Prediction of pore-scale flow in heterogeneous porous media from periodic structures using deep learning

Abstract

Data-driven deep learning models are emerging as a promising method for characterizing pore-scale flow through complex porous media while requiring minimal computational power. However, previous models often require extensive computation to simulate flow through synthetic porous media for use as training data. We propose a convolutional neural network trained solely on periodic unit cells to predict pore-scale velocity fields of complex heterogeneous porous media from binary images without the need for further image processing. Our model is trained using a range of simple and complex unit cells that can be obtained analytically or numerically at a low computational cost. Our results show that the model accurately predicts the permeability and pore-scale flow characteristics of synthetic porous media and real reticulated foams. We significantly improve the convergence of numerical simulations by using the predictions from our model as initial guesses. Our approach addresses the limitations of previous models and improves computational efficiency, enabling the rigorous characterization of large batches of complex heterogeneous porous media for a variety of engineering applications.