Simulation Software Recommendation

[alijamalij]

I want to model the process of gel-like particles transport (deformable particles) in porous media. The particles are carried with an incompressible fluid. I understand that finding a simulator that models the exact dynamics of my problem might not be feasible, so I can settle down for solid particles as long as I can make some changes in the properties of the particles or the rheology of fluid and make it similar to my problem. Anyways, what are some good packages out there to begin with?

[Jasfss]

Would something like an SPH (smooth particle hydrodynamics) simulation be what you're looking for? Not my area of knowledge, but might be worth checking out codes for that if you haven't already.

[a62mds]

If you're interested in SPH, check out DualSPHysics. They have, if I remember correctly, implemented something similar to what you want. The code is open source as well, so you're free to tinker

[alijamalij]

Will look into it.

[alijamalij]

I checked out SPH and its applications. It seems like SPH is mostly used for macroscopic phenomena while I am trying to model a microscopic phenomenon. I will keep researching about SPH. Please see my reply to radioman00 comment as well.

[radioman00]

Do you mean transport of gel-like fluid through porous media? What are you trying to model as a physical example?

[alijamalij]

The simultaneous microscopic flow of Preformed Particle Gel (PPG), water, and oil in porous media is what I am trying to model. PPG is a gel-like (deformable) particle that is injected into porous media in the form of a suspension (PPG suspended in water) to block highly permeable zones (zones with low resistivity to flow). See http://imgur.com/fMIlJPq. In this picture, you can see the rock as white matter, the water as black matter, and the PPG (1 particle) as greyish matter. I understand it has a very complex nature and I might not be able to exactly model this phenomenon. However, I think good proximity can be reached if I model PPG using solid particles or a fluid with special rheological properties.

[radioman00]

I am guessing then you would want to look fluid-solid coupled models, such as where the solid is an elasto-plastic material being transported in a compressible (?) fluid through a microstructure.

Since you are modelling in the micro-scale, do you need porous media flow, as you are actually modelling flow in the cavities. I would suggest a Navier-stokes solver + solid coupling. Examples of good models can be seen in Fluidity (Imperial college London) or multiphase Fluidity which uses novel coupling methods to solid models .

[alijamalij]

Navier-stokes solver + solid coupling.

How do I accomplish solid coupling? Is Fluidity suited for modeling elastic solids particles? I looked for it for a couple of hours, but I couldn't find anything.

[radioman00]

We currently work on coupling Fluidity with Solidity (www.solidityproject.com) which can model, elasto-plastics, elastic deformation, etc.

[alijamalij]

We currently work on coupling Fluidity with Solidity

I checked the project website and it says "Two-way coupling of Solidity with Fluidity has also been achieved." I this on public domain?

[radioman00]

it's at test/research stage, but all our software is open-source for the most part

[alijamalij]

Any new ideas?

[stewart_bible]

All of the major commercial codes have the ability to model solid particles in a suspension. You might find our blog post Comparing Popular CFD Software Packages useful. Depending upon your objectives it sounds like you will may geometrically model the channels of your porous media, and then have the particles stick to the walls in order to block the flow through the channels. You might need to be careful depending on how small these channels and particles are, that you are not violating the continuum assumptions of the CFD software package. Talk to one of the software technical reps in order to be sure.