Hydrodynamic simulation of oil-water dam-break flows through porous media

Abstract

In the present work, the problems of oil-water dam-break flow interaction with porous structures are numerically investigated using the coupled Volume-Of-Fluid model (VOF) and non-linear Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model. The accuracy of the developed model is verified through rigorous validation against various demanding benchmark scenarios. These included mixed convection heat transfer in a square porous cavity, the ascent of a single bubble in both fully and partially filled containers, and the interaction of waves with porous structures. Comparative evaluation against existing literature confirmed the reliability and effectiveness of the numerical approach in accurately simulating intricate fluid dynamics within porous media.Subsequently, the validated numerical model is utilized to examine the hydrodynamic behaviour of oil-water dam-break flows through porous media. In the first scenario, a rectangular oil column is positioned atop a rectangular water column. In the second scenario, the two columns are arranged sequentially beside each other. The effects of these arrangements on the resultant pressure shock and hydrodynamic behavior have been investigated. The findings results vividly reveal that the morphology and hydrodynamic characteristics of the dam-break flow are significantly influenced by the presence of the porous matrix. Furthermore, the results showed that the resultant shock pressure is considerably affected by the initial positions of oil and water. The obtained results are depicted in forms of contours of pressure and volume fraction fields and are discussed in details.