights into the design strategies of basic building motifs.

  7. Hydrogen, oxygen and hydroxyl on porous silicon surface: A joint density-functional perturbation theory and infrared spectroscopy approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfaro, Pedro; Palavicini, Alessio; Wang, Chumin

    2014-01-01

    Based on the density functional perturbation theory (DFPT), infrared absorption spectra of porous silicon are calculated by using an ordered pore model, in which columns of silicon atoms are removed along the [001] direction and dangling bonds are initially saturated with hydrogen atoms. When these atoms on the pore surface are gradually replaced by oxygen ones, the ab-initio infrared absorption spectra reveal oxygen, hydroxyl, and coupled hydrogen–oxygen vibrational modes. In a parallel way, freestanding porous silicon samples were prepared by using electrochemical etching and they were further thermally oxidized in a dry oxygen ambient. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to investigate the surface modifications caused by oxygen adsorption. In particular, the predicted hydroxyl and oxygen bound to the silicon pore surface are confirmed. Finally, a global analysis of measured transmittance spectra has been performed by means of a combined DFPT and thin-film optics approach. - Highlights: • The density functional perturbation theory is used to study infrared absorption. • An ordered pore model is used to investigate the oxidation in porous silicon (PSi). • Infrared transmittance spectra of oxidized PSi freestanding samples are measured

  8. Experimental Determination of Frost Resistance of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete at Different Levels of Moisture Saturation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kočí, Václav; Maděra, Jiří; Jerman, Miloš; Černý, Robert

    2018-06-01

    The ability of porous building materials to stand up to moisture phase changes induced by alternating environment is described mostly by means of their frost resistance. However, the test conditions defined by relevant standards might not capture the real situation on building site in various locations. In particular, the prescribed full water saturation of analyzed specimens during the whole time of a freeze/thaw experiment presents an ultimate case only but certainly not an everyday reality. Even the materials of surface layers are mostly exposed to such severe conditions just for a limited period of time. In this paper, the experimental analysis of frost resistance of three different types of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is performed in an extended way, including not only the standard testing but also the investigation of dry- and partially saturated samples. A complementary computational analysis of an AAC building envelope in Central European climate is presented as well, in order to illustrate the likely hygric conditions in the wall. Experimental results show that according to the standard test the loss of compressive strength, as well as the loss of mass after 25 cycles, is acceptable for all studied samples but after 50 cycles only the material with the compressive strength of 4 MPa performs satisfactorily. On the other hand, the tests with initially dried or partially saturated samples indicate a good frost resistance of all studied materials for both 25 and 50 cycles.

  9. Development of porous structure simulator for multi-scale simulation of irregular porous catalysts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koyama, Michihisa; Suzuki, Ai; Sahnoun, Riadh; Tsuboi, Hideyuki; Hatakeyama, Nozomu; Endou, Akira; Takaba, Hiromitsu; Kubo, Momoji; Del Carpio, Carlos A.; Miyamoto, Akira

    2008-01-01

    Efficient development of highly functional porous materials, used as catalysts in the automobile industry, demands a meticulous knowledge of the nano-scale interface at the electronic and atomistic scale. However, it is often difficult to correlate the microscopic interfacial interactions with macroscopic characteristics of the materials; for instance, the interaction between a precious metal and its support oxide with long-term sintering properties of the catalyst. Multi-scale computational chemistry approaches can contribute to bridge the gap between micro- and macroscopic characteristics of these materials; however this type of multi-scale simulations has been difficult to apply especially to porous materials. To overcome this problem, we have developed a novel mesoscopic approach based on a porous structure simulator. This simulator can construct automatically irregular porous structures on a computer, enabling simulations with complex meso-scale structures. Moreover, in this work we have developed a new method to simulate long-term sintering properties of metal particles on porous catalysts. Finally, we have applied the method to the simulation of sintering properties of Pt on alumina support. This newly developed method has enabled us to propose a multi-scale simulation approach for porous catalysts

  10. Complex three dimensional modelling of porous media using high performance computing and multi-scale incompressible approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, R.; Orgogozo, L.; Noiriel, C. N.; Guibert, R.; Golfier, F.; Debenest, G.; Quintard, M.

    2013-05-01

    In the context of biofilm growth in porous media, we developed high performance computing tools to study the impact of biofilms on the fluid transport through pores of a solid matrix. Indeed, biofilms are consortia of micro-organisms that are developing in polymeric extracellular substances that are generally located at a fluid-solid interfaces like pore interfaces in a water-saturated porous medium. Several applications of biofilms in porous media are encountered for instance in bio-remediation methods by allowing the dissolution of organic pollutants. Many theoretical studies have been done on the resulting effective properties of these modified media ([1],[2], [3]) but the bio-colonized porous media under consideration are mainly described following simplified theoretical media (stratified media, cubic networks of spheres ...). Therefore, recent experimental advances have provided tomography images of bio-colonized porous media which allow us to observe realistic biofilm micro-structures inside the porous media [4]. To solve closure system of equations related to upscaling procedures in realistic porous media, we solve the velocity field of fluids through pores on complex geometries that are described with a huge number of cells (up to billions). Calculations are made on a realistic 3D sample geometry obtained by X micro-tomography. Cell volumes are coming from a percolation experiment performed to estimate the impact of precipitation processes on the properties of a fluid transport phenomena in porous media [5]. Average permeabilities of the sample are obtained from velocities by using MPI-based high performance computing on up to 1000 processors. Steady state Stokes equations are solved using finite volume approach. Relaxation pre-conditioning is introduced to accelerate the code further. Good weak or strong scaling are reached with results obtained in hours instead of weeks. Factors of accelerations of 20 up to 40 can be reached. Tens of geometries can now be

  11. INTRAVAL test case 13: Brine transport in porous media at high salinity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fein, E.

    1991-02-01

    In a two-dimensional vertical column filled with a synthetic porous media sweet water is displaced by salt water. Starting with salt water of very low concentration the concentration of the displacing salt water was increased in various experiments up to approximately saturation. In courses of these experiments breakthrough curves at different locations within the column are monitored with respect to time. It was the idea of validation to determine the system parameters like porosity, dispersion length, permeability etc. from experiments at low concentrations. Afterwards the validity of the physical assumptions should be proved by using these parameters to predict results of experiments with high concentrations like the salt water overlying the Gorleben salt dome. (orig./DG)

  12. Methane accumulation and forming high saturations of methane hydrate in sandy sediments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uchida, T.; Waseda, A. [JAPEX Research Center, Chiba (Japan); Fujii, T. [Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp., Chiba (Japan). Upstream Technology Unit

    2008-07-01

    Methane supplies for marine gas hydrates are commonly attributed to the microbial conversion of organic materials. This study hypothesized that methane supplies were related to pore water flow behaviours and microscopic migration in intergranular pore systems. Sedimentology and geochemistry analyses were performed on sandy core samples taken from the Nankai trough and the Mallik gas hydrate test site in the Mackenzie Delta. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of geologic and sedimentolic controls on the formation and preservation of natural gas hydrates. Grain size distribution curves indicated that gas hydrate saturations of up to 80 per cent in pore volume occurred throughout the hydrate-dominant sand layers in the Nankai trough and Mallik areas. Water permeability measurements showed that the highly gas hydrate-saturated sands have a permeability of a few millidarcies. Pore-space gas hydrates occurred primarily in fine and medium-grained sands. Core temperature depression, core observations, and laboratory analyses of the hydrates confirmed the pore-spaces as intergranular pore fillings. Results of the study suggested that concentrations of gas hydrates may require a pore space large enough to occur within a host sediments, and that the distribution of porous and coarser-grained sandy sediments is an important factor in controlling the occurrence of gas hydrates. 11 refs., 4 figs.

  13. Femoral venous oxygen saturation is no surrogate for central venous oxygen saturation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Beest, Paul A.; van der Schors, Alice; Liefers, Henriëtte; Coenen, Ludo G. J.; Braam, Richard L.; Habib, Najib; Braber, Annemarije; Scheeren, Thomas W. L.; Kuiper, Michaël A.; Spronk, Peter E.

    2012-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of our study was to determine if central venous oxygen saturation and femoral venous oxygen saturation can be used interchangeably during surgery and in critically ill patients. Design: Prospective observational controlled study. Setting: Nonacademic university-affiliated

  14. Ultrasonic Characterization of Water Saturated Double Porosity Media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Ruonan; Tinel, Alain; Alem, Abdellah; Franklin, Hervé; Wang, Huaqing

    Wave propagation through a multilayered structure consisting of a water saturated double porosity medium in an aluminum rectangular box immersed in water is studied. By assuming a plane incident wave from water onto the structure, the reflection and transmission coefficients are derived by application of the boundary conditions at each interface. Numerical computations are done for two particular double porosity media, ROBU® and Tobermorite 11 Å, that are assumed to obey Berryman's extension of Biot's theory [Berryman 1995, 2000]. The influence of the thickness of double porosity medium is investigated. To compare experiments to computations, two comparison coefficients Cnum and Cexp are introduced. The theoretical one Cnum is defined as the ratio of the transmission coefficient of the structure to the transmission coefficient of the box filled exclusively with water. The experimental comparison coefficient Cexp is defined as the ratio of the Fourier transforms of the transmitted signals by the box filled with the double porous medium to that of the transmitted signals by the box filled with water. A method of minimization based on a gradient descent algorithm is used to optimize some of the parameters of the double porosity media such as the bulk moduli.

  15. Porous silicon: X-rays sensitivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerstenmayer, J.L.; Vibert, Patrick; Mercier, Patrick; Rayer, Claude; Hyvernage, Michel; Herino, Roland; Bsiesy, Ahmad

    1994-01-01

    We demonstrate that high porosity anodically porous silicon is radioluminescent. Interests of this study are double. Firstly: is the construction of porous silicon X-rays detectors (imagers) possible? Secondly: is it necessary to protect silicon porous based optoelectronic systems from ionising radiations effects (spatial environment)? ((orig.))

  16. Femoral venous oxygen saturation is no surrogate for central venous oxygen saturation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Beest, Paul A.; van der Schors, Alice; Liefers, Henriette; Coenen, Ludo G. J.; Braam, Richard L.; Habib, Najib; Braber, Annemarije; Scheeren, Thomas W. L.; Kuiper, Michael A.; Spronk, Peter E.

    2012-01-01

    Objective:  The purpose of our study was to determine if central venous oxygen saturation and femoral venous oxygen saturation can be used interchangeably during surgery and in critically ill patients. Design:  Prospective observational controlled study. Setting:  Nonacademic university-affiliated

  17. From porous gold nanocups to porous nanospheres and solid particles - A new synthetic approach

    KAUST Repository

    Ihsan, Ayesha

    2015-05-01

    We report a versatile approach for the synthesis of porous gold nanocups, porous gold nanospheres and solid gold nanoparticles. Gold nanocups are formed by the slow reduction of gold salt (HAuCl4{dot operator}3H2O) using aminoantipyrene (AAP) as a reducing agent. Adding polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to the gold salt followed by reduction with AAP resulted in the formation of porous gold nanospheres. Microwave irradiation of both of these porous gold particles resulted in the formation of slightly smaller but solid gold particles. All these nanoparticles are thoroughly characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and bright-field tomography. Due to the larger size, porous nature, low density and higher surface area, these nanomaterials may have interesting applications in catalysis, drug delivery, phototherapy and sensing.

  18. From porous gold nanocups to porous nanospheres and solid particles - A new synthetic approach

    KAUST Repository

    Ihsan, Ayesha; Katsiev, Habib; AlYami, Noktan; Anjum, Dalaver H.; Khan, Waheed S.; Hussain, Irshad

    2015-01-01

    We report a versatile approach for the synthesis of porous gold nanocups, porous gold nanospheres and solid gold nanoparticles. Gold nanocups are formed by the slow reduction of gold salt (HAuCl4{dot operator}3H2O) using aminoantipyrene (AAP) as a reducing agent. Adding polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to the gold salt followed by reduction with AAP resulted in the formation of porous gold nanospheres. Microwave irradiation of both of these porous gold particles resulted in the formation of slightly smaller but solid gold particles. All these nanoparticles are thoroughly characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and bright-field tomography. Due to the larger size, porous nature, low density and higher surface area, these nanomaterials may have interesting applications in catalysis, drug delivery, phototherapy and sensing.

  19. Stochastic porous media equations

    CERN Document Server

    Barbu, Viorel; Röckner, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Focusing on stochastic porous media equations, this book places an emphasis on existence theorems, asymptotic behavior and ergodic properties of the associated transition semigroup. Stochastic perturbations of the porous media equation have reviously been considered by physicists, but rigorous mathematical existence results have only recently been found. The porous media equation models a number of different physical phenomena, including the flow of an ideal gas and the diffusion of a compressible fluid through porous media, and also thermal propagation in plasma and plasma radiation. Another important application is to a model of the standard self-organized criticality process, called the "sand-pile model" or the "Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld model". The book will be of interest to PhD students and researchers in mathematics, physics and biology.

  20. Amine Functionalized Porous Network

    KAUST Repository

    Eddaoudi, Mohamed; Guillerm, Vincent; Weselinski, Lukasz Jan; Alkordi, Mohamed H.; Mohideen, Mohamed Infas Haja; Belmabkhout, Youssef

    2015-01-01

    Amine groups can be introduced in porous materials by a direct (one pot) or post-synthetic modification (PSM) process on aldehyde groups, and the resulting porous materials have increased gas affinity.

  1. Amine Functionalized Porous Network

    KAUST Repository

    Eddaoudi, Mohamed

    2015-05-28

    Amine groups can be introduced in porous materials by a direct (one pot) or post-synthetic modification (PSM) process on aldehyde groups, and the resulting porous materials have increased gas affinity.

  2. Porous silicon carbide (SIC) semiconductor device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shor, Joseph S. (Inventor); Kurtz, Anthony D. (Inventor)

    1996-01-01

    Porous silicon carbide is fabricated according to techniques which result in a significant portion of nanocrystallites within the material in a sub 10 nanometer regime. There is described techniques for passivating porous silicon carbide which result in the fabrication of optoelectronic devices which exhibit brighter blue luminescence and exhibit improved qualities. Based on certain of the techniques described porous silicon carbide is used as a sacrificial layer for the patterning of silicon carbide. Porous silicon carbide is then removed from the bulk substrate by oxidation and other methods. The techniques described employ a two-step process which is used to pattern bulk silicon carbide where selected areas of the wafer are then made porous and then the porous layer is subsequently removed. The process to form porous silicon carbide exhibits dopant selectivity and a two-step etching procedure is implemented for silicon carbide multilayers.

  3. Prediction of Flow and Temperature Distributions in a High Flux Research Reactor Using the Porous Media Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanfang Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available High thermal neutron fluxes are needed in some research reactors and for irradiation tests of materials. A High Flux Research Reactor (HFRR with an inverse flux trap-converter target structure is being developed by the Reactor Engineering Analysis Lab (REAL at Tsinghua University. This paper studies the safety of the HFRR core by full core flow and temperature calculations using the porous media approach. The thermal nonequilibrium model is used in the porous media energy equation to calculate coolant and fuel assembly temperatures separately. The calculation results show that the coolant temperature keeps increasing along the flow direction, while the fuel temperature increases first and decreases afterwards. As long as the inlet coolant mass flow rate is greater than 450 kg/s, the peak cladding temperatures in the fuel assemblies are lower than the local saturation temperatures and no boiling exists. The flow distribution in the core is homogeneous with a small flow rate variation less than 5% for different assemblies. A large recirculation zone is observed in the outlet region. Moreover, the porous media model is compared with the exact model and found to be much more efficient than a detailed simulation of all the core components.

  4. Porous ceramics out of oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bakunov, V.S.; Balkevich, V.L.; Vlasov, A.S.; Guzman, I.Ya.; Lukin, E.S.; Poluboyarinov, D.N.; Poliskij, R.Ya.

    1977-01-01

    A review is made of manufacturing procedures and properties of oxide ceramics intended for high-temperature thermal insulation and thermal protection applications. Presented are structural characteristics of porous oxide refractories and their properties. Strength and thermal conductivity was shown to depend upon porosity. Described is a procedure for manufacturing porous ceramic materials from aluminium oxide, zirconium dioxide, magnesium oxide, beryllium oxide. The thermal resistance of porous ceramics from BeO is considerably greater than that of other high-refractoriness oxides. Listed are areas of application for porous materials based on oxides

  5. Selective formation of porous silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fathauer, Robert W. (Inventor); Jones, Eric W. (Inventor)

    1993-01-01

    A pattern of porous silicon is produced in the surface of a silicon substrate by forming a pattern of crystal defects in said surface, preferably by applying an ion milling beam through openings in a photoresist layer to the surface, and then exposing said surface to a stain etchant, such as HF:HNO3:H2O. The defected crystal will preferentially etch to form a pattern of porous silicon. When the amorphous content of the porous silicon exceeds 70 percent, the porous silicon pattern emits visible light at room temperature.

  6. Coupling between corrosion and biphasic transport in porous media: Application to the evolution of a radioactive wastes disposal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dridi, W.

    2005-04-01

    In the actual concepts of geological disposal, high level radioactive wastes are packed in metallic containers surrounded by a partially or totally saturated clay media. In contact with the interstitial water, anoxic corrosion of this container will start producing hydrogen. In the scope of safety assessment, the present study deals with two main topics: prediction of the long-term corrosion of carbon steel with respect to clay water content and evaluation of the risk of damage of the clay barrier related to gas production. Elementary processes controlling the kinetics of corrosion are limited to oxide growth and mass transfer through the porosity of this film. Thanks to a macroscopic description of theses processes, followed by an interfacial kinetic law, a mechanistic modeling of the anoxic corrosion in partially saturated porous media is proposed. This approach is validated when confronted to the long-term corrosion tests performed in saturated clay. Both modeling and laboratory experiments have confirmed that kinetics of anoxic corrosion in partially saturated clay is mainly controlled by the surrounding relative humidity as in the case of aerated or atmospheric corrosion. In the gas generation topic, some numerical simulations are performed concerning the oedometric and triaxial test dealing with gas migration in saturated clay. Finally, long-term calculations are conducted concerning hydro-mechanical impact of corrosion in deep geological repositories. Due to a more realistic prediction of the long-term corrosion, the risks of gas overpressures, local desaturation and mechanical damage are reduced. (author)

  7. Analyzing the anodic reactions for iron surface with a porous Al2O3 cluster with the scanning vibrating electrode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eliyan, Faysal Fayez

    2017-09-01

    The Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique (SVET) was used to analyze the anodic reactions inside and around a porous Al2O3 cluster embedded onto an iron foil. The tests were carried out at -0.7 V vs. Saturated Calomel Electrode, in naturally aerated solutions of 0.1, 0.2, 0.35, and 0.5 M bicarbonate concentration. During 10 h of testing, the SVET showed evidence for a formation of a passive film in and around the cluster, in the scanning area shown in the graphical abstract. In the dilute 0.1 and 0.2 M solutions, the passive films formed slower than those in 0.35 and 0.5 M solutions. In the SVET maps, the passive films showed that they could suppress dissolution to currents comparable to those of slower dissolution under the porous Al2O3 cluster.

  8. Transport Modeling of Modified Magnetite Nanoparticles with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate in a Saturated Sandy Soil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Farrokhian Firouzi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Nanoparticles due to their large specific area and reactivity recently have been used in several environmental remediation applications such as degradation of organic compounds and pesticides and adsorption of heavy metals and inorganic anions. Because of concern over potential threats of nanoparticle releases into the soil–water environment, a number of studies have been carried out to investigate the transport, retention and deposition of nanoparticles in saturated porous media. Many of these studies are based on measurements of transport in columns packed with idealized porous media consisting of spherical glass beads or sand. The nanoparticles are usually introduced into the column and breakthrough curve concentrations are measured at the column outlet. To examine the effect of various parameters on the transport of nanoparticles in porous medium, for convenience, all the parameters considered the same in the experiments, and only one parameter in the experiments is changed and investigated. Materials and Methods: The objective of this research is quantitative study of modified magnetite nanoparticles transport in saturated sand-repacked columns. The modified magnetite nanoparticles with Sodium dodecyl sulfate were synthesized following the protocol described by Si et al. (2004. The experimental setup included a suspension reservoir, Teflon tubing, a HPLC pump, and a glass column (2.5 cm i.d. and 20 cm height. Therefore, breakthrough curves of modified magnetite nanoparticles with Sodium dodecyl sulfate and chloride were determined under saturated conditions and influence of nanoparticles concentration (0.1 and 0.5 g.L-1 and pore velocity (pressure head of 2 and 10 cm on nanoparticles transport were investigated. For each medium bed, the background solution were first pumped through the column in the up-flow mode to obtain a steady flow state. Then, a tracer test was conducted by introducing CaCl2 solution into the column

  9. Strength and Biot's coefficient for high-porosity oil- or water-saturated chalk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreassen, Katrine Alling

    . The Biot coefficient states the degree of cementation or how the pore pressure contributes to the strain resulting from an external load for a porous material. It is here calculated from dynamic measurements and correlated with the strength of outcrop chalk characterized by the onset of pore collapse...... during hydrostatic loading. The hypothesis is that the Biot coefficient and the theory of poroelasticity may cover the fluid effect by including the increased fluid bulk modulus from oil to water. A high number of test results for both oil- and water-saturated high-porosity outcrop chalk show correlation......In the petroleum industry it is relevant to know the Biot coefficient for establishing the effective stresses present in both the overburden and for the reservoir interval. When depleting a reservoir it is important to estimate the settlement through the strain imposed by the effective stress. Also...

  10. A medium-independent variational macroscopic theory of two-phase porous media – Part I: Derivation of governing equations and stress partitioning laws

    OpenAIRE

    Serpieri , Roberto; Travascio , Francesco

    2016-01-01

    A macroscopic continuum theory of two-phase saturated porous media is derived by a purely variational deduction based on the least Action principle. The proposed theory proceeds from the consideration of a minimal set of kinematic descriptors and keeps a specific focus on the derivation of most general medium-independent governing equations, which have a form independent from the particular constitutive relations and thermodynamic constraints characterizing a specific medium. The kinematics o...

  11. Cotransport of Herbaspirillum chlorophenolicum FA1 and heavy metals in saturated porous media: column studies and modeling approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, X.; Xu, H.; Wu, J.

    2017-12-01

    For in situ biodegradation of organic contaminants in soil and groundwater, precise prediction and monitoring of the movement of the bio-agent is vital for the effectiveness of the subsurface bioremediation technologies. Therefore, the fate and transport of functional microorganisms in porous media has been extensively investigated in the literature, and the effects of a number of physical and chemical factors have been explored. During the bioremediation of contaminated sites, it is highly likely that functional bacteria and heavy metals would be simultaneously present for heavy metals often co-exist with organic contaminants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in polluted environment. To date, relevant studies on the interactions between heavy metals and functional agents such as PAHs-degrading bacteria are lacking and thus require investigation. In this study, the cotransport of bioremediation agents and heavy metals were evaluated through batch and column experiments. Herbaspirillum chlorophenolicum FA1, a pure bacterial strain capable of absorbing heavy metals and degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), was used as the model remediation agent, and metal ions of Pb(Ⅱ) and Cd(Ⅱ) were used as the representative heavy metals. Effects of metal species, the concentration of heavy metals, the sequence of entering the media, and the activity of biomass were investigated in detail. In addition, numerical simulations of breakthrough curves (BTC) data were also performed for information gathering. Results of this study could advance our understanding of interactions between functional bacteria and heavy metals during bioremediation process and help to develop successful bioremediation strategies.This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China -Xinjiang Project (U1503282), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41030746, 41102148), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20151385

  12. Porous Silicon Nanowires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Yongquan; Zhou, Hailong; Duan, Xiangfeng

    2011-01-01

    In this minreview, we summarize recent progress in the synthesis, properties and applications of a new type of one-dimensional nanostructures — single crystalline porous silicon nanowires. The growth of porous silicon nanowires starting from both p- and n-type Si wafers with a variety of dopant concentrations can be achieved through either one-step or two-step reactions. The mechanistic studies indicate the dopant concentration of Si wafers, oxidizer concentration, etching time and temperature can affect the morphology of the as-etched silicon nanowires. The porous silicon nanowires are both optically and electronically active and have been explored for potential applications in diverse areas including photocatalysis, lithium ion battery, gas sensor and drug delivery. PMID:21869999

  13. Tracer transfer in consolidated porous medium and fractured porous medium: experimentations and modelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalla Costa, C.

