A micropolar mixture theory of multi-component porous media

A mixture theory is developed for multi-component micropolar porous media with a combination of the hybrid mixture theory and the micropolar continuum theory. The system is modeled as multi-component micropolar elastic solids saturated with multi- component micropolar viscous fluids. Balance equations are given through the mixture theory. Constitutive equations are developed based on the second law of thermodynamics and constitutive assumptions. Taking account of compressibility of solid phases, the volume fraction of fluid as an independent state variable is introduced in the free energy function, and the dynamic compatibility condition is obtained to restrict the change of pressure difference on the solid-fluid interface. The constructed constitutive equations are used to close the field equations. The linear field equations are obtained using a linearization procedure, and the micropolar thermo-hydro-mechanical component transport model is established. This model can be applied to practical problems, such as contaminant, drug, and pesticide transport. When the proposed model is supposed to be porous media, and both fluid and solid are single-component, it will almost agree with Eringen＇s model.

Multi-fracture interactions during two-phase flow of oil and water in deformable tight sandstone oil reservoirs

Tight oil reservoirs are complex geological materials composed of solid matrix,pore structure,and mixed multiple phases of fluids,particularly for oil reservoirs suffering from high content of in situ pressurized water found in China.In this regard,a coupled model considering two-phase flow of oil and water,as well as deformation and damage evolution of porous media,is proposed and validated using associated results,including the oil depletion process,analytical solution of stress shadow effect,and physical experiments on multi-fracture interactions and fracture propagation in unsaturated seepage fields.Then,the proposed model is used to study the behavior of multi-fracture interactions in an unsaturated reservoir in presence of water and oil.The results show that conspicuous interactions exist among multiple induced fractures.Interaction behavior varies from extracted geological profiles of the reservoir due to in situ stress anisotropy.The differential pressures of water and that of oil in different regions of reservoir affect interactions and trajectories of multi-fractures to a considerable degree.The absolute value of reservoir average pressure is a dominant factor affecting fracture interactions and in favor of enhancing fracture network complexity.In addition,difference of reservoir average pressures in different regions of reservoir would promote the fracturing effectiveness.Factors affecting fracture interactions and reservoir treatment effectiveness are quantitatively estimated through stimulated reservoir area.This study confirms the significance of incorporating the two-phase flow process in analyses of multifracture interactions and fracture trajectory predictions during tight sandstone oil reservoir developments.

AN ALGEBRAIC MULTIGRID METHOD FOR COUPLED THERMO-HYDRO-MECHANICAL PROBLEMS

An algebraic multigrid method is developed to solve fully coupled multiphase problem involving heat and mass transfer in deforming porous media. The mathematical model consists of balance equations of mass, linear momentum and energy and of the appropriate constitutive equations. The chosen macroscopic field variables are temperature, capillary pressure, gas pressure and displacement. The gas phase is considered to be an ideal gas composed of dry air and vapour, which are regarded as two miscible species. The model makes further use of a modified effective stress concept together with the capillary pressure relationship. Phase change is taken into account as well as heat transfer though conduction and convection and latent heat transfer (evaporation-condensation). Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the computing efficiency of this method.

Drying characteristics of biological porous media during convective drying

Experiments with potatoes were carried out in order to analyze the variation of the temperature and the mean dry basis moisture content over time,the effect of the drying conditions on the drying rate,and the relationship between deformation and dry basis moisture content.A two-way sequentially coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical math model was developed on the basis of Fickian diffusion theory,Fourier’s law of heat conduction and thermoelasticity mechanics in order to analyze the spatio-temporal distributions of moisture,temperature and drying stresses in the potatoes.The transient mathematical model,composed of a system of partial differential equations,was solved by finite difference methods.The numerical results obtained by using the mathematical model were in good agreement with the experimental data.The variations in temperature and moisture distributions,drying curves and stresses within potatoes over time were simulated,and the ways in which these are affected by the drying conditions were discussed.This work could help in developing an understanding of the relationship between mass and heat transfer,shrinkage,stress,and physical degradation of biological materials.