Two-phase flow in porous media: dynamical phase transition

TL;DR

This paper investigates the dynamical phase transition from single-phase to two-phase flow in porous media, analyzing the phase diagram and providing a semi-empirical theory for phase boundary locations.

Contribution

It introduces a network simulation approach and a semi-empirical model to characterize the phase transition in two-phase flow systems.

Findings

Identifies the conditions for the transition between flow regimes.

Maps the phase diagram in parameter space.

Proposes a semi-empirical theory for phase boundary locations.

Abstract

Two-phase flow systems in porous media have complex dynamics. It is well established that a wide range of system parameters like viscosities and porosity as well as flow parameters such as pressure gradient and fluid saturation have strong impact on the dynamics. The transition from single-phase flow to two-phase flow is a dynamical phase transition. We discuss the order of the transition and investigate the phase diagram in parameter space, using a network simulator for two-phase flow. A semi-empirical theory for the location of the phase boundaries is provided.