Peter Kang: Inertia effects on mixing and reaction in porous and fractured media (Summary)

Mixing and reaction in porous and fractured media control a variety of natural and engineering processes, including carbon mineralization, cave formation, geothermal energy, contaminant transport, and microfluidics. Subsurface systems commonly contain fractures and conduits that are highways for fluid flow. Typical flow velocities in these systems are sufficiently fast to create inertial flows, which manifest complex flow topologies. However, due to the common perception that porous media and microchannel flows are slow, the effects of fluid inertia are often overlooked in studies of mixing and reaction. In this lecture, I will discuss fundamental concepts for characterizing inertia effects on mixing and reaction, and then focus on unraveling how hydrodynamic conditions control mixing and reaction, including mineral dissolution and precipitation. My lecture will demonstrate how fluid inertia fundamentally changes mixing-induced reactions at the pore scale and how such effects manifest at larger scales. Finally, I will show how improved understanding can lead to engineered solutions for critical problems such as carbon mineralization and fracture sealing. Full talk available at    • Peter Kang: Inertia effects on mixing and ...