    2007-07-01

    We try to identify and model physical and chemical mechanisms governing the water flow and the solute transport in fractured consolidated porous medium. An original experimental device was built. The 'cube' consists of an idealized fractured medium reproduced by piling up consolidated porous cubes of 5 cm edge. Meanwhile, columns of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium are studied. The same anionic tracing technique is used in both cases. Using a system analysis approach, we inject concentration pulses in the device to obtain breakthrough curves. After identifying the mass balance and the residence time, we fit the CD and the MIM models to the experimental data. The MIM model is able to reproduce experimental curves of the homogeneous consolidated porous medium better than the CD model. The mobile water fraction is in accordance with the porous medium geometry. The study of the flow rate influence highlights an interference dispersion regime. It was not possible to highlight the observation length influence in this case. On the contrary, we highlight the effect of the observation scale on the fractured and porous medium, comparing the results obtained on a small 'cube' and a big 'cube'. The CD model is not satisfactory in this case. Even if the MIM model can fit the experimental breakthrough curves, it was not possible to obtain unique parameters for the set of experiments. (author)

  14. Hierarchical Porous Structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grote, Christopher John [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-06-07

    Materials Design is often at the forefront of technological innovation. While there has always been a push to generate increasingly low density materials, such as aero or hydrogels, more recently the idea of bicontinuous structures has gone more into play. This review will cover some of the methods and applications for generating both porous, and hierarchically porous structures.

  15. A method to measure the thermal-physical parameter of gas hydrate in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diao, S.B.; Ye, Y.G.; Yue, Y.J.; Zhang, J.; Chen, Q.; Hu, G.W. [Qingdao Inst. of Marine Geology, Qingdao (China)

    2008-07-01

    It is important to explore and make good use of gas hydrates through the examination of the thermal-physical parameters of sediment. This paper presented a new type of simulation experiment using a device that was designed based on the theories of time domain reflection and transient hot wire method. A series of investigations were performed using this new device. The paper described the experiment, with reference to the experiment device and materials and method. It also presented the results of thermal physical properties; result of the thermal conductivity of water, dry sand and wet sand; and results of wet sand under various pressures. The time domain reflection (TDR) method was utilized to monitor the saturation of the hydrates. Both parallel hot-wire method and cross hot-wire method were utilized to measure the thermal conductivity of the gas hydrate in porous media. A TDR sensor which was equipped with both cross hot-wire probe and parallel hot-wire probe was developed in order to measure the cell temperature with these two methods at one time. It was concluded that the TDR probe could be taken as an online measurement skill in investigating the hydrate thermal physical property in porous media. The TDR sensor could monitor the hydrate formation process and the parallel hot-wire method and cross hot-wire method could effectively measure the thermal physical properties of the hydrates in porous media. 10 refs., 7 figs.

  16. Porous metal for orthopedics implants

    OpenAIRE

    Matassi, Fabrizio; Botti, Alessandra; Sirleo, Luigi; Carulli, Christian; Innocenti, Massimo

    2013-01-01

    Porous metal has been introduced to obtain biological fixation and improve longevity of orthopedic implants. The new generation of porous metal has intriguing characteristics that allows bone healing and high osteointegration of the metallic implants. This article gives an overview about biomaterials properties of the contemporary class of highly porous metals and about the clinical use in orthopaedic surgery.

  17. Porous silicon technology for integrated microsystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallner, Jin Zheng

    With the development of micro systems, there is an increasing demand for integrable porous materials. In addition to those conventional applications, such as filtration, wicking, and insulating, many new micro devices, including micro reactors, sensors, actuators, and optical components, can benefit from porous materials. Conventional porous materials, such as ceramics and polymers, however, cannot meet the challenges posed by micro systems, due to their incompatibility with standard micro-fabrication processes. In an effort to produce porous materials that can be used in micro systems, porous silicon (PS) generated by anodization of single crystalline silicon has been investigated. In this work, the PS formation process has been extensively studied and characterized as a function of substrate type, crystal orientation, doping concentration, current density and surfactant concentration and type. Anodization conditions have been optimized for producing very thick porous silicon layers with uniform pore size, and for obtaining ideal pore morphologies. Three different types of porous silicon materials: meso porous silicon, macro porous silicon with straight pores, and macro porous silicon with tortuous pores, have been successfully produced. Regular pore arrays with controllable pore size in the range of 2mum to 6mum have been demonstrated as well. Localized PS formation has been achieved by using oxide/nitride/polysilicon stack as masking materials, which can withstand anodization in hydrofluoric acid up to twenty hours. A special etching cell with electrolytic liquid backside contact along with two process flows has been developed to enable the fabrication of thick macro porous silicon membranes with though wafer pores. For device assembly, Si-Au and In-Au bonding technologies have been developed. Very low bonding temperature (˜200°C) and thick/soft bonding layers (˜6mum) have been achieved by In-Au bonding technology, which is able to compensate the potentially

  18. Radionuclide behavior in water saturated porous media: Diffusion and infiltration coupling of thermodynamically and kinetically controlled radionuclide water - mineral interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spasennykh, M.Yu.; Apps, J.A.

    1995-05-01

    A model is developed describing one dimensional radionuclide transport in porous media coupled with locally reversible radionuclide water-mineral exchange reactions and radioactive decay. Problems are considered in which radionuclide transport by diffusion and infiltration processes occur in cases where radionuclide water-solid interaction are kinetically and thermodynamically controlled. The limits of Sr-90 and Cs-137 migration are calculated over a wide range of the problem variables (infiltration velocity, distribution coefficients, and rate constants of water-mineral radionuclide exchange reactions)

  19. Potential of hybrid functionalized meso-porous materials for the separation and immobilization of radionuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luca, V.

    2013-01-01

    Functionalized meso-porous materials are a class of hybrid organic-inorganic material in which a meso-porous metal oxide framework is functionalized with multifunctional organic molecules. These molecules may contain one or more anchor groups that form strong bonds to the pore surfaces of the metal oxide framework and free functional groups that can impart and or modify the functionality of the material such as for binding metal ions in solution. Such materials have been extensively studied over the past decade and are of particular interest in absorption applications because of the tremendous versatility in choosing the composition and architecture of the metal oxide framework and the nature of the functional organic molecule as well as the efficient mass transfer that can occur through a well-designed hierarchically porous network. A sorbent for nuclear applications would have to be highly selective for particular radio nuclides, it would need to be hydrolytically and radiolytically stable, and it would have to possess reasonable capacity and fast kinetics. The sorbent would also have to be available in a form suitable for use in a column. Finally, it would also be desirable if once saturated with radio nuclides, the sorbent could be recycled or converted directly into a ceramic or glass waste form suitable for direct repository disposal or even converted directly into a material that could be used as a transmutation target. Such a cradle-to- grave strategy could have many benefits in so far as process efficiency and the generation of secondary wastes are concerned.This paper will provide an overview of work done on all of the above mentioned aspects of the development of functionalized meso-porous adsorbent materials for the selective separation of lanthanides and actinides and discuss the prospects for future implementation of a cradle-to-grave strategy with such materials. (author)

  20. Metrology of nanosize biopowders using porous silicon surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuravel', L.V.; Latukhina, N.V.; Pisareva, E.V.; Vlasov, M.Yu.; Volkov, A.V.; Volodkin, B.O.

    2008-01-01

    Powders of hydroxyapatite deposited on porous silicon surface were investigated by TEM and STM methods. Thickness of porous lay was 1-100 micrometers; porous diameter was 0.01-10 micrometers. Images of porous silicon surface with deposited particles give possibility to estimate particles size and induce that only proportionate porous diameter particles have good adhesion to porous silicon surface.

  1. Porous (Swiss-Cheese Graphite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph P. Abrahamson

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Porous graphite was prepared without the use of template by rapidly heating the carbonization products from mixtures of anthracene, fluorene, and pyrene with a CO2 laser. Rapid CO2 laser heating at a rate of 1.8 × 106 °C/s vaporizes out the fluorene-pyrene derived pitch while annealing the anthracene coke. The resulting structure is that of graphite with 100 nm spherical pores. The graphitizablity of the porous material is the same as pure anthracene coke. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the interfaces between graphitic layers and the pore walls are unimpeded. Traditional furnace annealing does not result in the porous structure as the heating rates are too slow to vaporize out the pitch, thereby illustrating the advantage of fast thermal processing. The resultant porous graphite was prelithiated and used as an anode in lithium ion capacitors. The porous graphite when lithiated had a specific capacity of 200 mAh/g at 100 mA/g. The assembled lithium ion capacitor demonstrated an energy density as high as 75 Wh/kg when cycled between 2.2 V and 4.2 V.

  2. Unsteady MHD blood flow through porous medium in a parallel plate channel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latha, R.; Rushi Kumar, B.

    2017-11-01

    In this study, we have analyzed heat and mass transfer effects on unsteady blood flow through parallel plate channel in a saturated porous medium in the presence of a transverse magnetic field with thermal radiation. The governing higher order nonlinear PDE’S are converted to dimensionless equations using dimensionless variables. The dimensionless equations are then solved analytically using boundary conditions by choosing the axial flow transport and the fields of concentration and temperature apart from the normal velocity as a function of y and t. The effects of different pertinent parameters appeared in this model viz thermal radiation, Prandtl number, Heat source parameter, Hartmann number, Permeability parameter, Decay parameter on axial flow transport and the normal velocity are analyzed in detail.

  3. SATURATED ZONE IN-SITU TESTING

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    P.W. REIMUS

    2004-11-08

    The purpose of this scientific analysis is to document the results and interpretations of field experiments that test and validate conceptual flow and radionuclide transport models in the saturated zone (SZ) near Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The test interpretations provide estimates of flow and transport parameters used in the development of parameter distributions for total system performance assessment (TSPA) calculations. These parameter distributions are documented in ''Site-Scale Saturated Zone Flow Model (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170037]), Site-Scale Saturated Zone Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170036]), Saturated Zone Colloid Transport (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170006]), and ''Saturated Zone Flow and Transport Model Abstraction'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170042]). Specifically, this scientific analysis contributes the following to the assessment of the capability of the SZ to serve as part of a natural barrier for waste isolation for the Yucca Mountain repository system: (1) The bases for selection of conceptual flow and transport models in the saturated volcanics and the saturated alluvium located near Yucca Mountain. (2) Results and interpretations of hydraulic and tracer tests conducted in saturated fractured volcanics at the C-wells complex near Yucca Mountain. The test interpretations include estimates of hydraulic conductivities, anisotropy in hydraulic conductivity, storativities, total porosities, effective porosities, longitudinal dispersivities, matrix diffusion mass transfer coefficients, matrix diffusion coefficients, fracture apertures, and colloid transport parameters. (3) Results and interpretations of hydraulic and tracer tests conducted in saturated alluvium at the Alluvial Testing Complex (ATC) located at the southwestern corner of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The test interpretations include estimates of hydraulic conductivities, storativities, total porosities, effective porosities, longitudinal dispersivities, matrix diffusion mass

  4. SATURATED ZONE IN-SITU TESTING

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    REIMUS, P.W.

