How Wetting and Drainage Cycles and Wetting Angle Affect Capillary Air Trapping and Hydraulic Conductivity: A Pore Network Modeling of Experiments on Sand

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68407700%3A21720%2F24%3A00378006" target="_blank" >RIV/68407700:21720/24:00378006 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/68407700:21110/24:00378006

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/w16213103" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.3390/w16213103</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w16213103" target="_blank" >10.3390/w16213103</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

How Wetting and Drainage Cycles and Wetting Angle Affect Capillary Air Trapping and Hydraulic Conductivity: A Pore Network Modeling of Experiments on Sand

Original language description

Entrapped air in porous media can significantly affect water flow but simulations of air entrapment are still challenging. We developed a pore-network model using quasi-static algorithms to simulate air entrapment during spontaneous wetting and subsequent drainage processes. The model, implemented in OpenPNM, was tailored to replicate an experiment conducted on a medium-sized unconsolidated sand sample. We started building the model with three types of relatively small networks formed by 54,000 pore bodies which we used to calibrate basic network topological parameters by fitting the model to the water retention curve and the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the sand sample. Using these parameters, along with X-ray image data (µCT), a larger network formed by over 250,000 pore bodies was introduced in the form of stacked sub-networks where topological parameters were scaled along the z-axis. We investigated the impact of two different contact angles on air entrapment. For a contact angle of 0, the model showed good agreement with the experimental data, accurately predicting the amount of entrapped air and the saturated hydraulic conductivity. On the contrary, for a contact angle of π/4, the model provided reasonable accuracy for saturated hydraulic conductivity but overestimated the amount of entrapped air. Overall, this approach demonstrated that a reasonable match between simulated and experimental data can be achieved with minimal computational costs.

Czech name

—

Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10501 - Hydrology

Project

Result was created during the realization of more than one project. More information in the Projects tab.

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Water

ISSN

2073-4441

e-ISSN

2073-4441

Volume of the periodical

16

Issue of the periodical within the volume

21

Country of publishing house

CH - SWITZERLAND

Number of pages

21

Pages from-to

3103-3123

UT code for WoS article

001352135700001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85208581727