Numerical simulation of haline–convective flows with viscosity contrast in a porous medium

Haline–convective flows in a porous medium are simulated using a two-dimensional computational code based on the finite difference method. The fluid dynamics model includes continuity equation, the Darcy equation, and the admixture transport equation. The model describes seepage flows of a two-component fluid consisting of an incompressible fluid and a dissolved admixture that propagates due to convection and diffusion. A numerical solution of the problem on the Rayleigh–Taylor instability in a system of mixing fluids with different viscosity is obtained. Systems with the ratio of the viscosity coefficients of layers from 1 to 30 are considered. The influence of viscosity on the structure and intensity of flow and on the mixing characteristics is investigated.