Forced imbibition in porous media: a fourfold scenario

Abstract

We establish a comprehensive description of the patterns formed when a wetting liquid displaces a viscous fluid confined in a porous medium. Building on model microfluidic experiments, we evidence four imbibition scenarios all yielding different large-scale morphologies. Combining high-resolution imaging and confocal microscopy, we show that they originate from two liquid-entrainment transitions and a Rayleigh-Plateau instability at the pore scale. Finally, we demonstrate and explain the long-time coarsening of the resulting patterns.

arXiv comment5 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Imbibition in Disordered Media
• Wettability stabilizes fluid invasion into porous media via nonlocal, cooperative pore filling
• Revisiting the Saffman-Taylor experiment: imbibition patterns and liquid-entrainment transitions
• Viscous fingering at ultralow interfacial tension
• Capillary instability on a hydrophilic stripe

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Signatures of fluid-fluid displacement in porous media: wettability, patterns, and pressures
• Fingering patterns in hierarchical porous media
• Tuning capillary flow in porous media with hierarchical structures
• Forced Imbibition in Stratified Porous Media
• Discrepancy in Oil Displacement Mechanisms at the Equivalent Interfacial Tensions: Differentiating Contributions from Surfactant and Nanoparticles on Interfacial Activities
• Bubble formation due to capillary instability during evaporation of a porous medium
• Flowing emulsions through disorder: Critical depinning and smectic rivers
• Forced Imbibition in Stratified Porous Media: Fluid Dynamics and Breakthrough Saturation