An extended stability criterion for density-driven flows in homogeneous porous media ☆

Stability of density-driven flows is a challenging problem with current applications in major areas like energy exploration, water pollution, nuclear and oil industries. The mathematical model for such flows is a system of coupled non linear partial differential equations. To study the physical stability of the system, we consider steady-state flow and perturb the solution of the full system of equations (without Boussinesq approximation) and investigate how it evolves in time: if the solution does not grow indefinitely, the system is called stable. The perturbations are treated as being the result of sub-scale interactions between the velocity field and the solute mass. Making use of a two-scale expansion of the solution, we derived extended stability criteria that include the effects of density, viscosity and flow velocity in flow configurations aligned parallel as well as orthogonal to gravity forces. Numerical simulations with the numerical simulator d3fd3f are presented to test the theoretical stability criteria