Two-Phase Flow in Heterogeneous Media

TL;DR

This paper explores the complex behavior of two-phase air-water flow in heterogeneous soils, analyzing how heterogeneity affects flow parameters using numerical simulations with COMSOL.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed numerical analysis of two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media considering capillary and permeability variations.

Findings

Heterogeneity significantly influences flow parameters.

Capillary pressure and relative permeability evolve distinctly in heterogeneous media.

Numerical models effectively capture the impact of heterogeneity on flow dynamics.

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the appeared complexity of two-phase flow (air-water) in a heterogeneous soil where the supposed porous media is non-deformable media which is under the time-dependent gas pressure. After obtaining of governing equations and considering the capillary pressure-saturation and permeability functions, the evolution of the models unknown parameters were obtained. In this way, using COMSOL (FEMLAB) and fluid flow-script Module, the role of heterogeneity in intrinsic permeability was analysed. Also, the evolution of relative permeability of wetting and non-wetting fluid, capillary pressure and other parameters were elicited.