Abstract
The pick-up, migration, deposition, and clogging behaviors of fine particles are ubiquitous in many engineering applications, including contaminant remediation. Deposition and clogging are detrimental to the efficiency of environmental remediation, and their mechanisms are yet to be elucidated. Two-dimensional microfluidic models were developed to simulate the pore structure of porous media with unified particle sizes in this study. Kaolin and bentonite suspensions were introduced to microfluidic chips to observe their particle deposition and clogging behaviors. Interactions between interparticle forces and particle velocity profiles were investigated via computational fluid dynamics and discrete element method simulations. The results showed that (1) only the velocity vector toward the micropillars and drag forces in the reverse direction were prone to deposition; (2) due to the negligible weight of particles, the Stokes number implied that inertia was not the controlling factor causing deposition; and (3) the salinity of the carrying fluid increased the bentonite deposition because of the shrinkage of the diffused electrical double layer and an increase in aggregation force, whereas it had little effect on kaolin deposition.
Highlights
Academic Editor: Dimitrios PapoulisThe pick-up, migration, deposition, and clogging of fine particles in porous media are frequently encountered phenomena in different engineering fields [1]
These applications include the injection of zero valence iron (ZVI) particles for environmental remediation [1,2,3,4], grouting [5], the piping failure of earthen dams [6], clogging and particle loss at the interface of the capillary break layer and moistureretaining layer in a cover system for blocking the ingress of oxygen and meteoric water into waste landfill [7], the clogging of sandstone in methane hydrate exploration [8], the movement of clay particles in rock and soil reducing the efficiency of oil recovery [9,10,11,12,13], the propping of fractures in hydraulic fracking [14,15], and the geological sequestration of CO2 [16,17]
Threeofmain forces Salinity control the stability of a clay suspension, namely van der Waals attraction, repulsion, andasthe force caused by the flow
Summary
The pick-up, migration, deposition, and clogging of fine particles in porous media are frequently encountered phenomena in different engineering fields [1] These applications include the injection of zero valence iron (ZVI) particles for environmental remediation [1,2,3,4], grouting [5], the piping failure of earthen dams [6], clogging and particle loss at the interface of the capillary break layer (coarse-grained layer) and moistureretaining layer (fine-grained particles) in a cover system for blocking the ingress of oxygen and meteoric water into waste landfill [7], the clogging of sandstone in methane hydrate exploration [8], the movement of clay particles in rock and soil reducing the efficiency of oil recovery [9,10,11,12,13], the propping of fractures in hydraulic fracking [14,15], and the geological sequestration of CO2 [16,17]. The ratio of pore throat width to Received: 14 October 2021
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