CompFlow

Overview

Developed by Dr. Andre Unger and his team at the University of Waterloo, CompFlow is a state-of-the-art numerical modeling tool that solves 3D multiphase (water/gas/oil) or (water/DNAPL/dissolved contaminants) compositional flow and transport problems occurring in complex porous soil as well as discretely fractured rock. CompFlow employs parallel computing to simulate flow and transport processes on a standard PC or in the Cloud environment. This modeling tool has been used to evaluate the feasibility of implementing enhanced bioremediation technologies, individually or in various combinations, to address groundwater contamination arising from hydrocarbon source zones.

Comprehensive Simulation Capabilities:

• Fully/variably saturated flow and contaminant transport modeling
• Multiphase flow, multicomponent contaminant transport modeling with biodegradation
• Density-dependent groundwater flow and solute transport
• Groundwater flow and heat transport, which allows performance of subsurface thermal energy storage/recovery and geothermal simulations
• Fractured porous media simulation with discrete fractures and dual porosity conceptualization
• State-of-the-art bioreaction module allowing for simultaneous aerobic/anaerobic biodegradation
• 3D simulations that can evaluate the feasibility of implementing, individually or in various combinations, the following technologies:
  • Electrical resistance heating (ERH)
  • Soil vapor extraction (SVE)
  • Subsurface carbon sequestration and storage (SCS)
  • Continuous/pulsed air sparging (AS)
  • Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES)

CompFlow Application Examples:

Rationale for Selecting CompFlow

The following publications illustrate CompFlow-specific simulation capabilities:

• Advances in simulating multiphase flow in fractured porous media – A modeling study of DNAPL invasion and fate (Walton et al., 2019)
• Benchmarking NAPL Redirection and Matrix Entry at Fracture Intersections Below the Water Table (Walton et al., 2018)
• A multiphase flow and multispecies reactive transport model for DNAPL-involved compound specific isotope analysis (Hwang et al., 2013)
• Modeling of Near-Surface Leakage and Seepage of CO₂ for Risk Characterization (Oldenburg and Unger, 2003)
• Simulating the fate and transport of TCE from groundwater to indoor air (Yu et al., 2009)
• Gas exsolution and flow during supersaturated water injection in porous media: II. Column experiments and continuum modeling (Enouy et al., 2011)
• A Transport Rate Limited Model for Simulating Cell Growth and Biodegradation Rates in Porous Soil and Rock (Unger et al., 2019)

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