Heterogeneous Multi-Rate mass transfer models in OpenFOAM

TL;DR

This paper presents an implementation of the Multi-Rate Mass Transfer (MRMT) model in OpenFOAM for simulating mobile-immobile transport in heterogeneous porous media, enabling complex 3D geometries and parallel computation.

Contribution

The authors develop and verify an OpenFOAM-based MRMT model that handles spatially variable parameters and complex geometries, extending previous implementations.

Findings

The model accurately reproduces benchmark solutions.

Heterogeneity significantly influences mass transfer dynamics.

The implementation is efficient and scalable in 3D simulations.

Abstract

We implement the Multi-Rate Mass Transfer (MRMT) model for mobile-immobile transport in porous media within the open-source finite volume library \textsc{OpenFOAM}\reg \citep{Foundation2014}. Unlike other codes available in the literature [Geiger, S., Dentz, M., Neuweiler, I., SPE Reservoir Characterisation and Simulation Conference and Exhibition (2011); Silva, O., Carrera, J., Dentz, M., Kumar, S., Alcolea, A., Willmann, M., Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 13, (2009)], we propose an implementation that can be applied to complex three-dimensional geometries and highly heterogeneous fields, where the parameters of the MRMT can arbitrarily vary in space. Furthermore, being built over the widely diffused OpenFOAM\reg library, it can be easily extended and included in other models, and run in parallel. We briefly describe the structure of the < multiContinuumModels > library that includes the formulation of the MRMT based on the works of [Haggerty, R., Gorelick, S.M., Water Resources Research 31, (1995)] and [F. Municchi and M. Icardi Phys. Rev. Research 2, 013041, (2020)]. The implementation is verified against benchmark solutions and tested on two- and three-dimensional random permeability fields. The role of various physical and numerical parameters, including the transfer rates, the heterogeneities, and the number of terms in the MRMT expansions is investigated. Finally, we illustrate the significant role played by heterogeneity in the mass transfer when permeability and porosity are represented using Gaussian random fields.