Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw Cell
Miscible viscous fingering occurs when a less viscous fluid displaces a more viscous one in porous media or a Hele–Shaw cell. Such flow instabilities are of particular interest in a variety of applications in flows and displacements in subsurface energy and environment systems. In this study, we inv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/16/5798 |
| _version_ | 1797432243483836416 |
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| author | Baizheng An Daniel Solorzano Qingwang Yuan |
| author_facet | Baizheng An Daniel Solorzano Qingwang Yuan |
| author_sort | Baizheng An |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Miscible viscous fingering occurs when a less viscous fluid displaces a more viscous one in porous media or a Hele–Shaw cell. Such flow instabilities are of particular interest in a variety of applications in flows and displacements in subsurface energy and environment systems. In this study, we investigate the miscible viscous fingering dynamics experimentally using water to displace glycerol in a sealed Hele–Shaw cell with two wells located in it instead of at the boundary or corners. We comprehensively examine the spatial and temporal variations of fingering dynamics, different flow regimes, and how they are affected by the water injection rate and control of pressure or rate at the outlet. Alongside the widely recognized diffusion-dominated and convection-dominated flow regimes, we identify three new regimes: a slow expansion regime prior to breakthrough, a rapid shrinkage regime immediately after breakthrough, and a uniform, slow expansion regime without fingering instability. Each regime is characterized by interesting flow dynamics, which has not been reported previously. The duration of each regime depends on the water injection rate and whether constant pressure or a constant production rate is applied at the outlet. The variations of swept area, interfacial length, and count of fingers are also quantitatively examined. This study provides new insights into the fundamental mechanisms for miscible fluid displacements in a variety of applications such as CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration, hydrogen storage, enhanced oil recovery, and groundwater contaminate remediation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:57:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-98283de6e49d4a888a1b2cf6db855011 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T09:57:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-98283de6e49d4a888a1b2cf6db8550112023-12-01T23:39:08ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-08-011516579810.3390/en15165798Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw CellBaizheng An0Daniel Solorzano1Qingwang Yuan2Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas Tech University, 807 Boston Ave, Lubbock, TX 79409, USABob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas Tech University, 807 Boston Ave, Lubbock, TX 79409, USABob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas Tech University, 807 Boston Ave, Lubbock, TX 79409, USAMiscible viscous fingering occurs when a less viscous fluid displaces a more viscous one in porous media or a Hele–Shaw cell. Such flow instabilities are of particular interest in a variety of applications in flows and displacements in subsurface energy and environment systems. In this study, we investigate the miscible viscous fingering dynamics experimentally using water to displace glycerol in a sealed Hele–Shaw cell with two wells located in it instead of at the boundary or corners. We comprehensively examine the spatial and temporal variations of fingering dynamics, different flow regimes, and how they are affected by the water injection rate and control of pressure or rate at the outlet. Alongside the widely recognized diffusion-dominated and convection-dominated flow regimes, we identify three new regimes: a slow expansion regime prior to breakthrough, a rapid shrinkage regime immediately after breakthrough, and a uniform, slow expansion regime without fingering instability. Each regime is characterized by interesting flow dynamics, which has not been reported previously. The duration of each regime depends on the water injection rate and whether constant pressure or a constant production rate is applied at the outlet. The variations of swept area, interfacial length, and count of fingers are also quantitatively examined. This study provides new insights into the fundamental mechanisms for miscible fluid displacements in a variety of applications such as CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration, hydrogen storage, enhanced oil recovery, and groundwater contaminate remediation.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/16/5798viscous fingeringmiscible displacementsflow regimesHele–Shaw cell |
| spellingShingle | Baizheng An Daniel Solorzano Qingwang Yuan Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw Cell Energies viscous fingering miscible displacements flow regimes Hele–Shaw cell |
| title | Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw Cell |
| title_full | Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw Cell |
| title_fullStr | Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw Cell |
| title_full_unstemmed | Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw Cell |
| title_short | Viscous Fingering Dynamics and Flow Regimes of Miscible Displacements in a Sealed Hele-Shaw Cell |
| title_sort | viscous fingering dynamics and flow regimes of miscible displacements in a sealed hele shaw cell |
| topic | viscous fingering miscible displacements flow regimes Hele–Shaw cell |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/16/5798 |
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