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A force‐balanced control volume finite element method for multi‐phase porous media flow modelling
Author(s) -
Gomes J. L. M. A.,
Pavlidis D.,
Salinas P.,
Xie Z.,
Percival J. R.,
Melnikova Y.,
Pain C. C.,
Jackson M. D.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in fluids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1097-0363
pISSN - 0271-2091
DOI - 10.1002/fld.4275
Subject(s) - control volume , finite element method , porous medium , mechanics , flow (mathematics) , two phase flow , finite volume method , mathematics , mathematical analysis , porosity , engineering , physics , structural engineering , geotechnical engineering
Summary A novel method for simulating multi‐phase flow in porous media is presented. The approach is based on a control volume finite element mixed formulation and new force‐balanced finite element pairs. The novelty of the method lies in (i) permitting both continuous and discontinuous description of pressure and saturation between elements; (ii) the use of arbitrarily high‐order polynomial representation for pressure and velocity and (iii) the use of high‐order flux‐limited methods in space and time to avoid introducing non‐physical oscillations while achieving high‐order accuracy where and when possible. The model is initially validated for two‐phase flow. Results are in good agreement with analytically obtained solutions and experimental results. The potential of this method is demonstrated by simulating flow in a realistic geometry composed of highly permeable meandering channels. © 2016 The Authors International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd