Glass bead micromodel study of solute transport

Abstract

This study presents the quantification of glass bead micromodel experiments through a combination of computational modeling and experimental analysis. The computational model simulates two-dimensional solute flow through porous media using a finite-difference Laplace Transform Galerkin (LTG) method. The glass bead micromodel simulates an ideal porous medium using a novel design by fusing one layer of glass beads between two glass plates. Various scale levels of solute flow through the micromodel were observed experimentally and recorded on video tape for use with image analyzers. Input parameters for the numerical model were estimated from hydraulic parameters determined for the micromodel three ways: using empirical relationships, constant head experiment, and previous citations in literature for micromodel studies. Both experimental and numerical results were used with image analyzers to obtain relative concentration contours for the bulk model and a target area equal to 36 representative elementary volumes. Relative concentration breakthrough curves were obtained from the target area and three separate pore-scale points. The results show favourable comparisons with experimental and numerical breakthrough data. The glass bead micromodel study was a conceivable procedure for quantifying micromodel experiments.