How does Chaos drive Transport Dynamics in Porous Media ?

Introduction

Fluid flow in porous media plays a central role in a large spectrum of geological, biological, and industrial systems. Recent advances have shown that microscale chemical gradients are sustained by pore-scale chaotic flow dynamics. This fundamentally challenges the current macrodispersion paradigm that assumes that porous transport processes occur under well-mixed microscale conditions.

Research Objectives

Using novel experimental, numerical, and theoretical approaches, CHORUS will explore the origin, diversity, and consequences of chaotic mixing in porous and fractured media.

Methodology

For this, the team will develop a new generation of imaging techniques, including:

• Laser induced fluorescence
• Refractive index matching
• Additive manufacturing of complex and realistic porous and fractured architectures (WP1 and WP2)

The CHORUS team will use these insights to develop new modeling concepts for describing scalar mixing and dispersion in:

1. Microscale systems (WP3)
2. Multiscale systems (WP4)

Innovative Applications

Building on these experimental, numerical, and theoretical breakthroughs, CHORUS will design “smart” porous flows with porous architectures that selectively optimize mixing, dispersive, or reactive properties (WP5).

Impact

CHORUS will thus develop a new paradigm for transport dynamics in porous and fractured media, with far-reaching applications for the understanding, modeling, and control of a range of natural and industrial processes, including:

• Contaminant transport and biogeochemical reactions in the subsurface
• CO2 sequestration
• Membrane-less flow batteries
• Flow chemistry
• Chromatography
• Catalysis