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this scientific analysis is to document the results and interpretations of field experiments that test and validate conceptual flow and radionuclide transport models in the saturated zone (SZ) near Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The test interpretations provide estimates of flow and transport parameters used in the development of parameter distributions for total system performance assessment (TSPA) calculations. These parameter distributions are documented in ''Site-Scale Saturated Zone Flow Model (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170037]), Site-Scale Saturated Zone Transport'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170036]), Saturated Zone Colloid Transport (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170006]), and ''Saturated Zone Flow and Transport Model Abstraction'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170042]). Specifically, this scientific analysis contributes the following to the assessment of the capability of the SZ to serve as part of a natural barrier for waste isolation for the Yucca Mountain repository system: (1) The bases for selection of conceptual flow and transport models in the saturated volcanics and the saturated alluvium located near Yucca Mountain. (2) Results and interpretations of hydraulic and tracer tests conducted in saturated fractured volcanics at the C-wells complex near Yucca Mountain. The test interpretations include estimates of hydraulic conductivities, anisotropy in hydraulic conductivity, storativities, total porosities, effective porosities, longitudinal dispersivities, matrix diffusion mass transfer coefficients, matrix diffusion coefficients, fracture apertures, and colloid transport parameters. (3) Results and interpretations of hydraulic and tracer tests conducted in saturated alluvium at the Alluvial Testing Complex (ATC) located at the southwestern corner of the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The test interpretations include estimates of hydraulic conductivities, storativities, total porosities, effective porosities, longitudinal dispersivities, matrix diffusion mass transfer coefficients, and colloid

  5. Automatic NAA. Saturation activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Westphal, G.P.; Grass, F.; Kuhnert, M.

    2008-01-01

    A system for Automatic NAA is based on a list of specific saturation activities determined for one irradiation position at a given neutron flux and a single detector geometry. Originally compiled from measurements of standard reference materials, the list may be extended also by the calculation of saturation activities from k 0 and Q 0 factors, and f and α values of the irradiation position. A systematic improvement of the SRM approach is currently being performed by pseudo-cyclic activation analysis, to reduce counting errors. From these measurements, the list of saturation activities is recalculated in an automatic procedure. (author)

  6. Investigation of water seepage through porous media using X-ray imaging technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Sung Yong; Lim, Seungmin; Lee, Sang Joon

    2012-07-01

    SummaryDynamic movement of wetting front and variation of water contents through three different porous media were investigated using X-ray radiography. Water and natural sand particles were used as liquid and porous media in this study. To minimize the effects of minor X-ray attenuation and uneven illumination, the flat field correction (FFC) was applied before determining the position of wetting front. In addition, the thickness-averaged (in the direction of the X-ray penetration) water content was obtained by employing the Beer-Lambert law. The initial inertia of water droplet influences more strongly on the vertical migration, compared to the horizontal migration. The effect of initial inertia on the horizontal migration is enhanced as sand size decreases. The pattern of water transport is observed to be significantly affected by the initial water contents. As the initial water contents increases, the bulb-type transport pattern is shifted to a trapezoidal shape. With increasing surface temperature, water droplets are easily broken on the sand surface. This consequently decreases the length of the initial inertia region. Different from the wetting front migration, the water contents at the initial stage clearly exhibit a preferential flow along the vertical direction. The water transport becomes nearly uniform in all directions beyond the saturation state.

  7. Perturbation analysis of magnetohydrodynamics oscillatory flow on convective-radiative heat and mass transfer of micropolar fluid in a porous medium with chemical reaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dulal Pal

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the perturbation analysis of mixed convection heat and mass transfer of an oscillatory viscous electrically conducting micropolar fluid over an infinite moving permeable plate embedded in a saturated porous medium in the presence of transverse magnetic field. Analytical solutions are obtained for the governing basic equations. The effects of permeability, chemical reaction, viscous dissipation, magnetic field parameter and thermal radiation on the velocity distribution, micro-rotation, skin friction and wall couple stress coefficients are analyzed in detail. The results indicate that the effect of increasing the chemical reaction has a tendency to decrease the skin friction coefficient at the wall, while opposite trend is seen by increasing the permeability parameter of the porous medium. Also micro-rotational velocity distribution increases with an increase in the magnetic field parameter.

  8. Fast simulation of transport and adaptive permeability estimation in porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berre, Inga

    2005-07-01

    The focus of the thesis is twofold: Both fast simulation of transport in porous media and adaptive estimation of permeability are considered. A short introduction that motivates the work on these topics is given in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, the governing equations for one- and two-phase flow in porous media are presented. Overall numerical solution strategies for the two-phase flow model are also discussed briefly. The concepts of streamlines and time-of-flight are introduced in Chapter 3. Methods for computing streamlines and time-of-flight are also presented in this chapter. Subsequently, in Chapters 4 and 5, the focus is on simulation of transport in a time-of-flight perspective. In Chapter 4, transport of fluids along streamlines is considered. Chapter 5 introduces a different viewpoint based on the evolution of isocontours of the fluid saturation. While the first chapters focus on the forward problem, which consists in solving a mathematical model given the reservoir parameters, Chapters 6, 7 and 8 are devoted to the inverse problem of permeability estimation. An introduction to the problem of identifying spatial variability in reservoir permeability by inversion of dynamic production data is given in Chapter 6. In Chapter 7, adaptive multiscale strategies for permeability estimation are discussed. Subsequently, Chapter 8 presents a level-set approach for improving piecewise constant permeability representations. Finally, Chapter 9 summarizes the results obtained in the thesis; in addition, the chapter gives some recommendations and suggests directions for future work. Part II In Part II, the following papers are included in the order they were completed: Paper A: A Streamline Front Tracking Method for Two- and Three-Phase Flow Including Capillary Forces. I. Berre, H. K. Dahle, K. H. Karlsen, and H. F. Nordhaug. In Fluid flow and transport in porous media: mathematical and numerical treatment (South Hadley, MA, 2001), volume 295 of Contemp. Math., pages 49

  9. Experimental study on cavity flow natural convection in porous medium, saturated with an Al(sub2)0(sub3) 60% EG-40% water nanofluid

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Grobler, Carla

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Natural convection is convection where the fluid motion is driven by buoyancy forces. Porous media and nanofluids have an impact on the heat transfer capabilities of thermal systems. The present experimental study is part of ongoing research...

  10. Multiphase flow simulation with gravity effect in anisotropic porous media using multipoint flux approximation

    KAUST Repository

    Negara, Ardiansyah; Salama, Amgad; Sun, Shuyu

    2015-01-01

    Numerical investigations of two-phase flows in anisotropic porous media have been conducted. In the flow model, the permeability has been considered as a full tensor and is implemented in the numerical scheme using the multipoint flux approximation within the framework of finite difference method. In addition, the experimenting pressure field approach is used to obtain the solution of the pressure field, which makes the matrix of coefficient of the global system easily constructed. A number of numerical experiments on the flow of two-phase system in two-dimensional porous medium domain are presented. In this work, the gravity is included in the model to capture the possible buoyancy-driven effects due to density differences between the two phases. Different anisotropy scenarios have been considered. From the numerical results, interesting patterns of the flow, pressure, and saturation fields emerge, which are significantly influenced by the anisotropy of the absolute permeability field. It is found that the two-phase system moves along the principal direction of anisotropy. Furthermore, the effects of anisotropy orientation on the flow rates and the cross flow index are also discussed in the paper.

  11. Multiphase flow simulation with gravity effect in anisotropic porous media using multipoint flux approximation

    KAUST Repository

    Negara, Ardiansyah

    2015-03-04

    Numerical investigations of two-phase flows in anisotropic porous media have been conducted. In the flow model, the permeability has been considered as a full tensor and is implemented in the numerical scheme using the multipoint flux approximation within the framework of finite difference method. In addition, the experimenting pressure field approach is used to obtain the solution of the pressure field, which makes the matrix of coefficient of the global system easily constructed. A number of numerical experiments on the flow of two-phase system in two-dimensional porous medium domain are presented. In this work, the gravity is included in the model to capture the possible buoyancy-driven effects due to density differences between the two phases. Different anisotropy scenarios have been considered. From the numerical results, interesting patterns of the flow, pressure, and saturation fields emerge, which are significantly influenced by the anisotropy of the absolute permeability field. It is found that the two-phase system moves along the principal direction of anisotropy. Furthermore, the effects of anisotropy orientation on the flow rates and the cross flow index are also discussed in the paper.

  12. Fault tolerant control of systems with saturations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niemann, Hans Henrik

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents framework for fault tolerant controllers (FTC) that includes input saturation. The controller architecture known from FTC is based on the Youla-Jabr-Bongiorno-Kucera (YJBK) parameterization is extended to handle input saturation. Applying this controller architecture in connec......This paper presents framework for fault tolerant controllers (FTC) that includes input saturation. The controller architecture known from FTC is based on the Youla-Jabr-Bongiorno-Kucera (YJBK) parameterization is extended to handle input saturation. Applying this controller architecture...... in connection with faulty systems including input saturation gives an additional YJBK transfer function related to the input saturation. In the fault free case, this additional YJBK transfer function can be applied directly for optimizing the feedback loop around the input saturation. In the faulty case......, the design problem is a mixed design problem involved both parametric faults and input saturation....

  13. Numerical modelling of hydrologically-driven slope instability by means of porous media mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kakogiannou, Evanthia; Sanavia, Lorenzo; Lora, Marco; Schrefler, Bernhard

    2015-04-01

    Heavy rainfall can trigger slope failure which generally involves shallow soil deposit of different grading and origin usually in a state of partial saturation. In this case of slope instability, the behaviour of the soil slope is closely related not only to the distribution of pore-water pressure but also to the stress state during rainfall infiltration involving both mechanical and hydrological processes. In order to understand better these physical key processes, in this research work, the modelling of rainfall induced slope failure is considered as a coupled variably saturated hydro-mechanical problem. Therefore, the geometrically linear finite element code Comes-Geo for non-isothermal elasto-plastic multiphase solid porous materials is used, as developed by B.A. Schrefler and his co-workers. In this context, a detailed numerical analysis of an experimental slope stability test due to rainfall infiltration is presented. The main goals of this work are to understand the triggering mechanisms during the progressive failure, the effect of using different constitutive models of the mechanical soil behavior on the numerical results and the use of the second order work criterion on the detection of slope instability.

  14. Hybrid porous phosphate heterostructures as adsorbents of Hg(II) and Ni(II) from industrial sewage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jimenez-Jimenez, J.; Algarra, M.; Rodriguez-Castellon, E.; Jimenez-Lopez, A.; Esteves da Silva, J.C.G.

    2011-01-01

    Porous phosphate heterostructures (PPH), functionalized with different ratios of aminopropyl and mercaptopropyl groups, labelled as N x=5,25,50 -PPH and S x=5,25,50 -PPH, respectively, were tested as adsorbents for Ni(II) and Hg(II) found in industrial sewage from electroplating processes and button battery recycling. X-ray diffraction was used to study the structures. The specific surface area of the pristine material (PPH) was 620 m 2 g -1 , whereas the specific surface areas of the modified mercaptopropyl (S 5 -PPH) and aminopropyl (N 5 -PPH) were 472 and 223 m 2 g -1 , respectively. The adsorption data were fitted to a Langmuir isotherm model. The S 5 -PPH material was saturated by 120 mmol Hg(II) per 100 g of material, whereas for Ni(II) adsorption, N 25 -PPH material displayed the highest adsorption with a saturation value of 43.5 mmol per 100 g. These results suggest that functionalized PPH materials may be promising toxic metal scavengers and that they may provide an alternative environmental technology.

