HR: 17:00h
AN: H34A-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Lattice Boltzmann Simulations of Permeability in Statistically Reconstructed Three-Dimensional Pore Structures
AU: * Schaap, M G
EM: mschaap@ucr.edu
AF: University of California Riverside, GEBJ Salinity Laboratory (USDA/ARS) 450 W. Big Springs Road, Riverside, CA 92507
AU: Lebron, I
EM: inma\_lebron@yahoo.com
AF: Dept. of Plants Soils and Biometeorology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84341
AB: Water flow and related processes at the pore scale essentially occur in three dimensions. Unfortunately, it is often difficult and expensive to obtain reliable "images" of the 3D pore structure. Several techniques are available to statistically generate 3D pore structures from 2D microscope images of thin sections of rock and soil. In general, these techniques use two-point correlation functions and/or lineal path distribution functions to reconstruct a 3D pore space such that it has similar spatial properties as the 2D original. Such reconstructions show great promise because they allow detailed study of 3D pore-scale processes without the need of actually sampling the medium in 3D. However, since only 2D information is used, and isotropy is assumed, the question remains whether the reconstructed media are functionally identical to the 3D originals. In this study we try to answer this question by reconstructing pore structures of idealized media. Lattice-Bolzmann simulations are carried out to compare the permeabilities of the original and reconstructed media. Subsequently, we will reconstruct some 3D pore structures of thin soil sections (with known permeabilities) and use Lattice-Bolzmann simulations to obtain insight into the mobile/immobile water fractions as well as the tortuoisity of the flow paths.
DE: 5112 Microstructure
DE: 3210 Modeling
DE: 1894 Instruments and techniques
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting