An energy stable linear numerical method for thermodynamically consistent modeling of two-phase incompressible flow in porous media

Jisheng Kou, Xiuhua Wang, ShiGui Du, Shuyu Sun

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we consider numerical approximation of a thermodynamically consistent model of two-phase flow in porous media, which obeys an intrinsic energy dissipation law. The model under consideration is newly-developed, so there is no energy stable numerical scheme proposed for it at present. This model consists of two nonlinear degenerate parabolic equations and a saturation constraint, but lacking an independent equation for the pressure, so for the purpose of designing efficient numerical scheme, we reformulate the model forms as well as the free energy function, and further prove the corresponding energy dissipation inequality. Based on the alternative reformulations, using the invariant energy quadratization approach and subtle semi-implicit treatments for the pressure and saturation, we for the first time propose a linear and energy stable numerical method for this model. The fully discrete scheme is devised combining the upwind approach for the phase mobilities and the cell-centered finite difference method. The unique solvability of numerical solutions and unconditional energy stability are rigorously proved for both the semi-discrete time scheme and the fully discrete scheme. Moreover, the scheme can guarantee the local mass conservation for both phases. We also show that the upwind mobility approach plays an essential role in preserving energy stability of the fully discrete scheme. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed scheme.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)110854
JournalJournal of Computational Physics
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 17 2021

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-11-24
Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): BAS/1/1351-01, URF/1/3769-01, URF/1/4074-01
Acknowledgements: This work is partially supported by the Scientific and Technical Research Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (No. D20192703), the Technology Creative Project of Excellent Middle & Young Team of Hubei Province (No. T201920), and the grants of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) (No. BAS/1/1351-01, URF/1/4074-01, and URF/1/3769-01).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)
  • Computer Science Applications

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