Combined numerical and experimental study of microstructure and permeability in porous granular media
<div> <div> <div> <p>Fluid flow on different scales is of interest for several Earth science disciplines like petrophysics, hydrogeology and volcanology. To parameterize fluid flow in large-scale numerical simulations (e.g. groundwater and volcanic systems), flow properties on the microscale need to be considered. For this purpose experimental and numerical investigations of flow through porous media over a wide range of porosities are necessary. In the present study we sinter glass bead media with various porosities, representing shallow depth crustal sediments. The microstructure, namely effective porosity …
A comparison of numerical surface topography calculations in geodynamic modelling: an evaluation of the ‘sticky air’ method
SUMMARY Calculating surface topography in geodynamic models is a common numerical problem. Besides other approaches, the so-called ‘sticky air’ approach has gained interest as a free-surface proxy at the top boundary. The often used free slip condition is thereby vertically extended by introducing a low density, low viscosityfluid layer. This allows the air/crust interface to behave in a similar manner to a true free surface. We present here a theoretical analysis that provides the physical conditions under which the sticky air approach is a valid approximation of a true free surface. Two cases are evaluated that characterize the evolution of topography on different timescales: (1) isostati…