Reactive Flows in Porous Media: The Reaction-Infiltration Instability

Abstract

In this note we summarize some recent results of reactive flows in porous media for which the fluid/solid reaction can increase the porosity/permeability of the medium. The phenomenon is modelled by a coupled system of nonlinear ordinary and partial differential equations for which a global existence and uniqueness theorem is stated. As a physically relevant parameter tends to zero the problem converges to a moving free boundary problem. The shape stability of planar reaction interfaces is discussed in this context using local bifurcation analysis. Numerical results are presented to show the complexity of the possible evolving reaction interfaces.