Section: Application Domains

Multiphase porous media flows and multi-physics coupling

Our research focuses on the numerical modeling of multiphase porous media flows accounting for complex geology and for nonlinear and multi-physics couplings. It is applied to various problems in the field of energy such as the simulation of geothermal systems in collaboration with BRGM, of nuclear waste repositories in collaboration with Andra, and of oil and gas recovery in collaboration with Total. Our research directions include the development of advanced numerical schemes adapted to polyhedral meshes and highly heterogeneous media in order to represent more accurately complex geologies. A special focus is made on the modeling of multiphase flows in network of faults or fractures represented as interfaces of co-dimension one coupled to the surrounding matrix. We also investigate nonlinear solvers adapted to the nonlinear couplings between gravity, capillary and viscous forces in highly heterogeneous porous media. In the same line, we study new domain decomposition algorithms to couple non-isothermal compositional liquid gas flows in a porous medium with free gas flows occurring at the interface between the ventilation gallery and the nuclear waste repository or between a geothermal reservoir and the atmosphere. We have begun exploring the coupling between the multiphase flow in the porous matrix and the solid mechanics involved in opening fractures.