Buoyancy Flow with Darcy's Law — The Elder Problem
Application ID: 657
Density variations can initiate flow even in a still fluid. In earth systems, density variations can arise from naturally occurring salts, subsurface temperature changes, or migrating pollution. This buoyant or density-driven flow factors into fluid movement in salt-lake systems, saline-disposal basins, dense contaminant and leachate plumes, and geothermal reservoirs, to name just a few.
This example benchmarks a time-dependent buoyant flow in porous media. Known as the Elder problem, it follows a laboratory experiment to study thermal convection. The Elder problem examines the concentrations through the coupling of two physics interfaces: Darcy’s Law and Solute Transport.
This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Specification Chart and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.