  15. Hybrid porous phosphate heterostructures as adsorbents of Hg(II) and Ni(II) from industrial sewage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jimenez-Jimenez, J., E-mail: jjimenez@uma.es [Departamento de Quimica Inorganica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga (Spain); Algarra, M. [Centro de Geologia do Porto, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade do Porto. Rua do, Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Rodriguez-Castellon, E.; Jimenez-Lopez, A. [Departamento de Quimica Inorganica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071 Malaga (Spain); Esteves da Silva, J.C.G. [Centro de Investigacao em Quimica (CIQ-UP), Faculdade de, Ciencias da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal)

    2011-06-15

    Porous phosphate heterostructures (PPH), functionalized with different ratios of aminopropyl and mercaptopropyl groups, labelled as N{sub x=5,25,50}-PPH and S{sub x=5,25,50}-PPH, respectively, were tested as adsorbents for Ni(II) and Hg(II) found in industrial sewage from electroplating processes and button battery recycling. X-ray diffraction was used to study the structures. The specific surface area of the pristine material (PPH) was 620 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}, whereas the specific surface areas of the modified mercaptopropyl (S{sub 5}-PPH) and aminopropyl (N{sub 5}-PPH) were 472 and 223 m{sup 2} g{sup -1}, respectively. The adsorption data were fitted to a Langmuir isotherm model. The S{sub 5}-PPH material was saturated by 120 mmol Hg(II) per 100 g of material, whereas for Ni(II) adsorption, N{sub 25}-PPH material displayed the highest adsorption with a saturation value of 43.5 mmol per 100 g. These results suggest that functionalized PPH materials may be promising toxic metal scavengers and that they may provide an alternative environmental technology.

  16. Importance of uncharged polar residues and proline in the proximal two-thirds (Pro107–Ser128 of the highly conserved region of mouse ileal Na+-dependent bile acid transporter, Slc10a2, in transport activity and cellular expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeki Tohru

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background SLC10A2-mediated reabsorption of bile acids at the distal end of the ileum is the first step in enterohepatic circulation. Because bile acids act not only as detergents but also as signaling molecules in lipid metabolism and energy production, SLC10A2 is important as the key transporter for understanding the in vivo kinetics of bile acids. SLC10A family members and the homologous genes of various species share a highly conserved region corresponding to Gly104–Pro142 of SLC10A2. The functional importance of this region has not been fully elucidated. Results To elucidate the functional importance of this region, we previously performed mutational analysis of the uncharged polar residues and proline in the distal one-third (Thr130–Pro142 of the highly conserved region in mouse Slc10a2. In this study, proline and uncharged polar residues in the remaining two-thirds of this region in mouse Slc10a2 were subjected to mutational analysis, and taurocholic acid uptake and cell surface localization were examined. Cell surface localization of Slc10a2 is necessary for bile acid absorption. Mutants in which Asp or Leu were substituted for Pro107 (P107N or P107L were abundantly expressed, but their cell surface localization was impaired. The S126A mutant was completely impaired in cellular expression. The T110A and S128A mutants exhibited remarkably enhanced membrane expression. The S112A mutant was properly expressed at the cell surface but transport activity was completely lost. Replacement of Tyr117 with various amino acids resulted in reduced transport activity. The degree of reduction roughly depended on the van der Waals volume of the side chains. Conclusions The functional importance of proline and uncharged polar residues in the highly conserved region of mouse Slc10a2 was determined. This information will contribute to the design of bile acid-conjugated prodrugs for efficient drug delivery or SLC10A2 inhibitors for

  17. Enhanced Raman scattering in porous silicon grating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiajia; Jia, Zhenhong; Lv, Changwu

    2018-03-19

    The enhancement of Raman signal on monocrystalline silicon gratings with varying groove depths and on porous silicon grating were studied for a highly sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) response. In the experiment conducted, porous silicon gratings were fabricated. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were then deposited on the porous silicon grating to enhance the Raman signal of the detective objects. Results show that the enhancement of Raman signal on silicon grating improved when groove depth increased. The enhanced performance of Raman signal on porous silicon grating was also further improved. The Rhodamine SERS response based on Ag NPs/ porous silicon grating substrates was enhanced relative to the SERS response on Ag NPs/ porous silicon substrates. Ag NPs / porous silicon grating SERS substrate system achieved a highly sensitive SERS response due to the coupling of various Raman enhancement factors.

  18. User manual of the multicompenent variably - saturated flow and transport model HP1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacques, D.; Simunek, J.

    2005-06-01

    This report describes a new comprehensive simulation tool HP1 (HYDRUS1D-PHREEQC) that was obtained by coupling the HYDRUS-1D one-dimensional variably-saturated water flow and solute transport model with the PHREEQC geochemical code. The HP1 code incorporates modules simulating (1) transient water flow in variably-saturated media, (2) transport of multiple components, and (3) mixed equilibrium/kinetic geochemical reactions. The program numerically solves the Richards equation for variably-saturated water flow and advection-dispersion type equations for heat and solute transport. The flow equation incorporates a sink term to account for water uptake by plant roots. The heat transport equation considers transport due to conduction and convection with flowing water. The solute transport equations consider advective-dispersive transport in the liquid phase. The program can simulate a broad range of low-temperature biogeochemical reactions in water, soil and ground water systems including interactions with minerals, gases, exchangers, and sorption surfaces, based on thermodynamic equilibrium, kinetics, or mixed equilibrium-kinetic reactions. The program may be used to analyze water and solute movement in unsaturated, partially saturated, or fully saturated porous media. The flow region may be composed of nonuniform soils or sediments. Flow and transport can occur in the vertical, horizontal, or a generally inclined direction. The water flow part of the model can deal with prescribed head and flux boundaries, boundaries controlled by atmospheric conditions, as well as free drainage boundary conditions. The governing flow and transport equations were solved numerically using Galerkin-type linear finite element schemes. To test the accuracy of the coupling procedures implemented in HP1, simulation results were compared with (i) HYDRUS-1D for transport problems of multiple components subject to sequential first-order decay, (ii) PHREEQC for steady-state flow conditions, and

  19. Positronium chemistry in porous materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kobayashi, Y.; Ito, K.; Oka, T.; Hirata, K.

    2007-01-01

    Porous materials have fascinated positron and positronium chemists for over decades. In the early 1970s it was already known that ortho-positronium (o-Ps) exhibits characteristic long lifetimes in silica gels, porous glass and zeolites. Since then, our understanding of Ps formation, diffusion and annihilation has been drastically deepened. Ps is now well recognized as a powerful porosimetric and chemical probe to study the average pore size, pore size distribution, pore connectivity and surface properties of various porous materials including thin films. In this paper, developments of Ps chemistry in porous materials undertaken in the past some 40 yr are surveyed and problems to be addressed in future are briefly discussed

  20. Gas-liquid Relative Permeability Estimation in 2D Porous Media by Lattice Boltzmann Method: Low Viscosity Ratio 2D LBM Relative Permeability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sadegh Mahmoudi

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This work is a primary achievement in studying the CO2 and N2–oil systems. To predict gas-liquid relative permeability curves, a Shan-Chen type multicomponent multiphase lattice Boltzmann model for two-phase flow through 2D porous media is developed. Periodic and bounce back boundary conditions are applied to the model with the Guo scheme for the external body force (i.e., the pressure gradient. The influence of relationship between cohesion and adsorption parameters and the interfacial tension values in Young's equation, pore structure (micro scan image derived porous media response is compared with corresponding porosity and permeability ideal sphere pack structure, and saturation distribution on relative permeability curves are studied with the aim to achieve the realistic stable condition for the simulation of gas-liquid systems with a low viscosity ratio.

  1. A lattice Boltzmann investigation of steady-state fluid distribution, capillary pressure and relative permeability of a porous medium: Effects of fluid and geometrical properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zi; Galindo-Torres, Sergio; Yan, Guanxi; Scheuermann, Alexander; Li, Ling

    2018-06-01

    Simulations of simultaneous steady-state two-phase flow in the capillary force-dominated regime were conducted using the state-of-the-art Shan-Chen multi-component lattice Boltzmann model (SCMC-LBM) based on two-dimensional porous media. We focused on analyzing the fluid distribution (i.e., WP fluid-solid, NP fluid-solid and fluid-fluid interfacial areas) as well as the capillary pressure versus saturation curve which was affected by fluid and geometrical properties (i.e., wettability, adhesive strength, pore size distribution and specific surface area). How these properties influenced the relative permeability versus saturation relation through apparent effective permeability and threshold pressure gradient was also explored. The SCMC-LBM simulations showed that, a thin WP fluid film formed around the solid surface due to the adhesive fluid-solid interaction, resulting in discrete WP fluid distributions and reduction of the WP fluid mobility. Also, the adhesive interaction provided another source of capillary pressure in addition to capillary force, which, however, did not affect the mobility of the NP fluid. The film fluid effect could be enhanced by large adhesive strength and fine pores in heterogeneous porous media. In the steady-state infiltration, not only the NP fluid but also the WP fluid were subjected to the capillary resistance. The capillary pressure effect could be alleviated by decreased wettability, large average pore radius and improved fluid connectivity in heterogeneous porous media. The present work based on the SCMC-LBM investigations elucidated the role of film fluid as well as capillary pressure in the two-phase flow system. The findings have implications for ways to improve the macroscopic flow equation based on balance of force for the steady-state infiltration.

  2. Comparison of pulseoximetry oxygen saturation and arterial oxygen saturation in open heart intensive care unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alireza Mahoori

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Pulseoximetry is widely used in the critical care setting, currently used to guide therapeutic interventions. Few studies have evaluated the accuracy of SPO2 (puls-eoximetry oxygen saturation in intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. Our objective was to compare pulseoximetry with arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2 during clinical routine in such patients, and to examine the effect of mild acidosis on this relationship.Methods: In an observational prospective study 80 patients were evaluated in intensive care unit after cardiac surgery. SPO2 was recorded and compared with SaO2 obtained by blood gas analysis. One or serial arterial blood gas analyses (ABGs were performed via a radial artery line while a reliable pulseoximeter signal was present. One hundred thirty seven samples were collected and for each blood gas analyses, SaO2 and SPO2 we recorded.Results: O2 saturation as a marker of peripheral perfusion was measured by Pulseoxim-etry (SPO2. The mean difference between arterial oxygen saturation and pulseoximetry oxygen saturation was 0.12%±1.6%. A total of 137 paired readings demonstrated good correlation (r=0.754; P<0.0001 between changes in SPO2 and those in SaO2 in samples with normal hemoglobin. Also in forty seven samples with mild acidosis, paired readings demonstrated good correlation (r=0.799; P<0.0001 and the mean difference between SaO2 and SPO2 was 0.05%±1.5%.Conclusion: Data showed that in patients with stable hemodynamic and good signal quality, changes in pulseoximetry oxygen saturation reliably predict equivalent changes in arterial oxygen saturation. Mild acidosis doesn’t alter the relation between SPO2 and SaO2 to any clinically important extent. In conclusion, the pulse oximeter is useful to monitor oxygen saturation in patients with stable hemodynamic.

  3. Thermally developing forced convection and the corresponding thermal stresses in a porous plate channel

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    YANG Xiao; LIU Xuemei

    2007-01-01

    Based on the Darcy fluid model, by considering the effects of viscous dissipation due to the interaction between solid skeleton and pore fluid flow and thermal conduction in the direction of the fluid flow, the thermally developing forced convection of the local thermal equili- brium and the corresponding thermal stresses in a semi- infmite saturated porous plate channel are investigated in this paper. The expressions of temperature, local Nusselt number and corresponding thermal stresses are obtained by means of the Fourier series, and the distributions of the same are also shown. Furthermore, influences of the Péclet number (Pe) and Brinkman number (Br) on temperature, Nusselt number (Nu) and thermal stress are revealed numerically.

  4. Process of preparing tritiated porous silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tam, Shiu-Wing

    1997-01-01

    A process of preparing tritiated porous silicon in which porous silicon is equilibrated with a gaseous vapor containing HT/T.sub.2 gas in a diluent for a time sufficient for tritium in the gas phase to replace hydrogen present in the pore surfaces of the porous silicon.

  5. Luminescence of porous silicon doped by erbium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bondarenko, V.P.; Vorozov, N.N.; Dolgij, L.N.; Dorofeev, A.M.; Kazyuchits, N.M.; Leshok, A.A.; Troyanova, G.N.

    1996-01-01

    The possibility of the 1.54 μm intensive luminescence in the silicon dense porous layers, doped by erbium, with various structures is shown. Low-porous materials of both porous type on the p-type silicon and porous silicon with wood-like structure on the n + type silicon may be used for formation of light-emitting structures

  6. Porous substrates filled with nanomaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worsley, Marcus A.; Baumann, Theodore F.; Satcher, Jr., Joe H.; Stadermann, Michael

    2018-04-03

    A composition comprising: at least one porous carbon monolith, such as a carbon aerogel, comprising internal pores, and at least one nanomaterial, such as carbon nanotubes, disposed uniformly throughout the internal pores. The nanomaterial can be disposed in the middle of the monolith. In addition, a method for making a monolithic solid with both high surface area and good bulk electrical conductivity is provided. A porous substrate having a thickness of 100 microns or more and comprising macropores throughout its thickness is prepared. At least one catalyst is deposited inside the porous substrate. Subsequently, chemical vapor deposition is used to uniformly deposit a nanomaterial in the macropores throughout the thickness of the porous substrate. Applications include electrical energy storage, such as batteries and capacitors, and hydrogen storage.

  7. Fabricating porous silicon carbide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shor, Joseph S. (Inventor); Kurtz, Anthony D. (Inventor)

    1994-01-01

    The formation of porous SiC occurs under electrochemical anodization. A sample of SiC is contacted electrically with nickel and placed into an electrochemical cell which cell includes a counter electrode and a reference electrode. The sample is encapsulated so that only a bare semiconductor surface is exposed. The electrochemical cell is filled with an HF electrolyte which dissolves the SiC electrochemically. A potential is applied to the semiconductor and UV light illuminates the surface of the semiconductor. By controlling the light intensity, the potential and the doping level, a porous layer is formed in the semiconductor and thus one produces porous SiC.

  8. An experimental method of characterization of deformable porous media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sommier Alain

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available A porous medium saturated with liquid and placed within a medium that undergoes a change in pressure reacts by shrinking. If the space contains the same liquid as the pores of the sample, then after a certain lapse of time the sample dilates. By measuring this dilation kinetic the specimen’s permeability can be approximated. This experimental method is called Dynamic Pressurisation. We set up an experimental apparatus to measure the permeability and the different agarose gel compressibility moduli. The liquid contained inside the gel pores is water. We have realized experiments in water and others in oil. In Scherer’s method the flow is considered only in the radial direction. To find the real permeability value we have built a numerical model considering that both the liquid and the solid are compressible. The simulations were compared to the experimental results and have allowed finding the real value of the permeability by considering the flow in both radial and axial directions.

  9. X-ray and scanning electron microscopic investigation of porous silicon and silicon epitaxial layers grown on porous silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wierzchowski, W.; Pawlowska, M.; Nossarzewska-Orlowska, E.; Brzozowski, A.; Wieteska, K.; Graeff, W.

    1998-01-01

    The 1 to 5 μm thick layers of porous silicon and epitaxial layers grown on porous silicon were studied by means of X-ray diffraction methods, realised with a wide use of synchrotron source and scanning microscopy. The results of x-ray investigation pointed the difference of lateral periodicity between the porous layer and the substrate. It was also found that the deposition of epitaxial layer considerably reduced the coherence of porous fragments. A number of interface phenomena was also observed in section and plane wave topographs. The scanning electron microscopic investigation of cleavage faces enabled direct evaluation of porous layer thickness and revealed some details of their morphology. The scanning observation of etched surfaces of epitaxial layers deposited on porous silicon revealed dislocations and other defects not reasonable in the X-ray topographs. (author)

  10. Simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and prediction of effective thermal conductivity of porous consolidated igneous rocks at room temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aurangzeb; Ali, Zulqurnain; Gurmani, Samia Faiz; Maqsood, Asghari

    2006-01-01

    Thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and heat capacity per unit volume of porous consolidated igneous rocks have been measured, simultaneously by Gustafsson's probe at room temperature and normal pressure using air as saturant. Data are presented for eleven samples of dunite, ranging in porosity from 0.130 to 0.665% by volume, taken from Chillas near Gilgit, Pakistan. The porosity and density parameters have been measured using American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards at ambient conditions. The mineral composition of samples has been analysed from their thin sections (petrography). An empirical model to predict the thermal conductivity of porous consolidated igneous rocks is also proposed. The thermal conductivities are predicted by some of the existing models along with the proposed one. It is observed that the values of effective thermal conductivity predicted by the proposed model are in agreement with the experimental thermal conductivity data within 6%

  11. Porous textile antenna designs for improved wearability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahariar, Hasan; Soewardiman, Henry; Muchler, Clifford A.; Adams, Jacob J.; Jur, Jesse S.

    2018-04-01

    Textile antennas are an integral part of the next generation personalized wearable electronics system. However, the durability of textile antennas are rarely discussed in the literature. Typical textile antennas are prone to damage during normal wearable user scenarios, washing, and heat cycling over time. Fabricating a durable, washable, flexible, and breathable (like textile materials) antenna is challenging due to the incompatibility of the mechanical properties of conductive materials and soft textile materials. This paper describes a scalable screen printing process on an engineered nonwoven substrate to fabricate microstrip patch antennas with enhanced durability. This work used an Evolon® nonwoven substrate with low surface roughness (˜Ra = 18 μm) and high surface area (˜2.05 mm2 mm-2 of fabric area) compared to traditional textile materials, which allows the ink to penetrate evenly in the fiber bulk with its strong capillary wicking force and enhances print resolution. The composite layer of ink and fiber is conductive and enables the antennas to maintain high mechanical flexibility without varying its RF (Radio Frequency) properties. Additionally, the antennas are packaged by laminating porous polyurethane web to make the device durable and washable. The fully packaged antennas maintain the structural flexibility and RF functionality after 15 cycles of washing and drying. To improve the air permeability and enhance flexibility the antenna is also modified by incorporating holes in the both patch and ground layer of the antenna. The antennas were analyzed before and after submerging in water to observe the effect of wetting and drying with respect to frequency response. The porous antenna with holes recovered 3x times faster than the one without holes (solid) from fully wet state (saturated with water) to the dry state, demonstrating its potential use as a moisture sensor system.

  12. nitrogen saturation in stream ecosystems

    OpenAIRE

    Earl, S. R.; Valett, H. M.; Webster, J. R.

    2006-01-01

    The concept of nitrogen (N) saturation has organized the assessment of N loading in terrestrial ecosystems. Here we extend the concept to lotic ecosystems by coupling Michaelis-Menten kinetics and nutrient spiraling. We propose a series of saturation response types, which may be used to characterize the proximity of streams to N saturation. We conducted a series of short-term N releases using a tracer ((NO3)-N-15-N) to measure uptake. Experiments were conducted in streams spanning a gradient ...

  13. Influence of clay particles on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles transport and retention through limestone porous media: measurements and mechanisms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bayat, Ali Esfandyari, E-mail: ali.esfandiari.bayat@gmail.com; Junin, Radzuan [Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering (Malaysia); Mohsin, Rahmat [Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM-MPRC Institute for Oil and Gas, N29A, Lengkuk Suria (Malaysia); Hokmabadi, Mehrdad [Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering (Malaysia); Shamshirband, Shahaboddin [University of Malaya, Department of Computer System and Information Technology, Faculty of Computer System and Information Technology (Malaysia)

    2015-05-15

    Utilization of nanoparticles (NPs) for a broad range of applications has caused considerable quantities of these materials to be released into the environment. Issues of how and where the NPs are distributed into the subsurface aquatic environments are questions for those in environmental engineering. This study investigated the influence of three abundant clay minerals namely kaolinite, montmorillonite, and illite in the subsurface natural aquatic systems on the transport and retention of aluminum oxide (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, 40 nm) and titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}, 10–30 nm) NPs through saturated limestone porous media. The clay concentrations in porous media were set at 2 and 4 vol% of the holder capacity. Breakthrough curves in the columns outlets were measured using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer. It was found that the maximum NPs recoveries were obtained when there was no clay particle in the porous medium. On the other hand, increase in concentration of clay particles has resulted in the NPs recoveries being significantly declined. Due to fibrous structure of illite, it was found to be more effective for NPs retention in comparison to montmorillonite and kaolinite. Overall, the position of clay particles in the porous media pores and their morphologies were found to be two main reasons for increase of NPs retention in porous media.

  14. Semiconductor saturable absorbers for ultrafast terahertz signals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoffmann, Matthias C.; Turchinovich, Dmitry

    2010-01-01

    states, due to conduction band onparabolicity and scattering into satellite valleys in strong THz fields. Saturable absorber parameters, such as linear and nonsaturable transmission, and saturation fluence, are extracted by fits to a classic saturable absorber model. Further, we observe THz pulse......We demonstrate saturable absorber behavior of n-type semiconductors GaAs, GaP, and Ge in the terahertz THz frequency range at room temperature using nonlinear THz spectroscopy. The saturation mechanism is based on a decrease in electron conductivity of semiconductors at high electron momentum...

  15. Effect of porous material heating on the drag force of a cylinder with gas-permeable porous inserts in a supersonic flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mironov, S. G.; Poplavskaya, T. V.; Kirilovskiy, S. V.

    2017-10-01

    The paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of supersonic flow around a solid cylinder with a gas-permeable porous insert on its front end and of supersonic flow around a hollow cylinder with internal porous inserts in the presence of heating of the porous material. The experiments were performed in a supersonic wind tunnel with Mach number 4.85 and 7 with porous inserts of cellular-porous nickel. The results of measurements on the filtration stand of the air filtration rate through the cellular-porous nickel when it is heated are also shown. For a number of experiments, numerical modeling based on the skeletal model of a cellular-porous material was carried out.

  16. Parallel simulation of two-phase incompressible and immiscible flows in porous media using a finite volume formulation and a modified IMPES approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Da Silva, R S; De Carvalho, D K E; Antunes, A R E; Lyra, P R M; Willmersdorf, R B

    2010-01-01

    In this paper a finite volume method with a 'Modified Implicit Pressure, Explicit Saturation' (MIMPES) approach is used to model the 3-D incompressible and immiscible two-phase flow of water and oil in heterogeneous and anisotropic porous media. A vertex centered finite volume method with an edge-based data structure is adopted to discretize both the elliptic pressure and the hyperbolic saturation equations using parallel computers with distributed memory. Due to the explicit solution of the saturation equation in the IMPES method, severe time step restrictions are imposed on the simulation. In order to circumvent this problem, an edge-based implementation of the MIMPES method was used. In this method, the pressure equation is solved and the velocity field is computed much less frequently than the saturation field. Following the work of Hurtado, a mean relative variation of the velocity field throughout the simulation is used to automatically control the updating process, allowing for much larger time-steps in a very simple way. In order to run large scale problems, we have developed a parallel implementation using clusters of PC's. The simulator uses open source parallel libraries like FMDB, ParMetis and PETSc. Results of speed-up and efficiency are presented to validate the performance of the parallel simulator.

