Onset and nonlinear regimes of convection of ternary mixture in a rectangular porous cavity taking into account Soret effect

A numerical study has been conducted to investigate the onset and nonlinear regimes of Soret-induced convection of a mixture of dodecane, isobutylbenzene and tetralin at equal mass fraction proportions in a rectangular porous cavity with solid boundaries elongated in a horizontal direction and heated from below. The vertical boundaries of the cavity are insulated. The components of the mixture are representatives of the main groups of chemical compounds that make up the oil. The values of porosity and permeability of the medium were chosen close to the values of real media, such as sands, sandstones or limestone. The area of such configuration simulates a real hydrocarbon field. Due to the Soret effect, the light components of the mixture, dodecane and isobutylbenzene, which have positive separation ratios, accumulate in the hot region, and the heavy component of the mixture, tetralin, in the cold region. This leads to the onset of convection in the case of heating from below, which in natural conditions is ensured by the presence of a geothermal gradient...