Viscoelastic flow simulations in random porous media

- We present simulations of three-dimensional viscoelastic flow through model porous media.
- A novel immersed boundary method is used to enable accurate computations.
- Most energy is dissipated by shear flow, not extensional flow, even at high viscoelasticity.

We investigate creeping flow of a viscoelastic fluid through a three dimensional random porous medium using computational fluid dynamics. The simulations are performed using a finite volume methodology with a staggered grid. The no slip boundary condition on the fluid-solid interface is implemented using a second order finite volume immersed boundary (FVM-IBM) methodology [1]. The viscoelastic fluid is modeled using a FENE-P type model. The simulations reveal a transition from a laminar regime to a nonstationary regime with increasing viscoelasticity. We find an increased flow resistance with increase in Deborah number even though shear rheology is shear thinning nature of the fluid. By choosing a length scale based on the permeability of the porous media, a Deborah number can be defined, such that a universal curve for the flow transition is obtained. A study of the flow topology shows how in such disordered porous media shear, extensional and rotational contributions to the flow evolve with increased viscoelasticity. We correlate the flow topology with the dissipation function distribution across the porous domain, and find that most of the mechanical energy is dissipated in shear dominated regimes instead, even at high viscoelasticity.

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