Models are developed to grasp the combined effect of rheology and spatial layering on buoyancy-driven dispersion in geologic media. We consider a power-law (PL) or Herschel-Bulkley (HB) constitutive equation for the fluid, and an array of independent layers in a vertical fracture or porous medium subject to the same upstream overpressure. Under these assumptions, analytical solutions are derived in self-similar form (PL) or based on an expansion (HB) for the nose of single-phase gravity currents advancing into the layers ahead of a pressurized body. The position and size of the body and nose and the shape of the latter are significantly influenced by the interplay of model parameters: flow behaviour index, dimensionless yield stress for HB fluids, number of layers and upstream overpressure. It is seen that layering produces (i) a relatively modest increase of the total flow rate with respect to the single layer of equal thickness, and (ii) macro-dispersion at the system scale in addition to local dispersion. The second longitudinal spatial moment of the solute cloud scales with time as for power-law fluids. The macro-dispersion induced by the layering prevails upon local dispersion beyond a threshold time. Theoretical results for the fracture are validated against a set of experiments conducted within a Hele-Shaw cell consisting of six layers. Comparison with experimental results shows that the proposed model is able to capture the propagation of the current and the macro-dispersion due to the velocity difference between layers, typically over-predicting the former and under-predicting the latter.

Dispersion induced by non-Newtonian gravity flow in a layered fracture or formation / Chiapponi L.; Petrolo D.; Lenci A.; Di Federico V.; Longo S.. - In: JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS. - ISSN 0022-1120. - ELETTRONICO. - 903:(2020), pp. A14.1-A14.35. [10.1017/jfm.2020.624]

Dispersion induced by non-Newtonian gravity flow in a layered fracture or formation

Lenci A.;Di Federico V.;
2020

Abstract

Models are developed to grasp the combined effect of rheology and spatial layering on buoyancy-driven dispersion in geologic media. We consider a power-law (PL) or Herschel-Bulkley (HB) constitutive equation for the fluid, and an array of independent layers in a vertical fracture or porous medium subject to the same upstream overpressure. Under these assumptions, analytical solutions are derived in self-similar form (PL) or based on an expansion (HB) for the nose of single-phase gravity currents advancing into the layers ahead of a pressurized body. The position and size of the body and nose and the shape of the latter are significantly influenced by the interplay of model parameters: flow behaviour index, dimensionless yield stress for HB fluids, number of layers and upstream overpressure. It is seen that layering produces (i) a relatively modest increase of the total flow rate with respect to the single layer of equal thickness, and (ii) macro-dispersion at the system scale in addition to local dispersion. The second longitudinal spatial moment of the solute cloud scales with time as for power-law fluids. The macro-dispersion induced by the layering prevails upon local dispersion beyond a threshold time. Theoretical results for the fracture are validated against a set of experiments conducted within a Hele-Shaw cell consisting of six layers. Comparison with experimental results shows that the proposed model is able to capture the propagation of the current and the macro-dispersion due to the velocity difference between layers, typically over-predicting the former and under-predicting the latter.
2020
Dispersion induced by non-Newtonian gravity flow in a layered fracture or formation / Chiapponi L.; Petrolo D.; Lenci A.; Di Federico V.; Longo S.. - In: JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS. - ISSN 0022-1120. - ELETTRONICO. - 903:(2020), pp. A14.1-A14.35. [10.1017/jfm.2020.624]
Chiapponi L.; Petrolo D.; Lenci A.; Di Federico V.; Longo S.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/781694
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