Abstract
Numerical approximation based on different forms of the governing partial differential equation can lead to significantly different results for two-phase flow in porous media. Selecting the proper primary variables is a critical step in efficiently modeling the highly nonlinear problem of multiphase subsurface flow. A comparison of various forms of numerical approximations for two-phase flow equations is performed in this work. Three forms of equations including the pressure-based, mixed pressure–saturation and modified pressure–saturation are examined. Each of these three highly nonlinear formulations is approximated using finite difference method and is linearized using both Picard and Newton–Raphson linearization approaches. Model simulations for several test cases demonstrate that pressure based form provides better results compared to the pressure–saturation approach in terms of CPU_time and the number of iterations. The modification of pressure–saturation approach improves accuracy of the results. Also it is shown that the Newton–Raphson linearization approach performed better in comparison to the Picard iteration linearization approach with the exception for in the pressure–saturation form.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abriola LM, Pinder GF (1985a) A multiphase approach to the modeling of porous media contamination by organic compounds 1. Equation development. Water Resour Res 21(1):11–18
Abriola LM, Pinder GF (1985b) A multiphase approach to the modeling of porous media contamination by organic compounds 2. Numerical Simulation. Water Resour Res 21(1):19–26
Abriola LM, Rathfelder K (1993) Mass balance errors in modeling two-phase immiscible flows: causes and remedies. Adv Water Resour 16:223–239
Abroila LM (1989) Modeling multiphase migration of organic chemicals in groundwater systems—a review and assessment. Environ Health Perspect 83:117–143
Ataie-Ashtiani B, Hassanizadeh SM, Oostrom M, Celia MA, White MD (2001) Effective parameters for two-phase flow in a porous medium with periodic heterogeneities. J Contam Hydrol 49(1–2):87–109
Ataie-Ashtiani B, Hassanizadeh SM, Celia MA (2002) Effects of heterogeneities on capillary pressure–saturation-relative permeability relationships. J Contam Hydrol 56(3–4):175–192
Ataie-Ashtiani B, Hassanizadeh SM, Oung O, Weststrate FA, Bezuijen A (2003) Numerical modelling of two-phase flow in a geocentrifuge. Environ Modell Softw 18:231–241
Bear J (1979) Hydraulics of groundwater. McGraw-Hill, New York, p 568
Binning P, Celia MA (1999) Practical implementation of the fractional flow approach to multi-phase flow simulation. Adv Water Reour 22(5):461–478
Brooks RH, Corey AT (1964) Hydraulic properties of porous media. Hydrology Paper 3, 27 Civil Engineering Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Buckley SE, Leverett MC (1942) Mechansim of fluid displacement in sands. Trans Am Min Metall Pet Eng 146:107–116
Celia MA, Binning P (1992) A mass conservative numerical solution for two-phase flow in porous media with application to unsaturated flow. Water Resour Res 28(10):2819–2828
Celia MA, Boulouton ET, Zarba RL (1990) A general mass-conservation numerical solution for the unsaturated flow equation. Water Resour Res 26(7):1483–1496
Chen J, Hopmans JW, Grismer ME (1999) Parameter estimation of two-fluid capillary pressure–saturation and permeability functions. Adv Water Resour 22(5):479–493
Faust CR (1985) Transport of immiscible fluids within and below the unsaturated zone: a numerical. Water Resour Res 21(4):587–596
Forsyth PA (1988) Comparison of the single-phase and two-phase numerical model formulation for saturated-unsaturated groundwater-flow. Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 69:243–259
Forsyth PA, Wu YS, Pruess K (1995) Robust numerical methods for saturated-unsaturated flow with dry initial conditions in heterogeneous media. Adv Water Resour 18:25–38
Forsyth PA, Unger AJA, Sudicky EA (1998) Nonlinear iteration methods for nonequilibrium multiphase subsurface flow. Adv Water Resour 21:433–499
Havercamp R et al (1977) A comparison of numerical simulation models for one-dimensional infiltration. Soil Sci Soc Am J 41:287–294
Huyakorn PS, Pinder GF (1983) Computational methods in subsurface flow. Academic Press, London
Huyakorn PS, Panady S, Wu YS (1994) A three-dimensional multiphase flow model for assessing NAPL contamination in porous and fractured media 1. Formulation. J Contam Hydrol 16:109–130
Kaluarachchi JJ, Parker JC (1989) An efficient finite element method for modeling multiphase flow. Water Resour Res 25(1):43–54
Kees CE, Miller CT (2002) Higher order time integration methods for two-phase flow. Adv Water Resour 25(2):159–177
Kueper BH, Frind EO (1991a) Two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media 1. Model development. Water Resource Research 6(27):1049–1057
Kueper BH, Frind EO (1991b) Two-phase flow in heterogeneous porous media, 2. Model application. Water Resour Res 6(27):1058–1070
McWhorter DB, Sunada DK (1990) Exact integral solutions for two-phase flow. Water Resour Res 26(3):399–414
Morgan K, Lewis RW, Roberts PM (1984) Solution of two-phase flow problems in porous media via an alternating-direction finite element method. Appl Math Model 8:391–396
Moridies GJ, Reddell DL (1991) Secondary water recovery by air injection. 1. The concept and the mathematical and numerical model. Water Resour Res 27:2337–2352
Mualem Y (1976) A new model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated porous media. Water Resour Res 25:2187–2193
Osborne M, Sykes J (1986) Numerical modeling of immiscible organic transport at the Hyde Park landfill. Water Resour Res 22(1):25–33
Pantazidou M, Abu-Hassanein ZS, Riemer MF (2000) Centrifuge study of DNAPL transport in granular media. J Geotech Geoenviron Eng ASCE 126(2):105–115
Parker JC (1989) Multiphase flow and transport in porous media. Rev Geophys 27(3):311–328
Parker JC, Lenahrd RJ, Kuppusamy T (1987) A parametric model for constitutive properties governing multiphase flow in porous media. Water Resour Res 23(4):618–624
Peaceman DW, Rachford HH (1955) The numerical solution of parabolic and elliptic differential equations. J Soc Ind Appl Math 3:28–41
Pinder GF, Abriola LM (1986) On the simulation of nonaqueous phase organic compounds in the subsurface. Water Resour Res 22(9):109S–119S
Pruess K (1987) TOUGH users guide. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, CR-4645
Shodja HM, Feldkamp JR (1993) Analysis of two-phase flow of compressible immiscible fluids through nondeformable porous media using moving finite elements. Transp Porous Med 10:203–219
Sleep BE, Sykes JF (1989) Modeling the transport of volatile organics in variably saturated media. Water Resour Res 25:81–92
Touma J, Vauclin M (1986) Experimental and numerical analysis of two-phase infiltration in a partially saturated soil. Transp Porous Med 1:27–55
Van Genuchten MTh (1980) A closd-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44(5):892–898
Vauclin M (1989) Flow of water and air in soils: theoretical and experimental aspects. In: Morel-Seytoux HJ (ed) Unsaturated flow in hydrologic modelling, theory and practice. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 53–91
Wu Y-S, Forsyth PA (2001) On the selection of primary variables in numerical formulation for modeling multiphase flow in porous media. J Contam Hydrol 48(3–4):277–304
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendices
Appendix A: Derivation of Coefficients of Two-fluid-phase Equations for Pressure–Saturation Formulations
1.1 PSP Elemental Matrices
Using iterative increment equations it is possible to put Eq. 15 in the form of Eq. 10 where:
The other coefficients of Eq. 10 are zero.
1.2 PSN Elemental Matrices
Applying the Newton–Raphson method to Eq. 15 yields
where the capillary capacity \( c_{w} = {\frac{{dP_{c}^{{}} }}{{dS_{{_{w} }}^{{}} }}} \) (Touma and Vauclin 1986) and \( {\frac{{d\lambda_{nw}^{{}} }}{{dS_{{_{w} }}^{{}} }}} \) is negative, and \( {\frac{{d\lambda_{w}^{{}} }}{{dS_{{_{w} }}^{{}} }}} \) is positive. The other coefficients of Eq. 10 are the same as those of equation PSP elemental matrix.
Appendix B: Derivation of Coefficients of Two-fluid-phase Equations for Pressure–Saturation-modified Formulations
2.1 PSMP Elemental Matrices
Using finite difference solution of the modified pressure–saturation equation with a Picard iteration scheme for the nonlinear coefficients for Eq. 20 yields
Where the \( cc_{w} = {\frac{{dS_{w} }}{{dP_{c} }}} \) is the inverse of capillary capacity c w . The other coefficients of Eq. 10 are the same as those of equation PSP elemental matrix.
2.2 PSMN Elemental Matrices
Applying the Newton–Raphson method to Eq. 20 yields
where \( {\frac{{dcc_{w} }}{{dS_{w} }}} = {\frac{{d^{2} P_{c} }}{{dS^{2}_{w} }}} \) (Eq. 24a,b). The other coefficients of Eq. 10 are the same as those of equation PSP elemental matrix.
Appendix C: Derivation of Coefficients of Two-fluid-phase Equations for Pressure–Pressure Formulations
3.1 PPP Elemental Matrices
Applying the Picard method to Eq. 25a,b yields
3.2 PPN Elemental Matrices
Applying the Newton–Raphson method to Eq. 25a,b yields
These coefficients above are applied for wetting and nonwetting phase (α = w, nw).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ataie-Ashtiani, B., Raeesi-Ardekani, D. Comparison of Numerical Formulations for Two-phase Flow in Porous Media. Geotech Geol Eng 28, 373–389 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-009-9298-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10706-009-9298-4