The Fluids and Thermal Engineering Research Group warmly invites you

to attend their Virtual Wednesday Seminar on 14th October at 3.00pm  

 

"Computational Microfluidics for the Geosciences using OpenFOAM and GeoChemFoam"

Abstract:

Computational microfluidics for the geosciences is the third leg of the scientific strategy that includes microfluidic experiments and high-resolution imaging for deciphering coupled processes in geological porous media. This modelling approach solves the fundamental equations of continuum mechanics in the exact geometry of porous materials. Computational microfluidics intends to complement and augment laboratory experiments. It is intimately linked to Digital Rock Physics but differs from it in its objectives and strategies. Although the field is still in its infancy, the recent progress in modelling multiphase flow and reactive transport at the pore-scale has shed new light on the coupled mechanisms occurring in geological porous media already. The open-source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM is a fabulous tool for doing simple CFD investigation in porous media images and is heavily used in the geoscience community. The open-source nature of the code allows for developing specific methods related to porous media. However, current CFD investigation in geosciences lacks continuity and transversality, and most codes are buried and forgotten as soon as the studies end. With GeoChemFoam, we aim to develop a community code that can be used across all porous media applications and can be extended to any new development originating from the porous media community. Currently, GeoChemFoam includes 11 additional solvers that can model a range of processes, from single-phase scalar transport to multiphase reactive transport to single-phase flow in multiscale porous media.

 Biography

I have 13 years’ experience developing numerical methods for industrial and academic CFD software for geoscience applications. I hold a MSc in mathematics from Ecole Polytechnique, France, and a PhD in Earth Science and Engineering from Imperial College London, U.K. I am currently a Research Fellow at the Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. 

This virtual seminar will take place through FLUTE Teams - Office 365.  If you did not recieve an invitation and would like to attend, please contact Sarah Taylor, Research Administrator.