PNNL

Abstract

A new stochastic Lagrangian model for fluid flow and transport in porous media is described. The fluid is represented by particles whose flow and dispersion in a continuous porous medium is governed by a Langevin equation. Changes in the properties of the fluid particles (e.g. the solute concentration) due to molecular diffusion is governed by the advection-diffusion equation. The separate treatment of advective and diffusive mixing in the stochastic model has an advantage over the classical advection-dispersion theory, which uses a single effective diffusion coefficient (the dispersion coefficient) to describe both types of mixing leading to over-prediction of mixing induced effective reaction rates. The stochastic model predicts much lower reaction product concentrations in mixing induced reactions. In addition the dispersion theory predicts more stable fronts (with a higher effective fractal dimension) than the stochastic model during the growth of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities.