How does Chaos drive Transport Dynamics in Porous Media ?

Project Information

CHORUS

Grant agreement ID: 101042466

DOI

10.3030/101042466

EC signature date 13 June 2022

Start date 1 February 2023

End date 31 January 2028

Funded under

• European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 498 929,00

EU contribution

€ 1 498 929,00

Coordinated by

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CHORUS (How does Chaos drive Transport Dynamics in Porous Media ?)

Reporting period: 2023-02-01 to 2025-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Fluid flow in porous media is a critical phenomenon that underlies a wide range of natural and engineered systems, including geological reservoirs, biological tissues, and industrial filtration processes. Recent advances have revealed that microscale chemical gradients are sustained by pore-scale chaotic flow dynamics, challenging the conventional understanding of porous transport processes. This discovery has significant implications for various fields, including oil and gas production, biological research, and industrial filtration.
The CHORUS project aims to explore the origin, diversity, and consequences of chaotic mixing in porous and fractured media. To achieve this, the project team will develop novel experimental, numerical, and theoretical approaches to study the complex dynamics of fluid flow in porous media. Specifically, the team will design a new generation of imaging techniques, combining laser-induced fluorescence, refractive index matching, and additive manufacturing, to create complex and realistic porous and fractured architectures.
These advanced imaging techniques will enable the team to study the behavior of fluids in porous media at the microscale, providing valuable insights into the mechanisms of chaotic mixing. The team will then use these findings to develop new modeling concepts for describing scalar mixing and dispersion in microscale and multiscale systems. These models will be essential for predicting and optimizing fluid flow in complex porous media, which is critical for various industrial and biological applications.
Ultimately, the CHORUS project aims to design "smart" porous flows with porous architectures that selectively optimize mixing, dispersive, or reactive properties. This will enable the creation of advanced materials and systems that can be tailored to specific applications, such as improved oil recovery, enhanced biological processes, or more efficient filtration systems.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The CHORUS project has made significant progress in recruiting a talented team of young scientists to work on the project's five workpackages. This diverse team has been actively collaborating with international partners in Australia and Barcelona to advance the project's objectives.
During the first two years, the experimental stages were designed and built to image complex porous structures and study the origin and impact of chaotic transport. Although these stages are currently non-operational, they will provide valuable data for future research.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models have been developed to simulate flow and transport in large porous domains. Some of these models have leveraged the power of graphics processing units (GPUs) to enhance their efficiency.
Important theoretical developments, such as the modelling of correlated aggregation, have been recently published.
Research is also progressing on the coupling of chaotic mixing with reactive transport and chemical processes, a key objective of the project. We have shown with experimental methods that pore-scale chaotic mixing impact large scale effective reaction kinetics, by altering chemical gradients.
This area of study has the potential to significantly advance our understanding of complex transport phenomena.
The collaboration between the CHORUS team and international partners has been instrumental in driving progress on the project. Regular meetings and discussions have ensured that all team members are on track to meet their objectives.
Looking ahead, the CHORUS project is poised to make significant contributions to the field of complex transport phenomena. With its talented team and cutting-edge research, the project is well-positioned to achieve its goals and advance our understanding of this important area of study.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

CHORUS will develop a new paradigm for transport dynamics in porous and fractured media, with far-reaching applications for the understanding, modelling and control of a range of natural and industrial processes, including contaminant transport and biogeochemical reactions in the subsurface, CO2 sequestration, membrane-less flow batteries, flow chemistry, chromatography or catalysis. For instance, we target the design of new porous material with optimum mixing and reactive properties, with application in industrial processes. The idea is to reduce the costs caused by head loss while maximizing the mixing and reactivity of such "smart" materials. Promising materials have been identified and are currently studied to evaluate the margin of improvement.

Push Pull experiment showing chaotic advection in porous media