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Mixing at fracture intersections: Influence of channel geometry and the Reynolds and Peclet Numbers
Author(s) -
Stockman Harlan W.,
Johnson Joel,
Brown Stephen R.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2001gl013287
Subject(s) - reynolds number , péclet number , geometry , planar , lattice boltzmann methods , mixing (physics) , mechanics , mathematics , physics , materials science , turbulence , computer graphics (images) , quantum mechanics , computer science
The 3D lattice Boltzmann (LB) method was used to model mixing at three types of continuous fracture intersections: planar, fluted (containing parallel grooves), and rough‐walled. Peclet number ( Pe ) varied from 3 to 400, and Reynolds number ( Re ) varied from 0.5 to 100. In both planar‐ and rough‐walled intersections, the mixing ratio ( M r ) decreases with increasing Pe , though the decrease is less dramatic for the rough‐walled geometry. In planar‐walled intersections, the M r decreases with increasing Re ; however, the fluted and rough‐walled intersections show the opposite trend. Overall, the impact of inertial effects is slight for Re ≤ 10. The effects of channel length are also small; the calculated M r varies little for LB simulations with length/width ≥ 1.