  17. Reduction in infection risk through treatment of microbially contaminated surfaces with a novel, portable, saturated steam vapor disinfection system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanner, Benjamin D

    2009-02-01

    Surface-mediated infectious disease transmission is a major concern in various settings, including schools, hospitals, and food-processing facilities. Chemical disinfectants are frequently used to reduce contamination, but many pose significant risks to humans, surfaces, and the environment, and all must be properly applied in strict accordance with label instructions to be effective. This study set out to determine the capability of a novel chemical-free, saturated steam vapor disinfection system to kill microorganisms, reduce surface-mediated infection risks, and serve as an alternative to chemical disinfectants. High concentrations of Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Salmonella enterica, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, MS2 coliphage (used as a surrogate for nonenveloped viruses including norovirus), Candida albicans, Aspergillus niger, and the endospores of Clostridium difficile were dried individually onto porous clay test surfaces. Surfaces were treated with the saturated steam vapor disinfection system for brief periods and then numbers of surviving microorganisms were determined. Infection risks were calculated from the kill-time data using microbial dose-response relationships published in the scientific literature, accounting for surface-to-hand and hand-to-mouth transfer efficiencies. A diverse assortment of pathogenic microorganisms was rapidly killed by the steam disinfection system; all of the pathogens tested were completely inactivated within 5 seconds. Risks of infection from the contaminated surfaces decreased rapidly with increasing periods of treatment by the saturated steam vapor disinfection system. The saturated steam vapor disinfection system tested for this study is chemical-free, broadly active, rapidly efficacious, and therefore represents a novel alternative to liquid chemical disinfectants.

  18. Nitrogen saturation in stream ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Earl, Stevan R; Valett, H Maurice; Webster, Jackson R

    2006-12-01

    The concept of nitrogen (N) saturation has organized the assessment of N loading in terrestrial ecosystems. Here we extend the concept to lotic ecosystems by coupling Michaelis-Menten kinetics and nutrient spiraling. We propose a series of saturation response types, which may be used to characterize the proximity of streams to N saturation. We conducted a series of short-term N releases using a tracer (15NO3-N) to measure uptake. Experiments were conducted in streams spanning a gradient of background N concentration. Uptake increased in four of six streams as NO3-N was incrementally elevated, indicating that these streams were not saturated. Uptake generally corresponded to Michaelis-Menten kinetics but deviated from the model in two streams where some other growth-critical factor may have been limiting. Proximity to saturation was correlated to background N concentration but was better predicted by the ratio of dissolved inorganic N (DIN) to soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), suggesting phosphorus limitation in several high-N streams. Uptake velocity, a reflection of uptake efficiency, declined nonlinearly with increasing N amendment in all streams. At the same time, uptake velocity was highest in the low-N streams. Our conceptual model of N transport, uptake, and uptake efficiency suggests that, while streams may be active sites of N uptake on the landscape, N saturation contributes to nonlinear changes in stream N dynamics that correspond to decreased uptake efficiency.

  19. Brain oxygen saturation assessment in neonates using T2-prepared blood imaging of oxygen saturation and near-infrared spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alderliesten, Thomas; De Vis, Jill B; Lemmers, Petra Ma

    2017-01-01

    saturation in the sagittal sinus (R(2 )= 0.49, p = 0.023), but no significant correlations could be demonstrated with frontal and whole brain cerebral blood flow. These results suggest that measuring oxygen saturation by T2-prepared blood imaging of oxygen saturation is feasible, even in neonates. Strong...... sinus. A strong linear relation was found between the oxygen saturation measured by magnetic resonance imaging and the oxygen saturation measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (R(2 )= 0.64, p ..., and magnetic resonance imaging measures of frontal cerebral blood flow, whole brain cerebral blood flow and venous oxygen saturation in the sagittal sinus (R(2 )= 0.71, 0.50, 0.65; p 

  20. Porous media geometry and transports

    CERN Document Server

    Adler, Pierre

    1992-01-01

    The goal of ""Porous Media: Geometry and Transports"" is to provide the basis of a rational and modern approach to porous media. This book emphasizes several geometrical structures (spatially periodic, fractal, and random to reconstructed) and the three major single-phase transports (diffusion, convection, and Taylor dispersion).""Porous Media"" serves various purposes. For students it introduces basic information on structure and transports. Engineers will find this book useful as a readily accessible assemblage of al the major experimental results pertaining to single-phase tr

  1. Photonic Crystal Sensors Based on Porous Silicon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Pacholski

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Porous silicon has been established as an excellent sensing platform for the optical detection of hazardous chemicals and biomolecular interactions such as DNA hybridization, antigen/antibody binding, and enzymatic reactions. Its porous nature provides a high surface area within a small volume, which can be easily controlled by changing the pore sizes. As the porosity and consequently the refractive index of an etched porous silicon layer depends on the electrochemial etching conditions photonic crystals composed of multilayered porous silicon films with well-resolved and narrow optical reflectivity features can easily be obtained. The prominent optical response of the photonic crystal decreases the detection limit and therefore increases the sensitivity of porous silicon sensors in comparison to sensors utilizing Fabry-Pérot based optical transduction. Development of porous silicon photonic crystal sensors which allow for the detection of analytes by the naked eye using a simple color change or the fabrication of stacked porous silicon photonic crystals showing two distinct optical features which can be utilized for the discrimination of analytes emphasize its high application potential.

  2. Photonic Crystal Sensors Based on Porous Silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pacholski, Claudia

    2013-01-01

    Porous silicon has been established as an excellent sensing platform for the optical detection of hazardous chemicals and biomolecular interactions such as DNA hybridization, antigen/antibody binding, and enzymatic reactions. Its porous nature provides a high surface area within a small volume, which can be easily controlled by changing the pore sizes. As the porosity and consequently the refractive index of an etched porous silicon layer depends on the electrochemial etching conditions photonic crystals composed of multilayered porous silicon films with well-resolved and narrow optical reflectivity features can easily be obtained. The prominent optical response of the photonic crystal decreases the detection limit and therefore increases the sensitivity of porous silicon sensors in comparison to sensors utilizing Fabry-Pérot based optical transduction. Development of porous silicon photonic crystal sensors which allow for the detection of analytes by the naked eye using a simple color change or the fabrication of stacked porous silicon photonic crystals showing two distinct optical features which can be utilized for the discrimination of analytes emphasize its high application potential. PMID:23571671

  3. Active-Set Reduced-Space Methods with Nonlinear Elimination for Two-Phase Flow Problems in Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Haijian

    2016-07-26

    Fully implicit methods are drawing more attention in scientific and engineering applications due to the allowance of large time steps in extreme-scale simulations. When using a fully implicit method to solve two-phase flow problems in porous media, one major challenge is the solution of the resultant nonlinear system at each time step. To solve such nonlinear systems, traditional nonlinear iterative methods, such as the class of the Newton methods, often fail to achieve the desired convergent rate due to the high nonlinearity of the system and/or the violation of the boundedness requirement of the saturation. In the paper, we reformulate the two-phase model as a variational inequality that naturally ensures the physical feasibility of the saturation variable. The variational inequality is then solved by an active-set reduced-space method with a nonlinear elimination preconditioner to remove the high nonlinear components that often causes the failure of the nonlinear iteration for convergence. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we compare it with the classical implicit pressure-explicit saturation method for two-phase flow problems with strong heterogeneity. The numerical results show that our nonlinear solver overcomes the often severe limits on the time step associated with existing methods, results in superior convergence performance, and achieves reduction in the total computing time by more than one order of magnitude.

  4. Active-Set Reduced-Space Methods with Nonlinear Elimination for Two-Phase Flow Problems in Porous Media

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Haijian; Yang, Chao; Sun, Shuyu

    2016-01-01

    Fully implicit methods are drawing more attention in scientific and engineering applications due to the allowance of large time steps in extreme-scale simulations. When using a fully implicit method to solve two-phase flow problems in porous media, one major challenge is the solution of the resultant nonlinear system at each time step. To solve such nonlinear systems, traditional nonlinear iterative methods, such as the class of the Newton methods, often fail to achieve the desired convergent rate due to the high nonlinearity of the system and/or the violation of the boundedness requirement of the saturation. In the paper, we reformulate the two-phase model as a variational inequality that naturally ensures the physical feasibility of the saturation variable. The variational inequality is then solved by an active-set reduced-space method with a nonlinear elimination preconditioner to remove the high nonlinear components that often causes the failure of the nonlinear iteration for convergence. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we compare it with the classical implicit pressure-explicit saturation method for two-phase flow problems with strong heterogeneity. The numerical results show that our nonlinear solver overcomes the often severe limits on the time step associated with existing methods, results in superior convergence performance, and achieves reduction in the total computing time by more than one order of magnitude.

  5. Effects of starvation on the transport of Escherichia coli K12 in saturated porous media are dependent on pH and ionic strength

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, S.; Walczak, J. J.; Wang, L.; Bardy, S. L.; Li, J.

    2010-12-01

    In this research, we investigate the effects of starvation on the transport of E. coli K12 in saturated porous media. Particularly, we examine the relationship between such effects and the pH and ionic strength of the electrolyte solutions that were used to suspend bacterial cells. E. coli K12 (ATCC 10798) cells were cultured using either Luria-Bertani Miller (LB-Miller) broth (10 g trypton, 5 g yeast extract and 10 g NaCl in 1 L of deionized water) or LB-Luria broth (10 g tryptone, 5 g yeast extract and 0.5 g NaCl in 1 L of deionized water). Both broths had similar pH (~7.1) but differed in ionic strength (LB-Miller: ~170 mM, LB-Luria: ~ 8 mM). The bacterial cells were then harvested and suspended using one of the following electrolyte solutions: phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (pH ~7.2; ionic strength ~170 mM), 168 mM NaCl (pH ~5.7), 5% of PBS (pH ~ 7.2; ionic strength ~ 8 mM) and 8 mM NaCl (pH ~ 5.7). Column transport experiments were performed at 0, 21 and 48 hours following cell harvesting to evaluate the change in cell mobility over time under “starvation” conditions. Our results showed that 1) starvation increased the mobility of E. coli K12 cells; 2) the most significant change in mobility occurred when bacterial cells were suspended in an electrolyte solution that had different pH and ionic strength (i.e., LB-Miller culture suspended in 8 mM NaCl and LB-Luria culture suspended in 168 mM Nacl); and 3) the change in cell mobility primarily occurred within the first 21 hours. The size of the bacterial cells was measured and the surface properties (e.g., zeta potential, hydrophobicity, cell-bound protein, LPS sugar content, outer membrane protein profiles) of the bacterial cells were characterized. We found that the measured cell surface properties could not fully explain the observed changes in cell mobility caused by starvation.

  6. One-dimensional scanning of moisture in heated porous building materials with NMR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Heijden, G H A; Huinink, H P; Pel, L; Kopinga, K

    2011-02-01

    In this paper we present a new dedicated NMR setup which is capable of measuring one-dimensional moisture profiles in heated porous materials. The setup, which is placed in the bore of a 1.5 T whole-body scanner, is capable of reaching temperatures up to 500 °C. Moisture and temperature profiles can be measured quasi simultaneously with a typical time resolution of 2-5 min. A methodology is introduced for correcting temperature effects on NMR measurements at these elevated temperatures. The corrections are based on the Curie law for paramagnetism and the observed temperature dependence of the relaxation mechanisms occurring in porous materials. Both these corrections are used to obtain a moisture content profile from the raw NMR signal profile. To illustrate the methodology, a one-sided heating experiment of concrete with a moisture content in equilibrium with 97% RH is presented. This kind of heating experiment is of particular interest in the research on fire spalling of concrete, since it directly reveals the moisture and heat transport occurring inside the concrete. The obtained moisture profiles reveal a moisture peak building up behind the boiling front, resulting in a saturated layer. To our knowledge the direct proof of the formation of a moisture peak and subsequent moisture clogging has not been reported before. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Space Charge Saturated Sheath Regime and Electron Temperature Saturation in Hall Thrusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raitses, Y.; Staack, D.; Smirnov, A.; Fisch, N.J.

