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Multiscale method for characterization of porous microstructures and their impact on macroscopic effective permeability
Author(s) -
Sun W. C.,
Andrade J. E.,
Rudnicki J. W.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal for numerical methods in engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.421
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1097-0207
pISSN - 0029-5981
DOI - 10.1002/nme.3220
Subject(s) - tortuosity , porosity , lattice boltzmann methods , porous medium , permeability (electromagnetism) , materials science , finite element method , microstructure , characterization (materials science) , tomography , representative elementary volume , computer science , biological system , mechanics , physics , composite material , nanotechnology , optics , thermodynamics , membrane , biology , genetics
Abstract Recent technology advancements on X‐ray computed tomography (X‐ray CT) offer a nondestructive approach to extract complex three‐dimensional geometries with details as small as a few microns in size. This new technology opens the door to study the interplay between microscopic properties (e.g. porosity) and macroscopic fluid transport properties (e.g. permeability). To take full advantage of X‐ray CT, we introduce a multiscale framework that relates macroscopic fluid transport behavior not only to porosity but also to other important microstructural attributes, such as occluded/connected porosity and geometrical tortuosity, which are extracted using new computational techniques from digital images of porous materials. In particular, we introduce level set methods, and concepts from graph theory, to determine the geometrical tortuosity and connected porosity, while using a lattice Boltzmann/finite element scheme to obtain homogenized effective permeability at specimen‐scale. We showcase the applicability and efficiency of this multiscale framework by two examples, one using a synthetic array and another using a sample of natural sandstone with complex pore structure. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.