An invasion percolation (IP) model was used to illustrate the effects of gravity on DNAPL migration into a horizontal water saturated fracture. While gravity is typically neglected in the conventional approach, this work demonstrated that gravity should often be included when modelling DNAPL invasion in water saturated fractures and provides an equation estimating the difference in invasion pattern between simulations including or neglecting gravity. The IP model was further utilized to examine the invasion of DNAPL saturated fractures by water. These simulated experiments focus on cases where covariance (COV), the ratio of the mean of the aperture field to the standard deviation of the aperture field) as well as when the fracture is inclined or declined from horizontal. Results show that when COV is greater than 0.1, then DNAPL will always remain in the fracture after waterflooding. Furthermore, fracture angles below -15 degrees permit the complete removal of DNAPL, while fractures oriented at higher angles do not. In order to study the transport of particles in water saturated fractures, physical experiments measuring the transport of 0.046 um and 0.55 um microspheres were undertaken on fractures where the geometry could be imported into a computer for comparative simulation analysis. Results demonstrated that during advection, particles generally travel at less than the velocity of the surrounding fluid. As well, hydrodynamic effects such as shear were shown to influence the effluent concentrations by increasing dispersion. Finally, the physical geometry of the fracture was shown to influence the particle pathway during transport and can limit the chances of particles adhering to a fracture wall, thus reducing dispersion and increasing peak concentration. The combined results of these studies show that fracture geometry has a significant effect on the mechanisms of transport in saturated fractures. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis describes the transport of contaminants in rock fractures in the environment. Specifically, the transport of denser than water liquids that are immiscible in water and particles are modelled and analysed. This work used experiments in order to calibrate these models for analysis. It was found that the local geometry of the fracture walls heavily influences the invasion pattern of immiscible dense fluids as well as the retention of the fluids after waterflooding (a first step in remediation). Particle transport was found to be heavily affected by the local geometry in the fracture, specifically lowering the likelihood of attachment to fracture walls limiting the filtration effects, and thus allowing greater contaminants to exit the fracture. Ultimately, these results lead to a greater understanding of the mechanisms of transport in fractured media.

La modélisation de la migration des hydrocarbures dans les bassins sédimentaires a pour but d'évaluer leur potentiel pétrolier, en localisant et en quantifiant les accumulations d'hydrocarbures au sein des formations géologiques. Dans cette thèse, nous étudions les modèles de migration de type "Darcy" ainsi que des modèles simplifiés de types "ray-tracing" et "invasion percolation"; l'objectif est de mener une analyse critique et de proposer des améliorations tout en fournissant un guide pour une utilisation pertinente sur des cas d'étude.Tout d'abord, nous faisons une revue des mécanismes de la migration depuis l'échelle des pores jusqu'à l'échelle des bassins, puis nous présentons chacun des modèles.Dans le volet suivant, nous proposons deux algorithmes d'invasion percolation : le premier, adapté aux maillages structurés; le second, permettant de mieux prendre en compte les maillages non structurés. Dans un troisième volet, nous nous intéressons à la comparaison entre ces modèles, en nous concentrant sur ceux de types "Darcy" et "invasion percolation". Nous nous focalisons en premier lieu sur les aspects numériques en nous appuyant sur plusieurs cas tests; puis nous effectuons une comparaison formelle en étudiant la limite asymptotique de la solution du modèle de type "Darcy" en temps long. Nous présentons ensuite une série d'applications dont notamment l'étude d'un cas réel 3D en géométrie complexe.Finalement, nous concluons ce travail avec deux articles. Le premier montre une évolution des modèles de type "Darcy" en utilisant la méthode du raffinement local de maillage, avec une illustration sur un cas d'étude du nord du Koweït. Le deuxième synthétise les principaux résultats obtenus concernant les méthodes de "Darcy" et "d'invasion percolation". / Hydrocarbon migration modeling in sedimentary basins aims to localize and to quantify hydrocarbon accumulations in geological formations in order to estimate their petroleum potential. In this thesis, we study “Darcy” migration models and also simplified migration models such as “ray-tracing” and “invasion percolation”; the purpose is to conduct a critical analysis and to offer improvements while providing a guide for a relevant use on case studies.We start by a review of migration mechanisms from the pore scale to the basin scale, then we present each model.In a following part, we propose two invasion percolation algorithms: the first one is suited to structured grids, the second one allows to take better account of unstructured grids.In a third part, we take an interest in the comparison between the different models and particularly between “Darcy” and “invasion percolation” approaches. First we devote our attention to numerical aspects supported by several use cases; then we realize a formal comparison by studying the asymptotic limit of the “Darcy” model large time solution. Afterwards, we present several applications including the study of a 3D real case in complex geometry.Finally, we conclude this work with two articles. The first one shows an evolution of “Darcy” models by using the method of local grid refinement with an illustration on a case study from northern Kuwait. The second one synthesizes the main results on “Darcy” and “invasion percolation” methods.