    2005-01-01

    Secondary electron emission in Hall thrusters is predicted to lead to space charge saturated wall sheaths resulting in enhanced power losses in the thruster channel. Analysis of experimentally obtained electron-wall collision frequency suggests that the electron temperature saturation, which occurs at high discharge voltages, appears to be caused by a decrease of the Joule heating rather than by the enhancement of the electron energy loss at the walls due to a strong secondary electron emission

  8. The kinetics of porous insertion electrodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Atlung, S; West, K [British Columbia Univ., Vancouver (Canada)

    1989-05-01

    The principles of porous electrodes are discussed as well as the discharge of the insertion compound, the working potential, transport in the electrolyte, the time dependence of the electrolyte concentration, and modeling of the porous electrode. The simulation of a TiS2 porous electrode and the composite insertion electrode are considered as well. The influence of electrode thickness and porosity in a typical porous TiS2 electrode is revealed. It is shown that the use of insertion compounds as battery electrodes is limited by the requirement that the inserted ion must be distributed in the interior of the insertion compound particle. 15 refs.

  9. Effects of chemical reaction in thermal and mass diffusion of micropolar fluid saturated in porous regime with radiation and ohmic heating

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumar Hitesh

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The present paper analyzes the chemically reacting free convection MHD micropolar flow, heat and mass transfer in porous medium past an infinite vertical plate with radiation and viscous dissipation. The non-linear coupled partial differential equations are solved numerically using an implicit finite difference scheme known as Keller-box method. The results for concentration, transverse velocity, angular velocity and temperature are obtained and effects of various parameters on these functions are presented graphically. The numerical discussion with physical interpretations for the influence of various parameters also presented.

  10. Flow of miscible and immiscible hydrocarbons in heterogeneous porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Butts, M.B.

    1996-12-31

    A series of large-scale two-dimensional physical model studies has been carried out in order to better understand and predict the multiphase flow of hydrocarbon contaminants and the release of the water-soluble fraction of such contaminants into the groundwater stream. The detailed measurements of the fluid saturations within the bulk hydrocarbon plume as well as the aqueous concentrations recorded downstream should provide a useful data set for testing and improving numerical models of both multiphase flow and transport. Predictions of a numerical model of immiscible multiphase flow developed in the petroleum industry were found to compare favourably with the observed oil plume for the case of an immiscible oil spill. Nevertheless, subtle layering within the experimental flume altered the long-term development of the oil plume in a manner not predicted by the numerical model. A stochastic model for three-dimensional, two-phase incompressible flow in heterogeneous soil and rock formations is developed. Analytical solutions for the resulting stochastic differential equations are derived for asymptotic flows using a perturbation approach. These solutions were used to derive general expressions for the large-scale (effective) properties for large-scale two-phase flow in porous media. An important observation from this analysis is that general large-scale flow in heterogeneous soils cannot be predicted on the basis of simple averages of the soil hydraulic properties alone. The large-scale capillary pressure saturation relation is evaluated for imbibition into a wet soil or rock formation. (EG) 194 refs.

  11. Flow of miscible and immiscible hydrocarbons in heterogeneous porous media

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Butts, M B

    1997-12-31

    A series of large-scale two-dimensional physical model studies has been carried out in order to better understand and predict the multiphase flow of hydrocarbon contaminants and the release of the water-soluble fraction of such contaminants into the groundwater stream. The detailed measurements of the fluid saturations within the bulk hydrocarbon plume as well as the aqueous concentrations recorded downstream should provide a useful data set for testing and improving numerical models of both multiphase flow and transport. Predictions of a numerical model of immiscible multiphase flow developed in the petroleum industry were found to compare favourably with the observed oil plume for the case of an immiscible oil spill. Nevertheless, subtle layering within the experimental flume altered the long-term development of the oil plume in a manner not predicted by the numerical model. A stochastic model for three-dimensional, two-phase incompressible flow in heterogeneous soil and rock formations is developed. Analytical solutions for the resulting stochastic differential equations are derived for asymptotic flows using a perturbation approach. These solutions were used to derive general expressions for the large-scale (effective) properties for large-scale two-phase flow in porous media. An important observation from this analysis is that general large-scale flow in heterogeneous soils cannot be predicted on the basis of simple averages of the soil hydraulic properties alone. The large-scale capillary pressure saturation relation is evaluated for imbibition into a wet soil or rock formation. (EG) 194 refs.

  12. Assessing species saturation: conceptual and methodological challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olivares, Ingrid; Karger, Dirk N; Kessler, Michael

    2018-05-07

    Is there a maximum number of species that can coexist? Intuitively, we assume an upper limit to the number of species in a given assemblage, or that a lineage can produce, but defining and testing this limit has proven problematic. Herein, we first outline seven general challenges of studies on species saturation, most of which are independent of the actual method used to assess saturation. Among these are the challenge of defining saturation conceptually and operationally, the importance of setting an appropriate referential system, and the need to discriminate among patterns, processes and mechanisms. Second, we list and discuss the methodological approaches that have been used to study species saturation. These approaches vary in time and spatial scales, and in the variables and assumptions needed to assess saturation. We argue that assessing species saturation is possible, but that many studies conducted to date have conceptual and methodological flaws that prevent us from currently attaining a good idea of the occurrence of species saturation. © 2018 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

  13. Vibrational modes of porous silicon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabra, M.; Naddaf, M.

    2012-01-01

    On the basis of theoretical and experimental investigations, the origin of room temperature photoluminescence (PL) from porous silicon is found to related to chemical complexes constituted the surface, in particular, SiHx, SiOx and SiOH groups. Ab initio atomic and molecular electronic structure calculations on select siloxane compounds were used for imitation of infrared (IR) spectra of porous silicon. These are compared to the IR spectra of porous silicon recorded by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). In contrast to linear siloxane, the suggested circular siloxane terminated with linear siloxane structure is found to well-imitate the experimental spectra. These results are augmented with EDX (energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy) measurements, which showed that the increase of SiOx content in porous silicon due to rapid oxidation process results in considerable decrease in PL peak intensity and a blue shift in the peak position. (author)

  14. Transport phenomena in porous media

    CERN Document Server

    Ingham, Derek B

    1998-01-01

    Research into thermal convection in porous media has substantially increased during recent years due to its numerous practical applications. These problems have attracted the attention of industrialists, engineers and scientists from many very diversified disciplines, such as applied mathematics, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical and nuclear engineering, geothermal physics and food science. Thus, there is a wealth of information now available on convective processes in porous media and it is therefore appropriate and timely to undertake a new critical evaluation of this contemporary information. Transport Phenomena in Porous Media contains 17 chapters and represents the collective work of 27 of the world's leading experts, from 12 countries, in heat transfer in porous media. The recent intensive research in this area has substantially raised the expectations for numerous new practical applications and this makes the book a most timely addition to the existing literature. It includes recent major deve...

  15. Geometry and topology of porous materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, M.H.

    1985-01-01

    A very general definition of porous materials is given. The method of Lin and Cohen for the simple but exact description of the topology of porous materials is reviewed. The method leads to a precise definition of chambers, channels, and throats in the pore space. The power and utility of the method is illustrated via a discussion of the remarkable morphological features of porous rocks. These are enumerated and explained

  16. Characteristics of porous zirconia coated with hydroxyapatite

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    However, porous hydroxyapatite bodies are mechanically weak and brittle, which makes shaping and implantation difficult. One way to solve this problem is to introduce a strong porous network onto which hydroxyapatite coating is applied. In this study, porous zirconia and alumina-added zirconia ceramics were prepared ...

  17. Misconceptions in Reporting Oxygen Saturation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toffaletti, John; Zijlstra, Willem G.

    2007-01-01

    BACKGROUND: We describe some misconceptions that have become common practice in reporting blood gas and cooximetry results. In 1980, oxygen saturation was incorrectly redefined in a report of a new instrument for analysis of hemoglobin (Hb) derivatives. Oxygen saturation (sO(2)) was redefined as the

  18. Multiphase flow and transport in porous media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, J. C.

    1989-08-01

    Multiphase flow and transport of compositionally complex fluids in geologic media is of importance in a number of applied problems which have major social and economic effects. In petroleum reservoir engineering, efficient recovery of energy reserves is the principal goal. Unfortunately, some of these hydrocarbons and other organic chemicals often find their way unwanted into the soils and groundwater supplies. Removal in the latter case is predicated on ensuring the public health and safety. In this paper, principles of modeling fluid flow in systems containing up to three fluid phases (namely, water, air, and organic liquid) are described. Solution of the governing equations for multiphase flow requires knowledge of functional relationships between fluid pressures, saturations, and permeabilities which may be formulated on the basis of conceptual models of fluid-porous media interactions. Mechanisms of transport in multicomponent multiphase systems in which species may partition between phases are also described, and the governing equations are presented for the case in which local phase equilibrium may be assumed. A number of hypothetical numerical problems are presented to illustrate the physical behavior of systems in which multiphase flow and transport arise.

  19. Ultrafine-grained porous titanium and porous titanium/magnesium composites fabricated by space holder-enabled severe plastic deformation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Qi, Yuanshen, E-mail: yuanshen.qi@monash.edu [Centre for Advanced Hybrid Materials, Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Contreras, Karla G. [Monash Institute of Medical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Jung, Hyun-Do [Liquid Processing & Casting Technology R& D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Incheon 406-840 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hyoun-Ee [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of); Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Seoul National University, Gwanggyo, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 443-270 (Korea, Republic of); Lapovok, Rimma [Centre for Advanced Hybrid Materials, Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Estrin, Yuri, E-mail: yuri.estrin@monash.edu [Centre for Advanced Hybrid Materials, Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Laboratory of Hybrid Nanostructured Materials, NUST MISiS, Moscow 119490 (Russian Federation)

    2016-02-01

    Compaction of powders by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) using a novel space holder method was employed to fabricate metallic scaffolds with tuneable porosity. Porous Ti and Ti/Mg composites with 60% and 50% percolating porosity were fabricated using powder blends with two kinds of sacrificial space holders. The high compressive strength and good ductility of porous Ti and porous Ti/Mg obtained in this way are believed to be associated with the ultrafine grain structure of the pore walls. To understand this, a detailed electron microscopy investigation was employed to analyse the interface between Ti/Ti and Ti/Mg particles, the grain structures in Ti particles and the topography of pore surfaces. It was found that using the proposed compaction method, high quality bonding between particles was obtained. Comparing with other powder metallurgy methods to fabricate Ti with an open porous structure, where thermal energy supplied by a laser beam or high temperature sintering is essential, the ECAP process conducted at a relatively low temperature of 400 °C was shown to produce unique properties. - Highlights: • Porous Ti and porous Ti/Mg composite scaffolds were fabricated successfully. • Space holder-enabled severe plastic deformation was first used in this application. • Silicon particles as sacrificial space holders were used for the first time. • Ultrafine-grained microstructure and good bonding between particles were obtained. • Good preosteoblast cell response to as-manufactured porous Ti was achieved.

  20. Landsliding in partially saturated materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godt, J.W.; Baum, R.L.; Lu, N.

    2009-01-01

    [1] Rainfall-induced landslides are pervasive in hillslope environments around the world and among the most costly and deadly natural hazards. However, capturing their occurrence with scientific instrumentation in a natural setting is extremely rare. The prevailing thinking on landslide initiation, particularly for those landslides that occur under intense precipitation, is that the failure surface is saturated and has positive pore-water pressures acting on it. Most analytic methods used for landslide hazard assessment are based on the above perception and assume that the failure surface is located beneath a water table. By monitoring the pore water and soil suction response to rainfall, we observed shallow landslide occurrence under partially saturated conditions for the first time in a natural setting. We show that the partially saturated shallow landslide at this site is predictable using measured soil suction and water content and a novel unified effective stress concept for partially saturated earth materials. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.