Publications

Pore-Scale Simulations of Haines Jumps during Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

Santiago, C., Ghomeshi, S., Kryuchkov, S., Bryan, J., Kantzas, A.

GC2015-035
Presented at the GeoConvention 2015, Calgary, AB on May 4, 2015.

ABSTRACT

Numerical simulation studies are performed in two-dimensional porous media patterns. Two-phase flow is modeled by solving Navier-Stokes equations at the pore-level and using Volume of Fluid Method for interface capturing.
A primary drainage process is simulated in which oil (non-wetting phase) displaces a 100% water (wetting phase) saturated media. The objective is to observe and discuss a predominant pore-scale instability, Haines jumps, which is responsible for drastic variations in pressure fields and fluids redistribution through the porous space. The presence of Haines jumps can lead to fluid re-distribution within pores during drainage of water by oil. This physical phenomenon is present in actual porous media, but it may be missed in more simple network based approaches to modeling flow in porous media.

An abstract of this paper is available on GeoConvention Online.