Single component, multiphase LBM (e.g., models that simulate water and
its vapor) offer a unique opportunity for computing invasion
percolation-like fluid advance in realistic porous media (derived from
imaging techniques) by simulating the physical behavior and
configuration of liquid/vapor and liquid/solid interfaces. Applied to
typical percolation domains, where the assignment of size/invasion
probability to each site in a regular network is random, the proposed
approach retains the simplicity and qualities of percolation models and
enhances the treatment of fluid physics, including vapor flow and the
potential for simulations at relatively high capillary numbers. The
complex geometry of connected paths in such percolation models arises
solely from the random spatial arrangement of simple elements on a
lattice. In reality, fluid interfaces and connectivity in porous media
are naturally controlled by the details of the pore geometry and its
interaction with the fluid and the ambient fluid potential. The
multiphase LBM approach admits realistic pore geometry derived from
imaging techniques and incorporation of realistic hydrodynamics into
invasion percolation models, and advances our understanding of
constitutive transport properties in multiphase systems.