Biofuel additives have been designed to reduce vehicular emissions to the atmosphere to limit the effects of greenhouse gases on global climate change. The chemical properties of common biofuel additives exhibit ideal characteristics for use in gasoline and diesel, while limiting emissions from exhaust. As biofuel additives begin to be administered regularly to gasoline and fuel sources, the compounds will appear in spill sites, posing a risk to groundwater sources. The interactions that occur between common biofuel additives and trapped gases below the water table were analyzed in this work to further understand the potential consequences on quasi-saturated groundwater zones. The behaviour of trapped gases contaminated with different biofuel additives were analyzed in laboratory experiments conducted in a two-dimensional flow cell to demonstrate the mechanisms of gas flow through a capillary barrier resulting from modified interfacial properties in the presence of a chemical surfactant. Contamination of gas-fluid interfaces by applied biofuel additives at the pore scale resulted in the breakthrough of gas through the capillary barrier. Gas migration terminated at a critical pool height proportional to the reduction in interfacial tension induced by the administered biofuel additives. To further demonstrate the relationship between interfacial tension and critical gas pool height, an interfacial tension-macroscopic invasion percolation model was developed to simulate the transport mechanisms and behaviours of gas flow when an immobile pool is contaminated with 1-Butanol. The findings in this study provide a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms and behaviours of gas mobilization in the presence of common biofuel additives. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / The use of biofuel additives in gasoline and diesel fuels has become an attractive alternative to fully petroleum-based fuels to reduce the release of vehicular greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. As fuel spills and storage tank leaks continue to be a primary source of groundwater contamination, the appearance of biofuel additives in contaminated systems will appear below the subsurface as they continue to be administered to modern gasoline and diesel fuels. This work investigated the consequences of biofuel contamination of groundwater systems containing gas trapped within pore spaces through the use of laboratory experiments and numerical modelling. Contamination of these systems with different biofuel additives displayed a similar response, in which gas had mobilized from within pore spaces and released to the atmosphere. Mobilization of trapped gas in groundwater can alter the primary hydraulic properties that characterize a particular hydrogeologic system.

Multiphase flow and transport in fractured rock is of importance to many practical and engineering applications. In the field of groundwater hydrology an issue of significant environmental concern is the release of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) which can cause long-term groundwater contamination in fractured aquifers. This study deals with two fundamental processes – fluid displacement and interphase mass transfer – concerning the behavior of the multiphase contaminants in fractured media. The focus of this work has been placed on improving the current understanding of small-scale (single fracture) physics by a combined effort of numerical modeling analysis, laboratory experiments and model development. This thesis contributes to the improved understanding through several aspects. Firstly, the effect of aperture variability, as characterized by geostatistical parameters such as standard deviation and correlation length, on the DNAPL entrapment, dissolution and source-depletion behaviors in single fractures was revealed. Secondly, a novel, generalized approach (adaptive circle fitting approach) to account for the effect of in-plane curvature of fluid-fluid interfaces on immiscible fluid displacement was developed; the new approach has demonstrated good performance when applied to simulate previously published experimental data. Thirdly, the performance of a continuum-based two-phase flow model and an invasion percolation model was compared for modeling fluid displacement in a variable-aperture fracture and the dependence of fracture-scale capillary pressure – saturation relationships on aperture variability was studied. Lastly, through experimental studies and mechanistic numerical modeling of DNAPL dissolution, kinetic mass transfer characteristics of two different entrapment configurations (residual blobs and dead-end pools) were investigated. The obtained understanding from this thesis will be useful for predictive modeling of multiphase contaminant behavior at a larger (fracture network) scale. / Flerfasflöde och ämnestransport i sprickigt berg är av betydelse för många praktiska och tekniska problem. Tunga, svårlösliga organiska vätskor (engelska: dense non-aqueous phase liquids: DNAPLs; t.ex. klorerade lösningsmedel) kan orsaka långvarig förorening av vattenresurser, inklusive akviferer i sprickigt berg, och utgör ett viktigt miljöproblem inom grundvattenhydrologin. Denna studie behandlar två fundamentala processer för spridning av flerfasföroreningar i sprickiga medier – utbredning av den organiska vätskan och massöverföring mellan organisk vätska och vatten. Arbetet har fokuserat på att förbättra nuvarande kunskap om de fysikaliska processerna på liten skala (enskilda sprickor) genom en kombination av numerisk modellering, laboratorieexperiment och modellutveckling. Avhandlingen har bidragit till utökad processförståelse i flera avseenden. För det första har arbetet belyst effekterna av sprickaperturens variabilitet, uttryckt med geostatistiska parametrar som standardavvikelse och rumslig korrelationslängd, på fastläggning och lösning av organiska vätskor i enskilda sprickor, samt utmattningsbeteendet hos dessa källor till grundvattenförorening. För det andra har en ny, generell metod (adaptiva cirkelpassningsmetoden) för att ta hänsyn till effekten av krökningen av gränsytan mellan organisk vätska och vatten i sprickplanet utvecklats; denna metod har visats fungera väl i simuleringar av tidigare publicerade experimentella data. För det tredje, har en jämförelse gjorts mellan en kontinuumbaserad tvåfasflödesmodell och en invasions-perkolationsmodell med avseende på hur väl de kan simulera tvåfasflöde i en spricka med varierande apertur. Här studerades även hur relationen mellan kapillärtryck och mättnadsgrad på sprickplansskala beror av variabiliteten i sprickapertur. Till sist undersöktes lösning av den organiska vätskan i grundvatten för två fastläggningsscenarier (fastläggning i immobila droppar och ansamling i fällor – ”återvändssprickor”) både genom experiment och mekanistisk numerisk modellering. Kunskapen som tagits fram i denna avhandling bedöms vara användbar även för att modellera spridningen av flerfasföroreningar på större (spricknätverks-) skalor.