The Role of Local Instabilities in Fluid Invasion into Permeable Media.

ABSTRACT: Wettability is an important factor which controls the displacement of immiscible fluids in permeable media, with far reaching implications for storage of CO₂ in deep saline aquifers, fuel cells, oil recovery, and for the remediation of oil contaminated soils. Considering the paradigmatic case of random piles of spherical beads, fluid front morphologies emerging during slow immiscible displacement are investigated in real time by X-ray micro-tomography and quantitatively compared with model predictions. Controlled by the wettability of the bead matrix two distinct displacement patterns are found. A compact front morphology emerges if the invading fluid wets the beads while a fingered morphology is found for non-wetting invading fluids, causing the residual amount of defending flu

SUBMITTER: Singh K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5427855 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature