Abstract
We present a hybrid-dimensional numerical model for non-isothermal two-phase flow in fractured porous media, in which the fractures are modeled as entities of codimension one embedded in a bulk domain. Potential fields of applications of the model could be radioactive waste disposal or geothermal energy production scenarios in which a two-phase flow regime develops or where \(\hbox {CO}_2\) is used as working fluid. We test the method on synthetic test cases involving compressible fluids and strongly heterogeneous, full tensor permeability fields by comparison with a reference solution obtained from an equi-dimensional discretization of the domain. The results reveal that especially for the case of a highly conductive fracture, the results are in good agreement with the reference. While the model qualitatively captures the involved phenomena also for the case of a fracture acting as both hydraulic and capillary barrier, it introduces larger errors than in the highly-conductive fracture case, which can be attributed to the lower-dimensional treatment of the fracture. Finally, we apply the method to a three-dimensional showcase that resembles setups for the determination of upscaled parameters of fractured blocks.
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Acknowledgements
The research has received funding from the European Community Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 636811 in the scope of the FracRisk Project. Furthermore, the authors would like to thank the Cluster of Excellence in Simulation Technology (EXC 310/2) at the University of Stuttgart for the support.
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Gläser, D., Flemisch, B., Helmig, R. et al. A hybrid-dimensional discrete fracture model for non-isothermal two-phase flow in fractured porous media. Int J Geomath 10, 5 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13137-019-0116-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13137-019-0116-8