HR: 1340h
AN: H33A-0457    [Abstracts]
TI: Pore-level Modeling of Drainage: Crossover from Capillary Fingering to Compact Invasion
AU: Ferer, M
EM: ferer@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory, 3610 Collins Ferry Rd., Morgantown, WV 26507-0880 United States
AU: Ferer, M
EM: ferer@netl.doe.gov
AF: West Virginia University, Physics Department Hodges Hall, Morgantown, WV 26506 United States
AU: * Bromhal, G S
EM: bromhal@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory, 3610 Collins Ferry Rd., Morgantown, WV 26507-0880 United States
AU: Smith, D H
EM: dsmith@netl.doe.gov
AF: National Energy Technology Laboratory, 3610 Collins Ferry Rd., Morgantown, WV 26507-0880 United States
AB: We have developed a two-dimensional, pore-level model of drainage that incorporates viscous, capillary, and gravitational effects and validated it quantitatively, in the very different limits of zero viscosity ratio and zero capillary number. For this work, two-phase displacement is simulated for a range of stable viscosity ratios (injected fluid more viscous than displaced fluid). The capillary number was varied from very low values (near the invasion percolation limit) to much larger values and the resulting infiltration was studied. The way in which the flows deviate from capillary fingering at small times and eventually become compact was modeled. Results exhibiting this crossover from capillary fingering to compact invasion are presented for the average position of the injected fluid, the fluid-fluid interface, the saturation and fractional flow profiles, and the relative permeabilities. A comparison of these results and earlier theoretical predictions will demonstrate the validity of these general theoretical arguments and are shown to be independent of the details of the porous media in both two and three dimensions.
DE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology
DE: 1848 Networks
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting