The evolution of a gas plume injected into a curved axisymmetric porous channel

TL;DR

This paper models the evolution of gas plumes in curved porous channels, revealing how buoyancy and channel shape influence gas spreading, with implications for underground storage safety and efficiency.

Contribution

It derives a new asymptotic evolution equation for gas-liquid interfaces in curved channels, accounting for large slopes and buoyancy effects, extending prior flat-channel models.

Findings

Buoyancy affects gas flow differently in Gaussian and parabolic channels.

Five temporal regimes characterize gas spreading in parabolic channels.

Analytical models match numerical simulations of interface evolution.

Abstract

We investigate gas injection into water-saturated porous channels with Gaussian and parabolic axisymmetric centrelines, as idealized models of underground gas storage in dome-shaped anticlines. Exploiting the slenderness of each channel, we derive an evolution equation for the gas/liquid interface using a composite asymptotic approximation that accommodates large channel slopes and has a simplified small-slope form describing spreading in weakly curved channels. In the high gas-mobility limit, in contrast with flat planar channels, buoyancy influences the dynamics through different mechanisms in each geometry. For gas injected steadily into a Gaussian channel, buoyancy can continually affect the flow due to the attenuation of the gas velocity caused by axisymmetry. In parabolic channels, the increasing channel slope ensures that buoyancy eventually influences the flow, at a timescale depending on injection rate and fluid properties. Asymptotic analysis of the parabolic channel flow reveals five temporal regimes, each with multiple spatial regions and a distinct spreading rate, reflecting the evolving spatiotemporal competition between injection and buoyancy. Initially, a thin film of gas spreads along the upper boundary; the channel slope and elongation of the film then generate a hydrostatic pressure gradient, which strengthens until buoyancy arrests the upper contact line and thickens the film. Beneath the film, liquid then drains until the interface flattens under buoyancy. Analytical solutions of reduced-order models capture interface evolution and contact-line motion through each regime and are validated against full numerical simulations. These results have implications for subsurface hydrogen and CO$_2$ storage, where a horizontal interface that advances vertically enhances both safety and storage efficiency.