Abstract
AbstractThe gravity drainage of a heterogeneous porous medium was studied using a numerical solution of the flow equation. The medium was assumed to exhibit scale heterogeneity, the heterogeneity being specifically defined in terms of a linear variation of the saturated hydraulic conductivity with depth. Within the restrictions imposed by scale heterogeneity, the hydrologic characteristics were chosen so that their form validly represented real data. The spatial variation of the hydrologic characteristics was initially defined in terms of the air entry value of the medium at the point in question and an empirical relationship between the air entry value and the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Pressure head and water content profiles were obtained for three hydraulic conductivity distributions in which the conductivity decreased with depth. The pressure head profiles for these distributions revealed clearly the zones of positive pressures in the profiles and the slow decay of these pressures during drainage.
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