The checkerboard model for the eddy-dispersion in laminar flows through porous media. Part I: Theory and velocity field properties.

The additivity assumption underlying Giddings' coupling model for the eddy-dispersion in laminar flows through heterogeneous media is critically analyzed and a potential solution for its non-additivity in the high velocity limit is presented. Whereas the unit cell in Giddings' model only consists of a single velocity bias step, the unit dispersion cell of the newly proposed model comprises two consecutive velocity bias steps. Consequently, the unit cell of this new model allows to account for the occurrence of an internal velocity bias rectification at high reduced velocities and is therefore additive in both the low and high velocity limit. First, a mathematical expression for the velocity- and diffusion-dependency of the model's dispersion characteristics has been established. Subsequently, the physical behavior of the model is discussed. It is shown the relation between the eddy-dispersion plate height h and the reduced velocity ν can be expected to display a local maximum in systems where the transversal dispersion purely occurs by molecular diffusion, as is the case in perfectly ordered flow-through media. In disordered media, where the transversal dispersion also contains a significant advective component, the model predicts a velocity-dependency that is qualitatively similar to that described by Giddings' coupling model but, all other conditions being equal, converges to a significantly smaller horizontal asymptote at high reduced velocity. The latter might shed new light on earlier eddy-dispersion studies pursuing a quantitative agreement between experimental data and the Giddings model.