Non-Darcy flows in layered porous media (LPMs) with contrasting pore space structures

Abstract

Compared to single layer porous media, fluid flow through layered porous media (LPMs) with contrasting pore space structures is more complex. This study constructed three-dimensional (3-D) pore-scale LPMs with different grain size ratios of 1.20, 1.47, and 1.76. The flow behavior in the constructed LPMs and single layer porous media was numerically investigated. A total of 178 numerical experimental data were collected in LPMs and single layer porous media. In all cases, two different flow regimes (i.e., Darcy and Non-Darcy) were observed. The influence of the interface of layers on Non-Darcy flow behavior in LPMs was analyzed based pore-scale flow data. It was found that the available correlations based on single layer porous media fail to predict the flow behavior in LPMs, especially for LPM with large grain size ratio. The effective permeability, which incorporated the influence of the interface is more accurate than the Kozeny-Carman equation for estimating the Darcy permeability of LPMs. The inertial pressure loss in LPMs, which determines the onset of the Non-Darcy flow, was underestimated when using a power law expression of mean grain size. The constant B, an empirical value in the classical Ergun equation, typically equals 1.75. The inertial pressure loss in LPMs can be significantly different from it in single lager porous media. For Non-Darcy flow in LPMs, it is necessary to consider a modified larger constant B to improve the accuracy of the Ergun empirical equation.