Flow and transport in highly heterogeneous formations: High-resolution large-scale numerical simulations

High-resolution numerical simulations of flow and transport in porous media were performed to examine the performance of the first-order dispersion model and newly introduced "self-consistent" model (Dagan, 2003; Fiori, 2003). Simulations were performed using the Analytic Element Method that allows for large contrasts in hydraulic conductivity between neighbouring inclusions. Numerically obtained results agree well with those obtained using the self-consistent model. The agreement is favourable for both the velocity variances and the dispersion coefficients at all levels of heterogeneity. The agreement between numerically obtained results and the first-order results is limited to moderate levels of heterogeneity.