Tracking Colloid Transport in Porous Media Using Discrete Flow Fields and Sensitivity of Simulated Colloid Deposition to Space Discretization

Abstract

Advances in pore structure characterization and lattice-Boltzmann (LB) simulations of flow fields in pore spaces are making mechanistic simulations of colloid transport in real porous media a realistic goal. The primary challenge to reach this goal may be the computational demand of LB flow simulations in discretized porous medium domains at an assemblage scale. In this work, flow fields in simple cubic and dense packing systems were simulated at different discretization resolutions using the LB method. The simulated flow fields were incorporated into to a three-dimensional particle tracking model to simulate colloid transport in the two systems. The simulated colloid deposition tended to become asymptotic at a critical discretization resolution (voxel-grain size ratio = 0.01) at groundwater flow regimes for colloids down to submicrometer level under favorable conditions and down to around 1 microm under unfavorable conditions. The average simulated fluid velocities near grain surfaces were extracted to explain the sensitivities of simulated depositions to space discretization under both conditions. At the critical discretization resolution, current computation capacity would allow flow simulations and particle tracking in assemblage porous medium domains. In addition, particle tracking simulations revealed that colloids may be retained in flow vortices under conditions both favorable and unfavorable for deposition. Colloid retention in flow vortices has been proposed only very recently. Here we provide a mechanistic confirmation to this novel retention process.