Search results for "Granular material"

Preparation of synthetic sandstones with variable cementation for studying the physical properties of granular rocks

1997

In this article, we report a new set of procedures to fabricate synthetic analogues of granular rocks. These procedures permit accurate control of the most important structural parameters (i.e., grain size, porosity, cement content). We were thus able to prepare two varieties of synthetic sandstones in which only the cement content significantly varied. Our procedures were also particularly successful in producing materials that were very similar to natural rocks. To demonstrate this similarity, we compared the microstructure, the mechanical properties (i.e., strength, elastic moduli) and the mechanical behaviour (i.e., brittle or ductile) of the synthetic materials to those of various natu…

Lattice-Boltzmann and finite difference simulations for the permeability of three-dimensional porous media

2002

Numerical micropermeametry is performed on three dimensional porous samples having a linear size of approximately 3 mm and a resolution of 7.5 $\mu$m. One of the samples is a microtomographic image of Fontainebleau sandstone. Two of the samples are stochastic reconstructions with the same porosity, specific surface area, and two-point correlation function as the Fontainebleau sample. The fourth sample is a physical model which mimics the processes of sedimentation, compaction and diagenesis of Fontainebleau sandstone. The permeabilities of these samples are determined by numerically solving at low Reynolds numbers the appropriate Stokes equations in the pore spaces of the samples. The physi…

Trapping and mobilization of residual fluid during capillary desaturation in porous media

1998

We discuss the problem of trapping and mobilization of nonwetting fluids during immiscible two-phase displacement processes in porous media. Capillary desaturation curves give residual saturations as a function of capillary number. Interpreting capillary numbers as the ratio of viscous to capillary forces the breakpoint in experimental curves contradicts the theoretically predicted force balance. We show that replotting the data against a novel macroscopic capillary number resolves the problem for discontinuous mode displacement.

Constitutive modelling of cemented granular materials with transitions from cohesive to frictional behaviour

2008

Reconstruction of random media using Monte Carlo methods.

1998

A simulated annealing algorithm is applied to the reconstruction of two-dimensional porous media with prescribed correlation functions. The experimental correlation function of an isotropic sample of Fontainebleau sandstone and a synthetic correlation function with damped oscillations are used in the reconstructions. To reduce the numerical effort we follow a proposal suggesting the evaluation of the correlation functions only along certain directions. The results show that this simplification yields significantly different microstructures as compared to a full evaluation of the correlation function. In particular, we find that the simplified reconstruction method introduces an artificial a…

Stochastic multiscale model for carbonate rocks.

2007

A multiscale model for the diagenesis of carbonate rocks is proposed. It captures important pore scale characteristics of carbonate rocks: wide range of length scales in the pore diameters; large variability in the permeability; and strong dependence of the geometrical and transport parameters on the resolution. A pore scale microstructure of an oolithic dolostone with generic diagenetic features is successfully generated. The continuum representation of a reconstructed cubic sample of sidelength $2\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}$ contains roughly $42\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{6}$ crystallites and pore diameters varying over many decades. Petrophysical parameters are com…

An assessment of the state of grain mixture with the use of the method of statistical reduction

1995

Abstract A new way of assessment of the state of a granular mixture is presented in this paper. It is based on the method of statistical reduction and it enables a more precise assessment to be made of the state of a grain mixture as compared with other methods, especially when the mixture represents a large population. The new method is illustrated by a computational example.

Advances in Design, Simulation and Manufacturing IV

2021

This book reports on topics at the interface between mechanical and chemical engineering, emphasizing design, simulation, and manufacturing. Specifically, it covers recent developments in the mechanics of solids and structures, numerical simulation of coupled problems, including fatigue, fluid behavior, particle movement, pressure distribution. Further, it reports on developments in chemical process technology, heat and mass transfer, energy-efficient technologies, and industrial ecology. Based on the 4th International Conference on Design, Simulation, Manufacturing: The Innovation Exchange (DSMIE-2021), held on June 8-11, 2021, in Lviv, Ukraine, this second volume of a 2-volume set provide…

Simulation of liquid penetration in paper

2006

Capillary penetration of a wetting liquid in a microtomographic image of paper board, whose linear dimension was close to the average length of wood fibers, was simulated by the lattice-Boltzmann method. In spite of the size of the system not being large with respect to the size of structural inhomogeneities in the sample, for unidirectional penetration the simulated behavior was described well by that of the Lucas-Washburn equation, while for radial penetration a radial capillary equation described the behavior. In both cases the average penetration depth of the liquid front as a function of time followed a power law over many orders of magnitude. Capillary penetration of small droplets of…

Evolution of grain-size distribution of pumice sands in 1-D compression

2016

Abstract Crushing is one of the micromechanisms that govern the mechanical behaviour of sands at medium-high stresses. It depends on mineralogy, form and strength of single particle, mean stress level, coordination number, time, etc.. It causes changes of grain-size distribution, porosity, number and type of grain contacts, fabric, structure of the material, etc.. Results of an experimental research on the crushing of pumice sands compressed under 1-D conditions to vertical effective stresses σ′v up to 100MPa are reported here. They show marked crushing already at σ′v of about 200kPa. The evolution of the grain-size distribution can be represented by ΔDi= h/(K(1+C exp(–hlgσ′v))) in which ΔD…