porousRTFoam v1.0: An open-source numerical platform for simulating pore-scale reactive transport processes in porous media

Abstract

porousRTFoam v1.0 is a software developed to solve pore-scale hydro-bio-geochemical processes in porous media. It is developed based on OpenFOAM® by using the micro-continuum approach, which is adopted to solve a system of equations, including the Darcy-Brinkman-Stokes equation, the advection-diffusion equation with geochemical source terms, as well as biomass evolution with Monod kinetics for biofilm growth. Calcite dissolution and biofilm formation are used as benchmark cases to demonstrate the capabilities of porousRTFoam, with results compared against existing numerical packages and experimental data. The software is further demonstrated to be adaptable for building specific models, such as, mineral dissolution and precipitation in porous media and microbially induced calcite carbonate precipitation (MICP) in fractured media. The new software has the potential to promote fundamental understanding of various pore-scale reactive transport mechanisms, including but not limited to cell aggregation as well as cotransport of contaminants and bacteria in subsurface environments.