Fluid flows at and below the earth's surface are the cause and cure for problems of water and soil pollution, while petroleum and natural gas production depends on flows in the subsurface. In these problems, the length scales of practical interest range from tens of meters to kilometers. However, the behavior at these scales depends critically on physics occurring at much smaller length scales. A wide disparity in time scales also exists in these problems. Moreover, different physical processes occur simultaneously in different parts of the domain. In this project, the investigators and their university, government and industrial collaborators develop much-needed scientific understanding of small-scale phenomena from theory and experiment, and also develop new computational tools and strategies for incorporating this understanding at the practical scale, for handling multiple types of physics across subdomains, for remote collaboration, and for visualizing and manipulating the results. The project focuses on better understanding of small-scale phenomena (e.g., multiphase interfacial area, hysteresis, dispersion, and discrete fractures in porous media), interdomain coupling by means of multiblock or multiphysics methodologies (e.g., coupling of surface water and groundwater environments), the development of accurate and efficient algorithms and prototype simulators, and methods for viewing results interactively and with collaborators off site. The algorithms and simulators developed include novel mortar type spaces for coupling domains, and sophisticated, adaptive, finite element, finite volume and time-stepping methods for modeling nonlinear advective, diffusive and reactive processes. The algorithms are implemented on parallel computing platforms. Interactive steering and visualization are coupled closely to the simulators. Important work related to this project are laboratory experiments and field data for critical evaluation of the simulators, demonstration of prototypical simulators on petroleum engineering production models and environmental subsurface and surface flow applications, and educational and professional outreach and training through workshops, video and web-based technologies.
This project concerns computer simulation and prediction of the movement and interaction of fluids in surface waters and subsurface groundwater and petroleum reservoirs. The focus is on fundamental multiscale and multiphysics applications (i.e., physical processes occurring together at different length and time scales and different physical processes occurring in different parts of the spatial domain). The motivation behind this work is the need to better understand and quantify the effect of small-scale processes on larger, field-scale processes, and to understand how different physical processes occurring in close proximity affect each other. The investigators study these problems through the development of appropriate mathematical models, numerical algorithms, computational science and visualization tools, and laboratory experiments. This work is carried out in collaboration with other university researchers and government and industrial partners. Educational outreach and training of future scientists and engineers is an important part of this effort. The applications of interest include petroleum and natural gas production, groundwater contamination and remediation, surface water circulation and pollution, and the interaction between surface and groundwater environments. These applications have significant environmental and economic impact.
