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Capillary displacement and percolation in porous media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2006

Richard Chandler ,
Joel Koplik ,
Kenneth Lerman  and
Jorge F. Willemsen
Richard Chandler
Affiliation:
Schlumberger-Doll Research, P.O. Box 307, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, U.S.A
Joel Koplik
Affiliation:
Schlumberger-Doll Research, P.O. Box 307, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, U.S.A
Kenneth Lerman
Affiliation:
Schlumberger-Doll Research, P.O. Box 307, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, U.S.A
Jorge F. Willemsen
Affiliation:
Schlumberger-Doll Research, P.O. Box 307, Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877, U.S.A
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Abstract

We consider capillary displacement of immiscible fluids in porous media in the limit of vanishing flow rate. The motion is represented as a stepwise Monte Carlo process on a finite two-dimensional random lattice, where at each step the fluid interface moves through the lattice link where the displacing force is largest. The displacement process exhibits considerable fingering and trapping of displaced phase at all length scales, leading to high residual retention of the displaced phase. Many features of our results are well described by percolation-theory concepts. In particular, we find a residual volume fraction of displaced phase which depends strongly on the sample size, but weakly or not at all on the co-ordination number and microscopic-size distribution of the lattice elements.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 119 , June 1982 , pp. 249 - 267
Copyright
© 1982 Cambridge University Press

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