Assist. Prof. Dr. Maciej Matyka (U Wroclaw): Inertial effects on fluid flow in complex porous media

Porous media are ubiquitous and play a crucial role in various fields, such as the extraction industry and medical applications. The transport of mass and energy through these complex and multiscale materials primarily occurs at the pore level, characterized by interconnected and tortuous structures. Tortuosity is often treated as the third pillar of porous media description, next to porosity and permeability. This parameter quantifies the elongation of transport paths in phenomena like fluid flow, diffusion, and electric current transport. When considering fluid dynamics within porous media, researchers typically assume a slow-creeping regime. However, there are situations where the flow is faster, introducing deviations from basic linear models and subsequently influencing tortuosity. In the seminar I will present our latest observations on tortuosity in pore scale porous media model under high Reynolds numbers (Re) during the transition from the Darcy to the non-Darcy, inertial regime [1]. Unexpectedly, we found that tortuosity does not follow a natural monotonous decrease with increasing flux. We will provide an overview of the method and algorithms employed. Then, we will discuss how we understand the physical mechanisms in the flow causing observed ambiguity. In analyzing our findings, we highlight the significance of inertial effects, the kinetic energy distribution and confinement within the vortices emerging in the flow.
[1] Damian Sniezek, Sahrish B. Naqvi, and Maciej Matyka, Inertia onset in disordered porous media flow, Phys. Rev. E 110, 045103 (2024)
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