Multiscale Computations for Flow and Transport in Porous Media

Abstract

Many problems of fundamental and practical importance have multiple scale solutions. The direct numerical solution of multiple scale problems is difficult to obtain even with modern supercomputers. The major difficulty of direct solutions is the scale of computation. The ratio between the largest scale and the smallest scale could be as large as 10^5 in each space dimension. From an engineering perspective, it is often sufficient to predict the macroscopic properties of the multiple-scale systems, such as the effective conductivity, elastic moduli, permeability, and eddy diffusivity. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a method that captures the small scale features. This paper reviews some of the recent advances in developing systematic multiscale methods with particular emphasis on multiscale finite element methods with applications to flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media. This manuscript is not intended to be a general survey paper on this topic. The discussion is limited by the scope of the lectures and expertise of the author.