4D microvelocimetry reveals multiphase flow field perturbations in porous media.

ABSTRACT: Many environmental and industrial processes depend on how fluids displace each other in porous materials. However, the flow dynamics that govern this process are still poorly understood, hampered by the lack of methods to measure flows in optically opaque, microscopic geometries. We introduce a 4D microvelocimetry method based on high-resolution X-ray computed tomography with fast imaging rates (up to 4 Hz). We use this to measure flow fields during unsteady-state drainage, injecting a viscous fluid into rock and filter samples. This provides experimental insight into the nonequilibrium energy dynamics of this process. We show that fluid displacements convert surface energy into kinetic energy. The latter corresponds to velocity perturbations in the pore-scale flow field behind the invadin

SUBMITTER: Bultreys T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10962996 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature