Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous Media

Abstract Estimating flow and transport properties of porous media that undergo deformation as a result of applying an external pressure or stress is important to a wide variety of processes, ranging from shale formations into which a fracking liquid is injected to CO2 sequestration in geological for...

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Main Authors: Samuel Richesson, Muhammad Sahimi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-07-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083727
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author Samuel Richesson
Muhammad Sahimi
author_facet Samuel Richesson
Muhammad Sahimi
author_sort Samuel Richesson
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Estimating flow and transport properties of porous media that undergo deformation as a result of applying an external pressure or stress is important to a wide variety of processes, ranging from shale formations into which a fracking liquid is injected to CO2 sequestration in geological formations. We propose a novel model for estimating the effective permeability of such porous media. Given the pore‐size distribution (PSD) of a porous medium before deformation, as well as the Young's modulus of its grains, the model uses Hertz‐Mindlin theory of contact between grains to compute the new PSD that results from applying an external pressure P to the medium and utilizes the updated PSD in the effective‐medium approximation to estimate the effective permeability at P. Comparison between the predictions and experimental data for several types of sandstones indicates excellent agreement between the two.
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spelling doaj-art-fd8a4e8b2ddf4930b941715a820e9f462025-08-20T02:09:04ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072019-07-0146148039804510.1029/2019GL083727Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous MediaSamuel Richesson0Muhammad Sahimi1Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Southern California Los Angeles CA USAMork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Southern California Los Angeles CA USAAbstract Estimating flow and transport properties of porous media that undergo deformation as a result of applying an external pressure or stress is important to a wide variety of processes, ranging from shale formations into which a fracking liquid is injected to CO2 sequestration in geological formations. We propose a novel model for estimating the effective permeability of such porous media. Given the pore‐size distribution (PSD) of a porous medium before deformation, as well as the Young's modulus of its grains, the model uses Hertz‐Mindlin theory of contact between grains to compute the new PSD that results from applying an external pressure P to the medium and utilizes the updated PSD in the effective‐medium approximation to estimate the effective permeability at P. Comparison between the predictions and experimental data for several types of sandstones indicates excellent agreement between the two.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083727deformationporous mediaeffective‐medium approximationpermeability
spellingShingle Samuel Richesson
Muhammad Sahimi
Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous Media
Geophysical Research Letters
deformation
porous media
effective‐medium approximation
permeability
title Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous Media
title_full Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous Media
title_fullStr Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous Media
title_full_unstemmed Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous Media
title_short Hertz‐Mindlin Theory of Contacting Grains and the Effective‐Medium Approximation for the Permeability of Deforming Porous Media
title_sort hertz mindlin theory of contacting grains and the effective medium approximation for the permeability of deforming porous media
topic deformation
porous media
effective‐medium approximation
permeability
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083727
work_keys_str_mv AT samuelrichesson hertzmindlintheoryofcontactinggrainsandtheeffectivemediumapproximationforthepermeabilityofdeformingporousmedia
AT muhammadsahimi hertzmindlintheoryofcontactinggrainsandtheeffectivemediumapproximationforthepermeabilityofdeformingporousmedia