Effect of grain shape on quasi‐static fluid‐fluid displacement in porous media

Zhongzheng Wang (1, 2) , Jean-Michel Pereira (2) , Yixiang Gan (1)

1 The University of Sydney
2 NAVIER UMR 8205 - Laboratoire Navier

We study how grain shapes impact multiphase flow in porous media in the quasi-static regime using an extended pore-network model. The algorithm allows the explicit determination of different types of pore-scale instabilities and tracks the interface motion during fluid-fluid displacement process. It also includes the volume capacitance model, such that both the evolution of capillary pressure signal and sizes of Haines jumps can be captured. Further, it considers the pinning of menisci at sharp edges of grains, through which the distribution of effective contact angles can be obtained. Simulations are carried out across a wide range of wetting conditions for different particle shapes. Our results show that the effective contact angle distribution during displacement widens as the grain becomes more angular, which consequently modifies the macroscopic fluid invasion morphology. By analyzing various characteristic metrics during displacement, including capillary pressure signal, Haines jump size distribution, and fractal dimension, our results highlight the profound influence of particle shape on the multiphase flow.

Domaines: Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]; Matière Condensée [cond-mat]

Zhongzheng Wang, Jean-Michel Pereira, Yixiang Gan. Effect of grain shape on quasi‐static fluid‐fluid displacement in porous media. Water Resources Research, 2021, ⟨10.1029/2020WR029415⟩. ⟨hal-03177573⟩