Local Wettability Reversal during Steady-State Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media

TL;DR

This paper investigates how local wettability reversal influences steady-state two-phase flow in porous media, revealing flow pattern changes and a linear relationship between fractional flow and wettability alteration.

Contribution

It introduces a wettability alteration mechanism in a network model, demonstrating its impact on flow regimes and cluster destabilization in porous media.

Findings

Wettability reversal destabilizes flow clusters.

A finite wettability change is needed to initiate two-phase flow.

Fractional flow varies linearly with wettability alteration.

Abstract

We study the effect of local wettability reversal on remobilizing immobile fluid clusters in steady-state two-phase flow in porous media. We consider a two dimensional network model for porous medium and introduce a wettability alteration mechanism. A qualitative change in the steady state flow patterns, destabilizing the percolating and trapped clusters, is observed as the system wettability is varied. When capillary forces are strong a finite wettability alteration is necessary to move the system from single-phase to two-phase flow regime. For the case of both phases being mobile we find a linear relationship between fractional flow and wettability alteration.