Three dimensional simulation of thermo-solutal convection in porous media

Abstract

Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Turkey, 19-21 July, 2010.A 3D simulation model has been developed to investigate the compositional variation inporous media as a result of thermo-solutal convection. The function of thermal diffusion, pressure diffusion, and convection in the compositional separation process is discussed, and a criterion to predict the dominant driving force between thermal diffusion and pressure diffusion can be estimated based on diffusion coefficients and both temperature and pressure gradients. The thermo-solutal convection has strong effect on compositional separation results and causes a vertical compositional distribution against the vertical thermal diffusion in the combined heating case, and this is verified in diffusion flux components analysis.