Spontaneous imbibition in porous media: from pore scale to Darcy scale

TL;DR

This paper investigates pore-scale wetting dynamics during spontaneous imbibition in porous media, developing a non-equilibrium relative permeability model to better predict macroscopic flow behavior based on pore-scale phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a novel non-equilibrium model for relative permeability that incorporates wetting dynamics, bridging pore-scale mechanisms and Darcy-scale predictions.

Findings

Pore-scale heterogeneity significantly affects imbibition dynamics.

Different pore-filling mechanisms influence wetting behavior.

The non-equilibrium model accurately captures relative permeability variations.

Abstract

Spontaneous imbibition has been receiving much attention due to its significance in many subsurface and industrial applications. Unveiling pore-scale wetting dynamics, and particularly its upscaling to the Darcy scale are still unresolved. In this work, we conduct image-based pore-network modeling of cocurrent spontaneous imbibition and the corresponding quasi-static imbibition, in homogeneous sintered glass beads as well as heterogeneous Estaillades. A wide range of viscosity ratios and wettability conditions are taken into account. Based on our pore-scale results, we show the influence of pore-scale heterogeneity on imbibition dynamics and nonwetting entrapment. We elucidate different pore-filling mechanisms in imbibition, which helps us understand wetting dynamics. Most importantly, we develop a non-equilibrium model for relative permeability of the wetting phase, which adequately incorporates wetting dynamics. This is crucial to the final goal of developing a two-phase imbibition model with measurable material properties such as capillary pressure and relative permeability. Finally, we propose some future work on both numerical and experimental verifications of the developed non-equilibrium permeability model.