Viscous Fingering In Porous Media
- Paper number
IAC-07-A2.2.09
- Author
Ms. Gunhild Storhaug, University of Oslo, Norway
- Coauthor
Ms. Yngvild Linnea Andalsvik, University of Oslo, Norway
- Coauthor
Ms. Kosovare Olluri, Norway
- Coauthor
Mr. Arvid Skaugen, University of Oslo, Norway
- Coauthor
Prof. Torfinn Lindem, University of Oslo, Norway
- Coauthor
Dr. Grunde Løvoll, University of Oslo, Norway
- Coauthor
Prof. Knut Jørgen Måløy, University of Oslo, Norway
- Year
2007
- Abstract
In September 2006 a group of four students participated in ESA Student Parabolic Flight Campaign. The experiment conducted was a study of viscous fingering in three dimensions in porous media. Viscous fingers is a finger like pattern that arises when a low viscous fluid is injected and displaces a high viscous fluid. The non-wetting fluid injected will normally not expand isotropically, but will rather form a finger like pattern that is fractal of nature. The dynamics of this structure is controlled by the interplay between viscous, capillary and gravitational forces. The gravitational force will set up a pressure gradient. The pressure gradient will cause the air-cluster to break up due to buoyancy. To be able to neglect the gravitational forces, the process of fragmentation has earlier been studied experimentally in two dimensions by performing the experiment horizontally. Performing the experiment in the microgravity phase of a parabolic flight made a study of viscous fingering in three dimensions possible. In this experiment setup, cylinders were filled with a granular medium and a high viscous fluid. The indexes of refraction of the granular medium and the fluid was matched in order to be able to see through the cylinders. This allowed the observation of the air transportation. Liquid was then withdrawn from one end of the cylinders causing air to flow in through a vent in the other end. The aim of this study was to discover the underlying principles of air transport in a porous medium. There is of interest to see how the viscous fingers experiences the external boundary ie. the cylinder walls. Also of interest is the fraction of the cylinder width occupied by viscous fingers. Since the finger structures are fractal there has also been attempts to find the fractal dimension of the structures. In order to gain an extra insight into the field it is desirable to do a comparison to the results from 2D experiments.
- Abstract document