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Helical Flow and Transient Solute Dilution in Porous Media

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Abstract

Helical flow can occur in porous media if the hydraulic conductivity tensor is anisotropic. We study the structure of steady-state flow fields in three-dimensional anisotropic porous media formed by two homogeneous layers, one of which is anisotropic. We simulate transient transport of a conservative scalar in such flow fields by a hybrid streamline/smoothed particle hydrodynamics method and analyze dilution. We use stretching and folding metrics to characterize the flow field and the dilution index of a conservative scalar divided by the volume of the domain to quantify plume dilution. Based on the results of detailed numerical simulations, we conclude that nonlinear deformation triggers dilution and that plume dilution is controlled by two parameters: the contrast between the principal directions of the anisotropic layer, and the orientation of the hydraulic conductivity tensor with respect to the main flow direction. Furthermore, we show that in this kind of flow fields transverse dispersion is responsible for an increase in plume dilution, while the effect of longitudinal dispersion is negligible.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, CI\(-26/11-1\)) and Conicyt Chile through Fondecyt Project \(\# 11110228\). P. Herrera also acknowledges financial support provided by Fondap Project \(\# 15090013\).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Applied Geoscience, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstr. 12, 72074, Tübingen, Germany

    Gabriele Chiogna & Olaf A. Cirpka

  2. Faculty for Civil, Geo and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich, Darcistrasse 21, 80333, Munich, Germany

    Gabriele Chiogna

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Chile, Av. Blanco Encalada 2002, 8370449, Santiago, Chile

    Paulo A. Herrera

  4. Andean Geothermal Center of Excellence, University of Chile, Plaza Ercilla 803, 8370450, Santiago, Chile

    Paulo A. Herrera

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  1. Gabriele Chiogna
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  2. Olaf A. Cirpka
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Correspondence to Paulo A. Herrera.

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Chiogna, G., Cirpka, O.A. & Herrera, P.A. Helical Flow and Transient Solute Dilution in Porous Media. Transp Porous Med 111, 591–603 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-015-0613-7

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