A boundary element method for the solution of finite mobility ratio immiscible displacement in a Hele-Shaw cell

TL;DR

This paper introduces a boundary element method to simulate immiscible fluid displacement in a Hele-Shaw cell, revealing new fingering patterns at low mobility ratios relevant to CO2 sequestration.

Contribution

It develops a high-order boundary element numerical scheme for accurately modeling viscous fingering at finite mobility ratios, extending previous high mobility ratio models.

Findings

Large differences in fingering patterns at low mobility ratios.

Inhibition of classical finger shielding effects.

Potential for finger breakage into bubbles.

Abstract

In this paper, the interaction between two immiscible fluids with a finite mobility ratio is investigated numerically within a Hele-Shaw cell. Fingering instabilities initiated at the interface between a low viscosity fluid and a high viscosity fluid are analysed at varying capillary numbers and mobility ratios using a finite mobility ratio model. The present work is motivated by the possible development of interfacial instabilities that can occur in porous media during the process of CO$_2$ sequestration, but does not pretend to analyse this complex problem. Instead, we present a detailed study of the analogous problem occurring in a Hele-Shaw cell, giving indications of possible plume patterns that can develop during the CO$_2$ injection. The numerical scheme utilises a boundary element method in which the normal velocity at the interface of the two fluids is directly computed through the evaluation of a hypersingular integral. The boundary integral equation is solved using a Neumann convergent series with cubic B-Spline boundary discretisation, exhibiting 6th order spatial convergence. The convergent series allows the long term non-linear dynamics of growing viscous fingers to be explored accurately and efficiently. Simulations in low mobility ratio regimes reveal large differences in fingering patterns compared to those predicted by previous high mobility ratio models. Most significantly, classical finger shielding between competing fingers is inhibited. Secondary fingers can possess significant velocity, allowing greater interaction with primary fingers compared to high mobility ratio flows. Eventually, this interaction can lead to base thinning and the breaking of fingers into separate bubbles.