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Evaluation of the applicability of the dual‐domain mass transfer model in porous media containing connected high‐conductivity channels
Author(s) -
Liu Gaisheng,
Zheng Chunmiao,
Gorelick Steven M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/2007wr005965
Subject(s) - porous medium , conductivity , mass transfer , diffusion , matrix (chemical analysis) , materials science , porosity , domain (mathematical analysis) , mechanics , flow (mathematics) , network model , range (aeronautics) , transfer matrix method (optics) , thermodynamics , physics , composite material , computer science , mathematics , mathematical analysis , optoelectronics , quantum mechanics , database
This paper evaluates the dual‐domain mass transfer (DDMT) model to represent transport processes when small‐scale high‐conductivity (K) preferential flow paths (PFPs) are present in a homogenous porous media matrix. The effects of PFPs upon solute transport were examined through detailed numerical experiments involving different realizations of PFP networks, PFP/matrix conductivity contrasts varying from 10:1 to 200:1, different magnitudes of effective conductivities, and a range of molecular diffusion coefficients. Results suggest that the DDMT model can reproduce both the near‐source peak and the downstream low‐concentration spreading observed in the embedded dendritic network when there are large conductivity contrasts between high‐K PFPs and the low‐K matrix. The accuracy of the DDMT model is also affected by the geometry of PFP networks and by the relative significance of the diffusion process in the network‐matrix system.