A new momentum equation for gas flow in porous media: the Klinkenberg effect seen through the kinetic theory (Q878354)

In the present paper, an original set of transport equations for gas in porous media is developed. As far as low pressure gases or very fine grained porous media are concerned, molecular effects are likely to promote a non-local dependency of the permeability of the gas pressure. These phenomena are usually modelled using the Klinkenberg correction [\textit{L. J.\ Klinkenberg}, The permeability of porous media to liquids and gas, American Petroleum Institute, 200--213 (1941)] to the Darcy's law. The retained methodology brings a new interpretation of this particular problem. The approach is based on a volume averaging scale-change methodology applied to the Boltzmann equation taking into account the presence of walls. It leads to a homogenized kinetic equation describing the problem at the macroscale. The kinetic equation contains a special term modelling the action of the porous matrix on the gas particles. A proper closure is then applied to the kinetic equation following the strategy proposed by Levermore to obtain a hydrodynamic description. There, the hydrodynamic force of the porous structure on the gas exhibits a strong non-linearity with respect to the gas velocity. Further, a linearization is proposed, recovering formally the classical Darcy's law. Thus it is also possible to derive an expression for the Klinkenberg correction to this law. The validity of the corresponding permeability tensor (formally recovered using the co-volume gas state equation) is finally discussed. Concerning the pressure dependence of the permeability tensor, there exists the possibility of an original interpretation of the nature of the Klinkenberg effect.